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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 11-27-2000APPROVED 5115101 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS AND ORANGE COUNTY PLANNING BOARD QUARTERLY PUBLIC HEARING NOVEMBER 27, 2000 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met with the Orange County Planning Board for a quarterly public hearing on Monday, November 27, 2000 at 7:30 p.m. in the F. Gordan Battle Courtroom in Hillsborough, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Moses Carey, Jr., and Commissioners Margaret W. Brown, Alice M. Gordon, Barry Jacobs, and Stephen H. Halkiotis COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John M. Link, Jr., Assistant County Manager Rod Visser and Clerk to the Board Beverly A. Blythe (All other staff members will be identified appropriately below) PLANNING BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Barry Katz, Karen Barrows, Vice-Chair Howard McAdams, Nicole Gooding-Ray, Crauford D. Goodwin, Rachel Preston, and Robert Strayhorn NOTE: ALL DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THESE MINUTES ARE IN THE PERMANENT AGENDA FILE IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE. ALL RECORDINGS OF THE MEETING WILL BE KEPT FOR 5 YEARS. A. OPENING REMARKS FROM THE CHAIR Chair Carey said that he would serve as Chair for the first two items on the agenda and that the Vice-Chair of the Planning Board, Howard McAdams, would serve as Chair for the third item on the agenda. All of the items were presented by Orange County Planning Director Craig Benedict. Chair Carey explained the procedure for the items - a presentation by the Planning Director, comments and questions from the Board of Commissioners and the Planning Board, a presentation by the applicant, comments or questions from citizens, and a motion to act on the item. He explained that the process for receiving comments on a special use permit was different in that it is an evidentiary hearing, where evidence is heard. B. PUBLIC CHARGE Chair Carey read the public charge. C. PUBLIC HEARING ITEMS 1. AMERICAN STONE COMPANY AND OWASA PLANNED DEVELOPMENT AND CLASS A SPECIAL USE PERMIT FOR EXTRACTION OF EARTH PRODUCTSIRESERVOIR The following people were sworn in for this item: Paxton Badham, Peter Gordon, Mike Horn, John Richards, Vic Knight, Elliot Cramer, Erwin Danziger, Montell Irvin, David B, William Lyke, Peter Malin, Craig Benedict, Jennie Foushee, Louise Parrish, Melvin Parrish, and C. M. Williams. Orange County Planning Director Craig Benedict explained this item. He said that it was atwo-part public hearing. The first part is a legislative decision to rezone property from Rural Buffer to Planned Development Industrial 1 Category, also known as PD-1. The second part is consideration of a Class A Special Use Permit. The two requests are submitted concurrently. He said that this area was within the joint planning area of Carrboro, Orange County, and Chapel Hill. From 1989 to 2000 the land use plan amendment process has been in the works. As of this summer, all of the jurisdictions have now approved the amendment for the joint planning area to allow a use such as this. After those approvals, the land use plan was changed to a category where this rezoning could come forward to be consistent. After the joint planning area plan was modified, the Orange County land use plan was modified by the County Commissioners to be consistent. Regarding the land use plan, the issue was whether or not the extraction of earth products was appropriate for the area. All three jurisdictions agreed that it was appropriate. The issue now is how the uses will be arranged within the land use plan, what the setbacks will be, and the conduct of the operation. The legislative part of the rezoning further explains haw the use will be conducted. All of the public comment heard tonight, verbal and written, will be put together and digested prior to it going to the Planning Board. Craig Benedict made a presentation on the rezoning development plan. The use can be restricted in this area to just the extraction of earth products in certain modules on the property. Other parts of the rezoning process involve a certificate of mailing, where notices are sent to residents within 500 feet from the quarry. This is the requirement according to the existing ordinance. If there is someone who did not get a mailing, they will have an opportunity to submit some information before the Planning Board hearing. The staff is awaiting more information on the environmental impact statement. Information has been received from the Sheriffs office and information was received today from NCDOT speaking to the intersection of the future Bethel Hickory Grove Church Road and NC 54, where turn lanes are requested. He reiterated that the rezoning process was a legislative decision. Craig Benedict continued the presentation and spoke about the Class A Special Use Permit. The special use permit will go to the Planning Board and then back to the Board of County Commissioners. He described the conditions that have been put forward on this project. There can still be some modifications to the conditions. These conditions begin on page two of the agenda abstract, which is incorporated herein by reference. The staff recommends that condition #16 be deleted at this time because it is in conflict with the general rules for the rural buffer. Condition #54 was added to include the recommended left turn lanes into the site and the development of the road to DOT standards. The Planning staff recommends that the Board of County Commissioners and the Planning Board hear public testimony from proponents and opponents. The staff also recommends that the Board of County Commissioners refer this item at the end of the public hearing to the Planning Board for a recommendation to be returned back to the Board of County Commissioners no sooner than February 20, 2001. Questions by Board of County Commissioners and Planning Board Commissioner Brawn asked about the first 13 recommendations and if they were old. Craig Benedict said that the 13 recommendations were in effect at this time. The 13 recommendations will be incorporated into the other 53 conditions. Commissioner Brown made reference to condition #8 and the 50-foot buffer along Phil's Creek. She asked about the protection for a watershed or creek. Craig Benedict said that the existing Phil's Creek was approximately 50 feet from the top of the bank to the existing quarry. There would be no way to achieve a wider buffer in that area. The 50 feet is reasonable because there is a pit next to it. Commissioner Jacobs asked about condition #15 and wells failing for any reason other than as the demonstrable result of American Stone Company's mine operations. He asked for a specific definition of the term "demonstrable result". He made reference to condition #17 and documenting last effects on structures and asked if this would include a photographic record. Regarding condition #23 and moving the stone crusher, he said that this was a concern that was mentioned specifically by Carrboro. He would like the staff to do more of an analysis of the pros and cons and talk to American Stone Company. Regarding condition #28, he would like to know from the County Attorney about the law for covered loads and the ability of the Sheriff to enforce covered loads. He made reference to the conditions about the road - 45, 46, 5Q, 51, 52, and 54 - and the letter from Kimley-Horn saying that bike lanes should not be put in. He is not satisfied with leaving this with NCDOT. He asked that the County consider working with other traffic engineers in getting a comprehensive analysis. He does not think that NCDOT is very interested in traffic- calming devices, but Orange County is. He would like the staff to work on the mitigation fund that OWASA may pay into if a certain well repair is necessary. He would like the staff to work an the possibility of requiring that fund annually, regardless, which would be administered by the County far mitigation purposes for the quarry operation and that OWASA would contribute to in the same way that it contributes payment in lieu for fire services around the Cane Creek reservoir. Commissioner Halkiotis made reference to condition #8 and said that he would like information on how much of the area was affected by the 5Q-foot buffer. Regarding condition #18, "American Stone Company shall attempt to notify by telephone," he said that this language was loose. Regarding condition #21, he asked if a 2Q-foot high berm was high enough. Regarding condition #23, with respect to the concerns of Carrboro, he would like to know how the staff came up with seven years versus three. He would rather it be three years. He suspects that it is a political issue. Regarding condition #28, he said that he, Commissioner Jacobs, and Commissioner Brown visited the quarry several months ago and he said that 9$°~ of the trucks going in to get rock have the necessary equipment to cover the loads but the drivers da not take the time to flip the lever. He said that covered loads should be required. Commissioner Gordon made reference to page 33, #4 and the joint planning area land use plan that has been amended to expand the area designated for extractive use to include certain parcels, which were purchased by OWASA on September 7, 2000. She asked if this made any difference to the environmental impact. Craig Benedict pointed out the areas that OWASA had recently acquired. He said that it did not make any difference with the environmental impact statement. Commissioner Jacobs made reference to condition #49, the biological assessment. He asked who would pay for the consultant and what the purpose was of the survey. The applicant will answer this question. Chair Carey made reference to condition #15 and asked if the problems were going to manifest themselves at the same time the mining ends. He asked if there should be an opportunity for the residents to submit claims after the mining ends in 2Q30. He said that the timing of the return of anything remaining in the fund should be reworked. Applicant Comments Peter Gordon, Chairman of the Board of Directors of OWASA, spoke about OWASA's support of the quarry expansion. Far OWASA, the major issue is the water needs. They have done a very extensive analysis of the projected water needs for their customers and believe that their existing sources will take them through the year 2030, but at that point, they will need an additional source of water. OWASA believes that using an expanded stone quarry to capture the excess water from Cane Creek and University Lake is the best way to supply the additional water needed. The bottom line for OWASA is water needs and water quality. He said that OWASA has been part of the attempt to address ways in which the project can go forward in a way that is the least disruptive possible to the surrounding community and most beneficial to the surrounding area. He said that OWASA has now completed a comprehensive assessment of the farmer Nello Teer asphalt plant, where there is some groundwater contamination from petroleum hydrocarbons and trace amounts of chlorinated hydrocarbons. Reports on this assessment are available. A detailed on-site inventory of the biological resources on the current site has also been conducted. Also, OWASA has completed the purchase of the 1 QQ-acre plot from Mrs. Alice Durham and is in the process of submitting to the County a draft conservation easement. This means that when the mining is done, the land can never be used for anything but public water supply and open space. In conclusion, he said that OWASA and various political bodies in Orange County have worked hard on this project for many years because they believe that expanding the stone quarry is the best thing to do for the overall community. Paxton Badham spoke on behalf of American Stone Company. He described the history of the site plan on a map. He made reference to the flaw of compensation and said that in 1990, American Stone Company re-executed a lease with the Durham family, which greatly increased the minimum rental payments and the royalty payments, taking the lease to 2030. The payments will continue to increase until 2030. The payments to the Durham family was incentive for the Durham's to give the pit to OWASA at the end of the mining. In exchange, OWASA had incentive to let American Stone Company mine the property free of charge. The plan is to relocate State Road 1104 where it would intersect NC 54 and then to mine where ultimately the two pits will be joined. In addition, American Stone Company is giving OWASA 25 acres of land free of charge if the application is approved. He said that American Stone Company has been under a lot of scrutiny because of the apposition by the neighbors. He said that throughout all of the examination, no one has found anything that American Stone Company has done wrong. He said that the current regulations were not completely clear. He spoke about the permits that American Stone Company had obtained and said that the purpose of them was to protect the environment and to protect people and structures in the area of and adjacent to the quarry operation. He said that the conditions as presented by Craig Benedict were the reason that American Stone Company thinks the application should be granted because it goes well beyond what the state and federal permits require. He said that this was both the most extensive and expensive list of conditions that he is aware of. He would like to have some further discussion about a few of the conditions. He said that condition #29 seems to require American Stone Company to ensure that every truck has a cover. He said that this would put them at a serious competitive disadvantage because the trucks will go elsewhere. He said that ASC would support a countywide ordinance requiring all material haulers to cover their loads. He made reference to condition #39 and said that the concern was that if, at a later date, the County passed a different ordinance and then ASC was required to comply with it, that might make the operation impossible. He made reference to condition #47 and said that there could be a problem with the Type F buffer. Regarding bike lanes, he said that it did not make much sense to put bike lanes in the area. He spoke about what would happen if the special use permit were not granted. The existing special use permit has no expiration date and ASC could be there a long time mining deeper. He introduced the experts that would speak about the studies that they conducted. Mike Horn, with Kimley-Horn and Associates, conducted a traffic analysis; Montell Irvin, with Ramey Kemp and Associates, conducted a noise study; Peter Malin, with SONDI, conducted the blasting analysis; Vic Knight, with Chapel Hill Appraisals and Consultants, conducted the property value analysis; William Lyke, with Skelly and Loy, conducted the hydrogeology analysis; and John Richards, with Air Control Techniques, conducted the air analysis. Mike Horn, with Kimley-Horn and Associates, is a licensed engineer in North Carolina and has practiced traffic engineering for the past 19 years. They were asked by American Stone Company to review the proposal of the relocation of SR 1104, Bethel Hickory Grove Church Road by approximately 2700 feet. This relocation takes the existing intersection of Bethel Hickory Grove Church Road and moves it to NC 54. He has reviewed the relocation and has met with NCDOT on site. NCDOT does concur with the relocation of the intersection with the stipulation as proposed by the staff, which is the addition of left and right turn lanes. American Stone Company has also agreed with the construction of both of the turn lanes. Montell W. Irvin, a professional engineer registered in North Carolina, works with Ramey Kemp and Associates. He has been practicing engineering for about 11 years. He said that they were obtained by American Stone to do sound readings along the perimeter of the property and to compare those readings to the current performance standards. He went to the facility with a noise meter and conducted readings at several locations around the property. He determined that all of the levels were below the 68 DBA performance standard. He reviewed the mitigation offered by American Stone and feels that all of the measures should significantly reduce the levels that are currently at the property at this time. Peter Malin is a professor of Seismology in the Nicholas School of Environment at Duke University and also holds a secondary appointment in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He is President of a consulting firm called SONDI, which is Seismology and Downhole Instrumentation. American Stone Company asked SONDI to conduct two studies of vibration and quarry blast noise at the facility. He analyzed 632 blast data over the course of the last 10 years to establish the levels of vibration typical to the quarry operation. In the 632 monitored blasts, none of the blasts have exceeded any of the limits set by the permit. The statistics also show that there is a very small likelihood that random factors that are beyond the control of the quarry operators might result in exceeding the permit. SONDI sees no reason why the velocity ar air blast permit levels would be exceeded at the current level of operation of the quarry. Vic Knight, a resident of Orange County, has been doing appraisal work primarily in Orange County for sixteen years. The report he distributed has to do with the potential impact of the American Stone Company expansion on the properties in the surrounding neighborhood. The information shows the immediate surrounding properties that would have access onto either NC 54 or onto Bethel Hickory Grove Church Road. The report concludes that the appreciation value of the immediate surrounding neighborhood is significantly larger than the ones in the control subdivisions -The Trails and Wildwood. This is due to the amount of new construction in the area. The report concludes that there would be no negative impact from the proposed expansion of this quarry on the surrounding neighborhood. William Lyke is a Hydrogeologist with Skelly and Loy in Raleigh. He is a licensed engineer and a licensed geologist in North Carolina. Skelly and Loy was asked to prepare a hydrogeologic study for the quarry. He emphasized that the water table in the area was analyzed to see if they could determine the distance from the quarry operation that is impacted by the quarry. Based on the monitoring data, it appears that there could be up to a 500-foot distance from the quarry wall where the water table could be lowered. At a distance of 400 to 500 feet from the wall, there is a change in the water table of 10 feet or less. There is no documented evidence of a greater incidence of reported well failure related to water quantity or quality issues in the area around the quarry than there is across the entire County. John Richards, President of Air Control Techniques, said that his company specializes in air pollution control and air testing. He was retained to discuss the ambient air impact of the American Stone Company facility. According to the report, the emissions of the facility are quite low and have a very small community impact. They also conducted a number of ambient crystalline silica tests to evaluate the upwind and downwind impact of stone crushing plants and other types of plants, and they found that the ambient crystalline silica levels are very similar to levels found in any part of the country. Paxton Badham is an attorney who has worked with American Stone Company in their application. He made reference to the document, "Findings of the Orange County Planning Department", page 11, and talked about the location of the "other information." Public Comment and Questions Melvin Parrish said that he awns property, which adjoins the stone quarry. He is very much against the stone quarry. He asked how old the standards were and said that maybe they needed to be rewritten. He questioned the operating hours and said that it would affect the quality of life of the neighbors because the operation continues until 7:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday. He also questioned the final plan on the new road entering onto NC 54. He would like to know how the new road would affect the neighbors. He asked who would get the royalties that came out of Bethel Hickory Grove Church Road. He asked why a quarry was needed in this area. He said that OWASA was basing it all on the water. He resents the fact that OWASA is trying to build up the water supply but refuses to run water into his community because it is too expensive. He said that the quarry has already polluted the land and he asked when that was going to be cleaned up. He said that this has turned out to be a show from people that do not even live in Orange County. He asked the Commissioners to reject the special use permit. Jennie Foushee, resident of Parrish Road for 55 years, said that she was against the expansion of the quarry. She has experienced the noise, the vibration, and the damages in the area. She has replaced a window and drilled a well. She said that the community needed public water and sewer. The community has damages associated with the quarry. She said that this was all about water, but no one cares whether they have water or not. She said that the people in the community could not afford to go to other areas. Louise Parrish, who lives at 1401 Parrish Road, said that she listened to a lot of the comments from the experts. She asked that the County Commissioners give the neighbors a fair shake in this deal. She said that if the road was going to be changed, the extraction should be divided between the neighbors of the adjoining community. Also, the community would really like to have water and sewer. She asked the Commissioners to please do the right thing by the citizens. She said that the community has only asked American Stone Company to repair the damages they have caused to the local homes and wells. Erwin Danziger and his family own property that adjoins the Parrish's land and has awned it since the mid-60's. He said that he appreciated the fact that the public was able to speak tonight. He read a prepared statement. He addressed the issue of noncompliance of American Stone Company with regard to the statement made by Paxton Badham that no one had found any noncompliance, he said that this was not a true statement. He said that the state had repeatedly found noncompliance at American Stone Company. He said that ASC was limited to 325 pounds per day in response to a violation. Related to air quality, he said that ASC used data given to them by Martin Marietta for 1999. He objected to the model used because the TSP was significantly lower in 1999 than in the previous three years. Also, the model was based on Greensboro where there is less background noise than at Raleigh. He made reference to the statements made by Dr. Malin from SONDI . He said that Dr. Malin was given the area that was not the area of the existing quarry, but the area of the proposed quarry expansion. He said that the data was based on the incorrect area. Secondly, Dr. Malin was not told what the Orange County 125 air blast limit was, but was told to use the state standard of 128. He said that there was one instance where the limit was exceeded with a blast of 130. He said that there were 12 instances where the blasts exceeded 125, which is the County standard. He made reference to Paxton Badham's comment about American Stone Company making improvements beyond what anyone else was doing. He made reference to a quarry in Haw River that has automatic sprinklers to reduce the dust. He thanked the Clerk's office for making sure that the Commissioners received all of his correspondence. He made reference to the process and said that there were things in the agenda packet that the public has never seen and therefore cannot respond to. He would like the process to be changed so that the public could respond properly to issues. He said that he has been trying to explain to the Board of County Commissioners for 10 years that the existing pit, when it is finished mining, will hold three billion gallons of water, which is what OWASA is requesting. The point is that there is not a need far the quarry expansion. Mr. Danziger spoke about the process. He said that, for the most part, the neighbors have not been asked to provide any history to Craig Benedict. He had hoped that Mr. Benedict would have obtained input from people other than advocates for the quarry expansion. He said that he prepared some written suggestions for Craig Benedict for various proposed changes to the County Zoning Ordinance and the Special Use Process. The changes were prepared as a result of John Link's letter to him of April 16, 1997. He also wrote a letter to Chair Carey with no response. He said that there was no identification of the applicant. The application is signed by Mr. Moe, President of American Stone Company, but the supporting documents are from Martin Marietta, a separate corporate entity. He said that the State of North Carolina issues all of its permits to Martin Marietta and not to American Stone Company. He is also disappointed that Dr. Cramer's and his emails to Craig Benedict have not been answered. He also would have liked to be present at the required pre-application conference. He spoke about haw the application was not complete in all respects. He said that the memo of November 9, 2000 from Robert Davis entitled "Executive Summary" was not his work, but simply aword-for-word copy of various paragraphs of the "Supplement to the EIS" from OWASA. It seems that his written comments were ignored and that Mr. Davis' memo was prepared before the deadline far comments from the public even arrived. He said that this was not a fair process. Mr. Danziger continued by speaking about the mitigation measures. He said that the neighbors had made it clear tonight that no expansion and no mitigation was preferred to expansion with mitigation. Therefore, there are no valid reasons for approving the rezoning or this SUP. He said that if the Board of County Commissioners chose to approve it anyway, then it would be for reasons known only to the Board and not yet made public. He said that the Planning Department changed same of the wording of the mitigation measures to favor the applicants. The wording used in the present mitigation measures was not the same wording that was used in the memorandum of agreement. He recommends an appointment of one or more members of the County Commissioners, one Planning Board member, and himself to review the conditions far proper wording. His final point was a series of eight questions that he hopes the County Commissioners will review before issuing the SUP. Elliot Cramer, a statistician for 40 years, said that one of OWASA's main argument for quarry expansion was its claim that it could not acquire the current quarry except by eminent domain at a cost of millions of dollars. He said that the day before the April 12th public hearing, OWASA announced an agreement in principle to purchase the current quarry property. It was not until September 7th, one week after the Carrboro vote, that the purchase was consummated. He thinks that the delay was due to OWASA's wish to forestall a negative vote by the Town of Carrboro. He has a copy of the contract between OWASA and the Durham's, and he said that there was nothing in it to justify afive-month delay. He also made reference to the contract between OWASA and American Stone Company, which significantly modifies the old four-party agreement. He believes that both of these contracts should be part of the record. He said that OWASA and American Stone Company have said that the current pit is 250 feet deep and will have a depth of 350 feet if the application is approved, and will be over 500 feet if not approved. He said that this contradicts information that was provided to the OWASA board on February 9, 2000. Using the 350-foot depth, he computed the capacity of OWASA's current quarries to be about three billion gallons. The three billion gallons is identical to what OWASA's consultants have said to be the capacity of the expanded quarry. He sees no justification far the expansion. He asked that the County Commissioners reject this application. With regards to the future need for water, he said that OWASA's consultants, in their technical memorandum, have stated that the demand for water in 2050 will be 15.1 million gallons per day. This is the amount of water that OWASA has without any quarry at all. He said that this makes the assumption, which OWASA has conveniently chosen to ignore aver the past year, that all new housing will have federally mandated law flow toilets and showerheads. He said that it is clear that there will be enough water to last through 2090 and probably forever because build out in Chapel Hill is expected and there will be a flattening of the growth. He said that Paxton Badham did misrepresent the size of the pit to OWASA. He believes that OWASA has not made their decision on scientific realms, but on faulty ideas that the community was growing exponentially. Pastor C. M. Williams is the senior pastor at Hickory Grove Missionary Baptist Church. He is a concerned citizen speaking for his 300 parishioners. The church is on Bethel Hickory Grove Church Road. He has been there for three years and has incurred expenses at the church for damages as a result of the quarry. He said that the burden was on the community - structural damage, change for the community, accidents or death because of the changes in the road, etc. He feels that the quality of life in the community is very important. He made reference to the no fault well repair fund and he asked who would determine who gets this money. He is concerned about all of the money that has already been spent to repair damages to wells. He is concerned about the fund that will be established, whether it will be adequate, and who will handle the fund. He feels that there is a right thing to do in being fair. It does not seem fair that American Stone Company and OWASA are making money and that the residents are suffering. He said that it does not seem fair that an African American community should withstand the burden of the growth of Chapel Hill and Carrboro. He feels that the fair thing to do is to be sure that the residents are compensated for water and sewer and compensated for past, present, and future damages. He asked the Commissioners to be very fair and to da the right thing for the residents of the Hickory Grove community. Questions from members of the Board of County Commissioners and Planning Board Barry Katz, a Planning Board member, asked about the comment by Erwin Danziger that the quarry exceeded the legal limits of the decibel levels. Montell Irvin said that the permit that was supplied by American Stone Company indicated levels of 128 and 132. He said that no blasts exceeded the 132 level, but that there was a blast that was 130.8. Barry Katz asked about the 300-pound delay blast. Montell Irvin said that in no circumstance was the vibration limit of ground motion exceeded in any of the blasts that were recorded. Barry Katz asked if the blasts were near the limit or not near the limit. Montell Irvin said that at the site where they were recording, the blasts were well within the limits. Barry Katz made reference to page 5, item 25 in the original agenda packet, which indicated that 20 percent of the blasts could have a maximum of 450 pounds per delay. He was wondering if these kinds of blasts would be routinely exceeding the limits. Montell Irvin said that the blasts would be routinely exceeding the limits at the quarry boundaries. Barry Katz asked a question of Vic Knight. He said that the neighbors of the adjacent community alleged that Mr. Knight did not use any of the properties adjacent to the quarry. Vic Knight said that the adjacent properties were listed in the report. Barry Katz asked if the Parrish community was excluded from the report and Mr. Knight said no. He asked for a clarification of the type of homes in the Greenfield community. Melvin Parrish said that if the quarry were expanded, it would come closer to his property and further away from the Greenfield community. The homes in the Greenfield community are very different from the homes in the Parrish community. Nicole Gooding-Ray, a Planning Board member, asked if the report was historical information and Mr. Knight said that this was historical information including closed sales. Melvin Parrish said that he has been left out of the report because he has not sold his property. Vic Knight said that Mr. Parrish was included based on historical information. The neighborhood has experienced a significant appreciation level. Many factors cause this to happen. Barry Katz asked if the land would appreciate when the quarry ceased operation. Vic Knight said that the property would continue to appreciate on the same level or more. At this time, it was 10:30, the automatic adjournment time, and Chair Carey asked the pleasure of the Board on the remainder of the meeting. The Board agreed to finish item #2, Consideration of School Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance, and to postpone item #3, Commercial/Industrial/EDD Subdivision Amendment, to the EDD public hearing on December 12, 2000. Barry Katz personally believes that the American Stone Company quarry is an additional burden that the community puts up with and that the community does have a claim to some compensation for losses in comparison to the gains that are made by other parties to this discussion. Nicole Gooding-Ray made reference to page 20 and asked if items 1, 2, and 3 have been addressed. David B said that the entire presentation deals with all three findings. A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs to refer the proposed Zoning Atlas Amendment and proposed Class A Special Use Permit to the Planning Board for a recommendation to be returned to the Board of Commissioners no sooner than February 20, 2001. VOTE: UNANIMOUS 2. CONSIDERATION OF SCHOOL ADEQUATE PUBLIC FACILITIES ORDINANCE Craig Benedict said that this adequate public facilities ordinance only addresses the schools. It has been put forth first as a memorandum of understanding, which gives generalities about what the ordinance can do. Attached to the MOU is a "boilerplate" ordinance that would be incorporated by all of the local jurisdictions within their regulations. The school boards would also adopt similar policies. The public hearing addresses the Orange County portion of this implementation process. He read the purpose statement of the SAPFO, which states that, "The purpose of this ordinance is to ensure that, to the maximum extent practical, new residential development will be approved only when it can be reasonably expected that adequate public school facilities will be available to accommodate such new development." This ordinance is intended to be a synchronization mechanism to find out what the projected growth rates are in the residential community, what the capital improvement program has identified as needs, and to try to match the two systems within both the school district and County government. Service levels have been provided in this ordinance. An adequate level of service was determined by working with the school districts and the towns. The elementary school level of service is 105°~, the middle school level of service is 107%, and the high school level of service is 110°~. There are exemptions in place within the ordinance for dormitory housing for university students and senior citizen housing (elderly or adult care living facilities). Avery technical aspect of the ordinance has to do with the applicability to previously approved projects and ones that are pending approval. Subdivisions that have been approved in the past will not be subject to this ordinance, but they can be considered. There would be two agreements for this to be effective. The first agreement would need to be signed by Orange County School Board, Orange County and Hillsborough. The second Agreement would need to be signed by Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School Board, Carrboro, Orange County and Chapel Hill. The ordinance would be incorporated into a section of our land development cads. Staff recommends that, after the public hearing tonight, this item be referred to the Planning Board for a recommendation that would came back to the Board of County Commissioners no sooner than the end of January. Questions from Board of County Commissioners and Planning Board Commissioner Jacobs asked how the level of services was determined. Craig Benedict said that it was put together by the Schools and Land Use Council and a subgroup. The idea was to not have more than two mobile classrooms at any one school. Commissioner Jacobs asked about the exclusion of university housing with an affordable housing element. Craig Benedict said that there would need to be more specificity in the section about exclusions. There are exemptions in the code for what was originally called "minimal impact." County Attorney Geoffrey Gledhill said that the idea behind the exemptions is to exclude housing that is not going to impact schools. Commissioner Jacobs asked about exceptions for developers that donate land for schools. Craig Benedict reiterated the statement in the ordinance that says, "In deciding whether these findings can be made, the governing body shall consider the following among other relevant factors." The exemption for donated land is just one factor and not a definite. Geoffrey Gledhill said that the provision for donated land only applies to previously approved projects and projects pending approval. Public Comment Three letters have been received which are herein made a part of these minutes by reference. Janice Cenci of Chapel Hill faxed a letter dated November 27, 2000 stating that she is in favor of the Schools Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance because it represents a move toward proactive planning. She would like to see a moratorium on approval of major subdivisions until the County has updated the Comprehensive Plan. She supports an ordinance for all public facilities, not just schools. Lucy Harber of Chapel Hill faxed a letter dated November 27, 2000 stating that she is in favor of the Schools APFO. She supports the efforts to institute measures that will control the type and rate of growth in the County. She also supports a moratorium on approval of future developments until the County can update the Comprehensive Plan and update the demographic projection template. Maria Tadd of Chapel Hill faxed a letter dated November 27, 2000 stating that she is in favor of the Schools APFO. She also supports a moratorium on approval of new developments until the Comprehensive Plan is completed. She is concerned about the environmental impact of the development in Orange County. Nick Tennyson, Executive Vice President of the Hamebuilders Association of Durham and Orange Counties, said that the concern that is uppermost is the skepticism about the likelihood of public investment absent a crisis. He said that the APFO theory has to do with anticipating the need, having a capital improvements plan, being willing to spend the money, and making the public investment necessary to build the public facilities that it takes to keep up with the growth and population that occurs. There is a question of how the population growth and how the new structures really affect the long-term population of the schools. He said that it was problematic to get the public pressure that it takes to make the investments to keep the system rolling. The HBA has not been supportive of the Schools APFO concept. The other question that tames up is about how this transition happens. The concept is that the owner of the properly is the person whose land value ar opportunity to sell is regulated. He said that the Schools APFO would farce more detail, more expensive planning upfront, and greater mitigation measures for environmental concerns, all of which would lead to a larger scale project. The Homebuilders Association has not taken a position toward this proposal. Richard Cubic is a small builder and does mostly renovation work. He said that the ripple affect of this ordinance could be catastrophic or minimal depending on how it is administered. He does not like the fact that a school board could put a moratorium on building ar on subdivisions. He does not think it is the school board's position to do this. He questioned how long this ordinance would prolong the permit process. Chair Carey asked Craig Benedict to clarify the application of the ordinance to renovations and expansions to existing homes. Craig Benedict said that there would be no affect an additions to homes. Pam Alexander, co-owner of a subcontracting company and a property owner in Orange County, said that she was against this ordinance. She is concerned about what the Schools APFO would do to the property values. She said that the economy was geared towards growth. She said that in order for the tax base to increase there would have to be an increase in single family housing. She spoke about how the school systems get approval for construction and then change the plans to accommodate less students. She said that her business would go under if growth were stopped by this kind of ordinance. She would like more information on the ordinance. Keith Dixon said that it seems like there should be more communication between the developers and the school systems versus the school systems just having the authority to say no to development. Dave Ferguson, landowner of a large farm, said that it bothers him that we are going to limit the building in this County so that the tax burden falls on those who own land in the County. He cautioned the Commissioners about putting the process into another regulatory board because regulation of development was not the function of the school boards. A motion was made by Commissioner Halkiatis, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs to refer the School Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance to the Planning Board for review and recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners no sooner than January 16, 2001. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Commissioner Jacobs said that there was a courtesy review with Hillsborough on developments in the EDD and the new entranceway district. This public hearing is tomorrow night, November 28th. He requested that there be a report on this at the work session on November 30th so that comments can be forwarded to the Hillsborough Planning Board and the Town Board. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs to adjourn the public hearing to December 12t" at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to address Non-Residential Approval Procedure for Subdivision, Zoning, and Economic Development Ordinance Amendments. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Moses Carey, Jr., Chair Beverly A. Blythe, CMC