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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 20020528 APPROVED 10/1/02 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS AND ORANGE COUNTY PLANNING BORAD QUARTERLY PUBLIC HEARING MAY 28, 2002 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met with the Orange County Planning Board for a quarterly public hearing on May 28, 2002 at 7:30 p.m. in the F. Gordon Battle Courtroom in Hillsborough, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Barry Jacobs and Commissioners Alice M. Gordon, and Stephen H. Halkiotis COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Commissioners Margaret W. Brown and Moses Carey, Jr. COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill and Sean Borhanian COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John M. Link, Jr. and Clerk to the Board Beverly A. Blythe (All other staff members will be identified appropriately below) PLANNING BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Vice-Chair Hunter Schofield and members Crauford D. Goodwin and Theodore W. Triebel PLANNING BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: Chair Nicole Gooding-Ray and members Jay Bryan, Lynne Holtkamp, Barry Katz, Sam Lasris, Howard McAdams, Rachel Preston, Renee Price and Maria Tadd 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 Jacobs said that Commissioner Carey was at the Piedmont Health Services Board meeting, and Commissioner Brown was at an OPC Mental Health Board meeting. Chair Nicole Gooding-Ray of the Planning Board was also unable to attend. Vice-Chair Hunter Schofield was in attendance. B. PUBLIC CHARGE Chair Jacobs dispensed with the reading of the public charge. C. PUBLIC HEARING ITEMS 1. SCHOOLS ADEQUATE PUBLIC FACILITIES ORDINANCE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING Planning Director Craig Benedict made this presentation. He said that the purpose of this quarterly public hearing was to hear a report about the Schools Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (SAPFO) Memorandum of Understanding. This does not entail a change to the County's land development regulations at this time. The MOU is only the first step in the combined effort of all the jurisdictions and school systems to bring forth a land development regulation that would allow the synchronization of new development and the availability of seats within public schools. The changes that will be discussed tonight are the changes made within the past two years. The MOU has been distributed to all of the local governments and school districts. The Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro have approved the MOU. He made reference to page three of the agenda abstract and said that there have been no changes in the levels of service for the three school levels. There are four variables to be agreed upon by all parties prior to the adoption of the actual ordinance: Capital improvement plan, projected growth rate for student membership, methodology for projections, and student generation rate by housing type. The Certificate of Adequate Public Schools issuance was shifted in the revised MOU to a date after which the local government's preliminary development approvals. Each year the model will be updated on February 15`h with new variables based on actual current year school membership and capacity. The MOU was revised to include an "at least thirty years" provision for elderly and/or dormitory housing exemption. Any change of the use would require the project to be processed through the SAPFO system. If appeals are presented, the local government that has the development approval authority by State law will decide on adherence to the SAPFO. The next step is to bring the MOU back to the County Commissioners for review. If it were approved, the land development regulations would be brought to public hearing. Questions by Board of County Commissioners and Planning Board None Public Comment and Questions None In answer to a question from Chair Jacobs Craig Benedict said that staff has put together a flow chart of when the eventual ordinance could become operative. The ordinance could be in effect by February 15, 2003. In answer to a question from Chair Jacobs about the response from the Town of Hillsborough to the Memorandum of Understanding, Craig Benedict said that he does not have a date certain for when they will discuss the Memorandum of Understanding. Chair Jacobs clarified that the Memorandum of Understanding could be adopted by one school system and not the other and it would still work. Craig Benedict said that it is certainly best to have everyone support the Memorandum of Understanding, but it can work with only partial support. There are two separate agreements — Orange County, Orange County Schools, and Hillsborough; and Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools. Chair Jacobs raised a concern from the Orange County Schools who raised some questions about the projection methodologies. He wanted to be sure that the County Manager could speak with the superintendent to resolve these issues. John Link said that progress was made at the School Facilities task force meeting two weeks ago when they discussed that staff would come back with one proposed methodology that we could all agree to. Chair Jacobs mentioned that Carrboro was interested in having some representation on the Technical Advisory Committee. Commissioner Gordon said that the Schools and Land Use Council has made recommendations on the four elements that are yet to be determined. They will take all comments received from other governing boards and discuss these to try to address the concerns. She said that the representatives from Carrboro on the Schools and Land Use Council are very agreeable. A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis to refer this item to the Planning Board for a recommendation to be returned to the Board of County Commissioners no sooner than August 20, 2002. VOTE: UNANIMOUS D. ADJOURNMENT The Board adjourned this portion of the meeting by consensus. The information session followed and is stated below. INFORMATION SESSION 1. U.S.. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY (USGS) Environment and Resource Conservation Director David Stancil made this presentation. He said that there has been an eight-year process of evaluating the County's groundwater resources. Two studies have been developed about the groundwater resources. David Stancil gave a slide presentation summarizing the activities over the past eight years of the Water Resources Committee. He said that generally speaking, there is good groundwater quality in Orange County. Most of the concerns continue to be iron and manganese. Fifty-one wells were selected across the County and it was learned that there are some high radon readings, particularly in the south central area of the County. He showed a map of maximum groundwater yield and said that deeper wells do not necessarily yield more water. The Water Resources Committee findings of the 2001 study follow a lot of the USGS study work. The goal was to have the Water Resources Committee bring a report back to the Board of County Commissioners and have the Commission for the Environment take over and develop a report on implications on potential policy measures. He made reference to the list of findings in the agenda abstract. The committee's recommendations were as follows: 1) Conduct further research into water-borne radon results in south central Orange, to see if there is a health concern present. 2) Create an ongoing ground water monitoring program using wells to evaluate changes in yield and water quality changes over time in areas of the County that are seeing significant new development. 3) As the Commission for the Environment reviews groundwater and surface water resource management options, the Committee recommends that a "water budget" approach be studied for use as a means to tie together planning and use of these inextricably related components of our water resources. 4) Based on the groundwater yield in the 1996 USGS report, there are five watersheds in the County that may not be able to sustain the density of development that current zoning will permit. The committee recommends that potential changes to the zoning in these watersheds be revisited as part of the ongoing update to the Land Use Element of the Comprehensive Plan, and that sustainable groundwater yield be incorporated into the decision-making process for zoning. 5) The County should consider requiring that new subdivision lots locate a well site (as well as a septic/wastewater site) prior to subdivision approval. 6) Water conservation is not just for surface water. The use of lower-flow appliances and reductions in water use for private wells should also be pursued. The next step is to receive comments from the Board of County Commissioners to pass along to the Commission for the Environment and the Water Resources Committee. A report will be brought back in early 2003. The Planning Board should probably also be involved. Commissioner Halkiotis asked about the higher than normal radon levels in south central Orange County. David Stancil said that there are some newer large masses of granite in this area, which tends to give off more radon activity. Commissioner Halkiotis asked about the over pumping and the reasons for this. David Stancil said that there was more of a concern about the inadequacy of motors and the tendency to over pump. There was concern that the motors were not able to handle the capacity and that the result was some fractures of the well casing, which allows bacteria and other contaminants into the well. There may be some question as to whether there should be different standards for this type of equipment. Commissioner Halkiotis said that somebody in the well business would have to be certified by the State. He said that a pump does not overuse itself, it is overused by human beings. Someone is either cutting corners or doing something that is inappropriate. Ron Holdway said that it is important to have a pump that will handle the depth of the well and the flow of the well. He clarified that the well driller, in most cases, does not install the pump. Commissioner Gordon said that she hopes the County Commissioners will encourage the Water Resources Committee to continue this work. Chair Jacobs made reference to page 28 and the recommendations. He thinks there should be a lot more participation by other boards than just the Commission for the Environment. For recommendations one and two, he knows those would address concerns expressed by the Board of Health. He thinks the Board of Health should be as involved as the Commission for the Environment. Also, the staff of Environmental Health works with wells everyday and should be able to provide a fair amount of support. Ron Holdway made reference to the radon levels and said that they have provided both air and water check kits for anyone in the County for just over a year. As they researched the situation, they found that the water in itself is not the significant factor, it only contributes to the air load of radon. In looking at the results so far, from the air tests, they did not see anything really alarming. They have given out about 150 kits so far. The kits are free to citizens. Chair Jacobs made reference to page two and consideration for a comprehensive water budget approach. This came up at the Water Summit in that we do not have much information about the impact of large water supply wells and smaller wells on adjoining properties. He said that this would be an area of immediate concern. Also, recommendations three and four should involve the Planning Board. He thinks that the Commission for the Environment should be in consultation and collaboration with some boards who have dealt with similar issues within their purview. Finally, on recommendation five about site design in the future and minimum lot sizes, he said that Chatham County specifically went to larger lots because of these kinds of concerns. He thinks it would be useful to get this information from Chatham County instead of having to duplicate the thinking. Commissioner Gordon said that the Commission for the Environment would welcome cooperation from other boards. Vice-Chair of the Planning Board Hunter Schofield asked if the staff had been able to cross-reference well levels with weather data to see what well levels might look like in the future based upon rainfall and recharge rates. David Stancil said that the original recharge rate data is based on the USGS stream flow gauges. The Water Resources Committee has addressed this issue. Ted Triebel asked if there has been any tie in between septic fields and groundwater or surface water. David Stancil said that this is another piece of the water budget. With this new information, we can know more about how they interact with each other and if the separation is sufficient. The Board agreed to endorse the direction of the suggestions within the report from the Water Resources Committee and to encourage the Commission for the Environment to proceed. The Planning Board and the Board of Health will also be involved. Chair Jacobs would like the Planning Board to have an opportunity to review the report and make comments before there is a collaborative effort. 2. TELECOMMUNICATIONS TOWERS Craig Benedict gave an update on the progress of research into possible amendments to the current Zoning Ordinance text relating to telecommunications tower regulation. There is currently a six-month moratorium that was put into effect on March 6, 2002 for the purpose of evaluating the regulations and moving forward based on the market conditions. The issues and concerns for considerations are as follows: - Master telecommunications plan - Promote facilities on public and semi-public lands - Annual application submittal —applicants for towers can only apply one time per calendar year - Strong co-location promotion - Promotion of co-location on existing electric transmission towers - Class A, Class B Special Use Permit height thresholds - Increased review fees - Contracted service for technical review of tower applications - Ongoing annual County inspections program to verify that towers remain in compliance with zoning and building codes - Staff approval for stealth towers located on rooftops and special use approval for non-stealth towers located on rooftops Craig Benedict said that the staff is going to meet with the telecommunication industry to talk about some of the recommended changes. The moratorium ends in September and they would like to have some amendments to the existing regulations to present at the August 26, 2002 public hearing. Commissioner Halkiotis said that the private sector has never been interested in co- location and he finds it intriguing that it has taken this long. He said that the state and local agencies have been co-locating for a long time. He is glad to see that the private sector is changing. Chair Jacobs said that there is documentary evidence that the higher the tower, the more bird strikes. The trend to keep towers lower is a good direction. Chair Jacobs said that it sounds like if we have an annual application submittal in September, and the application date was January l'`, then we would be able to end the moratorium and still have several months to refine the regulations on telecommunication towers. He asked where the Planning Board fits into the process and Craig Benedict said that after they meet with the telecommunication tower industry, he anticipates these regulations going to the Planning Board at their August meeting. Hunter Schofield asked Craig Benedict if he has seen any of the other communities revisiting the regulations as an opportunity to limit some of the unsightly towers using the regulatory towers. Craig Benedict said yes and that the Master Telecommunications Plan is both an opportunity for local governments but also an opportunity for the industry to better serve its customers. Hunter Schofield asked if Craig Benedict had ever seen older unsightly towers taken down so that new towers can go up. Craig Benedict said yes and that there are some towers in this County in excess of 400 feet, which he does not feel, will come down in the short term. Commissioner Gordon said that remediation of unsightly towers should be put on the list of regulation issues and concerns for consideration. Craig Benedict asked if the Board was in favor of the staff sending a letter to see if there is any interest from the fire departments, community centers, etc. to see if they want to participate in the Master Telecommunications Plan. The Board agreed. Commissioner Halkiotis said that the letter should also be sent to both school systems. This item will be ready for public hearing on August 26, 2002. 3. AGRICULTURAL BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES Craig Benedict presented information on this item. This topic has been given to staff and it has been a team effort with Agricultural Extension, Economic Development, Planning, and Environment and Resource Conservation. The staff was asked to review the categories of the different uses of the agricultural businesses. The need for this review was brought forward with the consideration of the special use permit application for 'Reba and Roses'. The new categories include agricultural tourism, agricultural services, agricultural cooperatives, and agricultural industrial and agricultural subdivisions. He does not think that the new categories will be ready for the August 26`h public hearing, but they should be ready for the November public hearing. Commissioner Gordon made reference to page 55-56 and asked for an explanation of the table. Craig Benedict explained the use codes (AR, R1, RB). Commissioner Gordon said that in the old standards, there was some differentiation between the rural buffer and the agricultural residential and R1. She would like this to be kept in mind. Also, she said that this issue should be referred to as Agricultural Business and not Agri- Business, because Agri-Business has some different connotations. Chair Jacobs made some suggestions, which were recorded for follow up by Craig Benedict. He would like the Planning Board to also be a part of this process. He suggested soliciting some of the farm groups (Grange, Farm Bureau, Cowmens Association, the farmers markets, etc.) for their comments. Chair Jacobs said that he has no problem with thinking about the rural buffer, but he is not ready to say that it should be treated any differently than any other area as far as agricultural opportunities. Commissioner Gordon said that we should define what our intent is regarding the survey of the property. ADDED ITEM 4. WINMORE DEVELOPMENT Craig Benedict said that the Winmore development is a proposal in the Town of Carrboro within the northwest transition area. An application will involve County approval for any rezonings. The proposal is a 66-acre, 213-unit project of single-family town homes with work units and apartments. The proposal is under review with Carrboro at this time. The material has been given to the Board of County Commissioners for their information at this point. There are some changes to the Village Mixed Use ordinance, which would assist in the promotion of the project as submitted by the developer. Staff is in the process of providing comments to Carrboro. Any comments from the neighborhood would come to Orange County so we can be informed. In answer to a question from Commissioner Gordon, Craig Benedict said that a formal joint public hearing would be required for the changes to the Village Mixed Use ordinance, which would be at the earliest in October, 2002. Craig Benedict said that the staff is suggesting that, when the application is submitted, Orange County gets a copy of the application and it is forwarded to the Board of County Commissioners. The reason it is coming to Orange County is that Carrboro is changing the zoning map. Chair Jacobs suggested having this as a report on the June 4`h agenda. It might be helpful if the report summarized the Board's role, the process, the status of the development, impacts of the development, the next steps, etc. so that the Board can discuss it intelligently. ADJOURNMENT With no further items for the County Commissioners to consider, a motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to adjourn the meeting at 9:50 p.m. VOTE: UNANIMOUS The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 30, 2002 at 7:30 p.m. at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Barry Jacobs, Chair Beverly A. Blythe, CMC