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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 20020506 APPROVED 10/16/02 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS AND THE HILLSBOROUGH TOWN COMMISSIONERS MAY 6, 2002 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a work session with the Hillsborough Town Commissioners on May 6, 2002 at 7:30 p.m. at the government Services Center in Hillsborough, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Barry Jacobs and Commissioners Margaret W. Brown, Alice M. Gordon and Stephen Halkiotis COUNTY COMMISSIONER ABSENT: Moses Carey, Jr. COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill and S. Sean Borhanian 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) HILLSBOROUGH TOWN COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Mayor Joe Phelps and Town Commissioners Kenneth Chavious, Frances Dancy, Michael Gering, Evelyn Lloyd and Mark Sheridan HILLSBOROUGH STAFF PRESENT: City Manager Eric Peterson and Planning Director Margaret Hauth NOTE: ALL DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THESE MINUTES ARE IN THE PERMANENT AGENDA FILE IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE. 1. Emerging Transportation Issues a. Orange Grove Road Planning Director Craig Benedict said that the Economic Development District (EDD) Transportation Work Group met regularly over approximately seven months and developed consensus around a number of recommended traffic improvements in and around Hillsborough. This work group came up with a joint set of recommendations, which were sent on to the Department of Transportation. The interest were mainly in extending existing roads to provide increased connectivity, creating new road alignments to serve as additional connectors and improving circulation via turn lanes and improved land configurations. The other issue had to do with the Orange Grove Road intersection. Craig Benedict pointed out the Orange Grove Road area. He showed the connector roads in that area. The Department of Transportation (DOT) has indicated that if the right-of-way can be obtained from the developer, it makes it a lot easier for them to develop the road to handle future traffic. Right now, Orange Grove Road is a two-lane road and with the potential development in that area the road will not be able to handle the increased traffic generated by development. Commissioner Brown asked what kind of development is going on in this area. Hillsborough Planning Director Margaret Hauth said that the land that is undeveloped is zoned agricultural/multi family. There may be a request for a rezoning in that area. They have not seen a site plan for Patriots Point. Commissioner Brown asked if there would be sidewalks and if the roads would be improved and Margaret Hauth said that there would not be sidewalks or improvements made to the road for anything that has already been approved. She did not know about the proposed development in that area — if they will provide sidewalks or make improvements to the road. Craig Benedict said that there are 200 plus units already built and 200 plus units in Patriots Point and another 200 or 250 units coming in for approval. In order to be able to allow growth to continue without interruption to the transportation services, we need to work with Hillsborough to determine what cross sections would be best for the development. Mark Sheridan made reference to one of the developments on Orange Grove Road and said that there was not very much required of the developer. Margaret Hauth said that the developer just did what DOT required. The Hillsborough ordinance does not require anything further. Mark Sheridan said that this illustrates that the preference of having some different controls that the Town and the County work together on would be beneficial to the citizens. He feels that the traffic improvements identified for Patriots Point look good and they spent a lot of time talking about the impacts of increased traffic. He appreciated the comments in the paper about how do you walk from the school to the apartments on Orange Grove Road. The one project was approved in accordance with the Hillsborough ordinance and did not require Town Board approval. Commissioner Halkiotis said that the issue he wants to talk about is people who are living further up at the Timbers without automobiles who are walking on the road. With the heavy vehicular traffic on that road, someone will get hurt. The County has been talking about sidewalks even in Efland and they have run into all kinds of roadblocks from DOT. He feels we need to work together in this effort and try to gain more attention and support from DOT. Ken Chavious said that he feels sidewalks should be required for certain types of developments and said that he is willing to work with Town and County officials to make sure this is included in the Hillsborough ordinance. Chair Jacobs said that the last time he met with DOT, he brought this issue up and Division Engineer Mike Mills said that it would cost one million dollars to put a pedestrian crossing over the bridge at I-40 near the high school. If you want to work with the County on the corridor, we can have a small committee come up with a recommendation. We could jointly lobby DOT. He was informed that DOT does have money for installing curb and gutter but we have to come up with a plan. Evelyn Lloyd said that the EDD work group was asked to include the entranceways in the discussions of that group but they did not have time to do that. Mark Sheridan said that he supports a small group spending some time to look at the issues associated with increased development in the Orange Grove area and the issue of safety. Each Board decided that they would each appoint two people to serve on a committee. b. Intersection of US 70/NC 57/NC 86 Craig Benedict made reference to a map and the area of US70, NC57 and NC86. He said that the level of service at these intersections is already overburdened without additional development like the Preserve. What was suggested to the Preserve developers was that NC86 be widened to the potential bypass or at least to NC57. That is a critical intersection and the delays are backed up. He said that for the next five years or more, there is only one route through Hillsborough and that is Churton Street. The Preserve is beginning discussions to bring back another project and will be approaching Hillsborough for water and sewer. Joe Phelps asked if there is a plan showing the widening of NC86 and US70 and NC57 and NC86 and Craig Benedict said that a plan was submitted to DOT as part of the Preserve plan. The thinking is that if a development comes on line, it should not diminish the level of service on the traffic. Frances Dancy asked about US70 and the backup east and west and if anything could be done about this problem. Craig Benedict said that there is a long-range plan to add larger shoulders on US70. DOT usually will focus on the intersections to move traffic. In answer to a question from Commissioner Halkiotis, Evelyn Lloyd said that the developers of the Preserve have already asked Hillsborough if they could provide water to the development. This still needs a lot of discussion by their Board. Ken Chavious said that US70 is really congested and needs widening. He said that the widening of US70 is in the Hillsborough transportation plan. Mark Sheridan said that there has been a move to do a strategic growth plan for the Town of Hillsborough because they know that they are constrained by their water capacity. The Town told the developers for the Preserve that we are working on this plan and asked that they be patient until Hillsborough finishes its plan. He asked what the County Commissioners thought about the proposal. He said that the Town was interested only because the developer of the Preserve indicated they would donate 200 acres for open space. This is in the County's jurisdiction but the development can not do it without water from Hillsborough. Evelyn Lloyd said that the developers approached the Town first because they need to know if the Town can provide the development with water before they can submit the plan to the County. She asked if the County needs to know if the Town can provide the water prior to a developer submitting a plan to Orange County. Mike Gering said that it seems that if the Town and Orange County have similar land use plans, that there can be complete agreement on future development. Craig Benedict said that with the County's process we tell the developer that water and sewer is an upfront question before submitting an application. Commissioner Gordon noted that if the Town is considering designating an urban growth boundary it needs to specify if this is the present urban growth boundary or a future boundary. Craig Benedict said that the water and sewer boundary map is an ultimate boundary which matches the water and sewer available at this time. Commissioner Gordon said that if the Town decides it wants an urban growth boundary, the Town Commissioners and not the County would make the decision. Chair Jacobs said that one of the nice things about working as part of the EDD work group was that we found we had similar concepts and he feels that if the Town of Hillsborough and Orange County can coordinate our land use plans, that this would only enhance the growth pattern. 2. Collaborative Planning a. Courtesy Review Craig Benedict said that the purpose of this item is to consider a revised courtesy review agreement between the town of Hillsborough and Orange County. This item was previously discussed at a joint meeting between the Boards on January 31 , 2001 . A few of the issues were unresolved at that time, such as the size or threshold limit activating review of a project. A joint staff work group has discussed these items and a revised agreement is now presented for consideration. The primary difference from the previous agreement involves setting a threshold for project review of five acres for land use amendments, rezonings, special use permits, conditional use permits and annexations, or a project with a 50-unit residential component. These thresholds include both residential and non-residential projects. As with the previous agreement, the area includes the water and sewer service area boundary both in Orange County and the Town of Hillsborough jurisdiction. The agreement does include a five working day timeframe for return of comments. This is because the review process in Hillsborough has a quick turnaround. It is understood that in some cases an increased timeframe may be warranted for certain projects and this is something that needs to be discussed by both Boards. Either jurisdiction may request a joint meeting of the elected boards to discuss a development proposal subject to a courtesy review. A process is set forth in the agreement on how this can be accomplished. Ken Chavious feels that there needs to be a confirmation that the material has been received. Commissioner Gordon asked Margaret Hauth to explain the 5-day time frame because she feels it is too short. Margaret Hauth said that when the agreement was first written it included site plans which have a very quick turnaround. They are no longer included in the agreement. However, she feels that the timeframe should be short. She understood that this timeframe was for comments from staff and not for comments from elected officials. Mark Sheridan said that they have had several things come up where they have postponed projects for a number of weeks. If a development application is submitted that may have significant ramifications, the Town would have no problem with postponing as necessary to allow a meeting with the County Commissioners or to allow the time necessary to get meaningful comments. Commissioner Gordon said that it might be possible to include in the courtesy review agreement the type of projects with some requiring only comments from the staff and others which may warrant review by the elected officials. The problem is that this is a single threshold where we may need to decide which projects are handled by staff and which projects are handled by elected officials which may take longer. Eric Peterson said that he would rework this part of the agreement and bring it back to the Town Board and then get back with the County staff. Chair Jacobs asked that he and Mayor Phelps be involved. b. Coordinating County Comprehensive Plan with Hillsborough Strategic Growth Plan Craig Benedict said that Orange County is updating its Comprehensive Plan which includes many aspects of planning and goal setting for other public services and facilities. Since many aspects of planning for the future do not easily follow jurisdictional boundaries, the need for coordination and consistency between local governments is important to promote an orderly, tax efficient growth plan that prudently allocates resources. Since Orange County and Hillsborough are preparing plans for future growth, this could serve as a good opportunity to compare notes and tune the land use development potential. Chair Jacobs said that he feels that this is a good opportunity to work together to coordinate planning for certain areas. He does not feel that the County should move ahead if the Town of Hillsborough does not want to or can't provide water and sewer service to the area in question. Craig Benedict noted that a lot of background information has been done on the different townships and growth rates in each of these areas. He would be glad to meet with Hillsborough on projections for the future. Since growth will migrate to those areas that can be served with municipal water and sewer, he feels it beneficial to everyone if Hillsborough is involved. Efland is a future growth area. He feels it important to have a coordinated plan and have consistency in the two plans. In answer to a question from Michael Gering, Craig Benedict said that with any plan we have to include the regulations that are necessary to implement the plan. He feels that by next spring, the regulations to implement the plan will be in place. c. Wastershed Protection — Cedar Grove Reservoir Craig Benedict said that watershed protection and water quality have been at the forefront when considering the impacts of development. Accordingly, within Orange County's jurisdiction, watershed zoning overlays have been put in place to reduce impervious areas and, in some cases, the reduction of residential density to preserve critical and protected watersheds. With the addition of Cedar Grove (west fork of the Eno) reservoir by Hillsborough, similar interest lie with Orange County to continue their long standing commitment to improve water quality in the region through various methods. With input and support from the Town of Hillsborough, Orange County can examine ways to evaluate the Upper Eno Watershed to promote water quality and, thereby, reduce eventual water treatment costs, and heighten the environmental health of the Eno River system. Craig Benedict made reference to the protected watershed map of the County. He explained that for all reservoirs, the County put an overlay on each one to show the critical areas where the lot size is larger than in other areas. As the County does their comprehensive plan, they will be asking Hillsborough if they want the area surrounding their reservoirs to be regulated as critical areas. Again, this would reduce density to improve water quality. d. Schools Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance Craig Benedict said that residential growth has increased sharply in Orange County over the past decades, in large part due to the well known quality of the public schools in the county. In 1999, the Schools and Land Use Councils, a joint committee of elected officials and staff members from the County's school districts and towns of Carrboro, Chapel Hill and Hillsborough and Orange County, began the process of designing ways to ensure superior schools without unduly jeopardizing growth. This committee began to look at the issue of linking new development to the capacity of schools as a way to help ensure quality schools in Orange County. This committee developed a Schools Adequate Public Facilities Memorandum of Understanding and model ordinance. He made presentations in front of the local boards. Based on comments received it was sent back to the Schools and Land Use Councils for refinement and has been approved by that Council. This will go to public hearing on May 28 tH Margaret Hauth noted that the Hillsborough Town Board has not approved it for public hearing. Craig Benedict offered to do another presentation for the Town of Hillsborough. He said that the Town of Chapel Hill approved it and Carrboro is still looking at it before providing additional comments. Mark Sheridan asked if the County Commissioners are inclined to adopt the Memorandum of Understanding and the ordinance and Chair Jacobs said that the County initiated this effort and has those intentions. 3. Justice Facilities Development Director of Purchasing and Central Stores Pam Jones made introductory remarks. She said that their consultant, Freeman-White Architects will present an overview of the expanded master plan of the downtown Court/Government Services Center campus. This information is intended to provide a point of departure for discussion about issues whose solutions may fall under the jurisdiction of the Town and/or other regulatory agencies. The County will have three separate groups in various aspects of the project. Namely, there will be an architect selection committee, external programming committee and an internal programming committee. The County Commissioners received this information during a work session on April 30, 2002. The presentation will not be repeated here in these minutes but the minutes of April 30, 2002 are hereby incorporated into these minutes by reference. Mark Sheridan questioned if maybe the traffic requirements as set forth in the Hillsborough regulations have been analyzed to determine if the Town requires more parking than is necessary. Ken Chavious asked about the height of the proposed buildings and was told that they would be the same as they are for the existing courthouse. However, you would not be able to see the River Park from Margaret Lane. In answer to a question from Commissioner Brown, Pam Jones said that there is a detailed traffic study in the report. Judge Joe Buckner said that traffic court on Wednesday is held at different times. They will certainly do what they can to manage traffic. They will be able to schedule people at different times to help minimize traffic impacts. Commissioner Gordon mentioned that the County focused on judicial facilities tonight. There are unresolved issues such as a location for the Farmers Market. Joe Phelps asked if it would be okay to have two members from the town Board on these committees and the County Commissioners agreed with this suggestion. 4. Fairview Joint Efforts This item was presented for the purpose of jointly discussing County/Town activities in the Fairview Community. In November 2002, County voters approved — as part of the Parks and Open Space bond - $850,000 for park facilities at Fairview Park. A playground and ballfield currently exist on 41 acres owned by Orange County. The Town of Hillsborough owns an adjoining 25 acres at this site. Environment and Resource Conservation Director David Stancil made reference to a map showing the existing town limits, the 40 acres owned by Orange County and the 25 acres owned by Hillsborough and the 26 acres which contains the Orange County public works facility. He made reference to the last page in the agenda material, which gives a history of what has happened over the last few years. Preliminary proposals for the park discussed in 2001 outlined the potential for a regulation soccer field, a multi-purpose field (softball/youth soccer), a picnic area and basketball courts. However, there is no current concept plan for Fairview Park. He noted that prior to proceeding with the park and other joint initiatives, some key questions remain unanswered, including: 1 . Should the park and other facilities be part of a master plan that incorporates all potential uses at the site? 2. Will the park be a County park, or a joint County/Hillsborough park? 3. Should a master plan, if developed, include the Town's land as well as the County's 41 acres? 4. If the total 67 acres are master planned, how might this process be accomplished? David Stancil presented a possible Fairview Master Plan Work Group scenario as described on page 3 of the agenda. The first step would be to appoint a Project Planning Group of elected officials to make key decisions about the project. Mark Sheridan made reference to the $850,000 bond money and asked when is the earliest that these can be sold. He would like to see this bond sale accelerated and the money made available as soon as possible. David Stancil said that the County Manager's recommended CIP for 2002-2012 includes $100,000 for fiscal year 2002-03 for the Fairview Park project, with the remaining $750,000 split between 2003-04 and 2004-05. Mark Sheridan asked if this is concrete and Chair Jacobs said that the CIP would be adopted within the next two months after discussion by the County Commissioners. He emphasized that there has been Board support to get all the projects going this year, at least in the planning stage. Mark Sheridan asked what Hillsborough could do as a Board to move this project forward as fast as possible. He said that there is a passion in that community to have an area available to do things. The Town has 65 acres, which are not allocated yet, and he can see all kinds of opportunities. David Stancil said that it would take from 3-6 months to do a concept plan which would be presented to the governing boards before the construction phase. Chair Jacobs said that what Hillsborough can do is to participate in the preconcept phase and contribute in the planning which may open up possibilities on what we can do collaboratively. Eric Peterson said that a key component of this is the public works component in that the Town needs a couple of acres to expand their motor pool facilities. The Boards agreed that each would appoint two people to serve on the preconcept phase of this project. 6. Whitted Human Services Center Improvements Pam Jones summarized the information in the agenda. She explained that renovations to the Whitted Human Services Center would be done in phases. The agenda materials outlined recent, current and future activities related to these improvements, which include, among others: • Paving of several parking lots • Relocation of various County vehicles to increase availability of patron parking • Renovation of the Health Department clinic area • Replacement of Whitted Center HVAC system, ceilings, and lighting • Painting and floor covering replacements • Removal and replacement of diseased trees Michael Gering said that the Hillsborough Town Board created a committee to try to fix the clock in the tower of the Old Courthouse. They will need an area where the clock can be taken to in order to work on the clock. He asked if the County has a space in which they could do this. John Link said that he would meet with Pam Jones and try to find space. Michael Gering said that the Hillsborough Board met with the Economic Development Commission and the Chamber of Commerce and said that the meeting was very useful and thanked EDC Director Dianne Reid for her participation. 6. Adjournment With no further items for the County Commissioners to consider, a motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Commissioner Brown to adjourn the meeting at 10:15 p.m. VOTE: UNANIMOUS The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 8, 2002 at 7:30 p.m. at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Barry Jacobs, Chair Beverly A. Blythe, CMC