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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 20040322APPROVED 5/4/2004 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS HILLSBOROUGH BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS JOINT MEETING March 22, 2004 7:30 p.m. The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a Joint Meeting with the Town of Hillsborough Commissioners on Monday, March 22, 2004 at 7:30p.m. at the Town Barn in Hillsborough, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Barry Jacobs and Commissioners Moses Carey and Stephen Halkiotis COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Commissioner Alice Gordan and Commissioner Margaret Brawn TOWN OF HILLSBOROUGH COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Mayor Joe Phelps and Commissioners Eric Hallman, Michael Gering, Brian Lowen, Frances Dancy, and Evelyn Lloyd TOWN OF HILLSBOROUGH STAFF PRESENT: Town Manager Eric Petersen COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: Geof Gledhill and Sean Borhanian COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John M. Link, Jr. and Assistant County Managers Rod Visser and Gwen Harvey and Clerk to the Board Donna S. Baker (All other staff will be identified below). NOTE: ALL DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THESE MINUTES ARE IN THE PERMANENT AGENDA FILE IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE. Mayor Joe Phelps called the meeting to order. 1. Recreation Facilities in Waterstone and at Gold Park (Hillsborough) Mayor Phelps said that the Town of Hillsborough's Planning Director Margaret Hauth will address this item because the Town has looked at Waterstone and the prospect of owning recreational facilities. Margaret Hauth said that the Board of County Commissioners had said years ago that if the Town Board provided space for recreational activities, then the County would provide recreation programming in that space. She wanted to see if the offer was still on the table. Chair Jacobs said that he gives regrets from Commissioner Gordon, who had a conflict and Commissioner Brown, who had a car breakdown this evening. He also thanked the Town far hosting this meeting and for putting more items on the agenda than the County this time. Chair Jacobs said that they do not have staff analysis on a lot of the items on the agenda tonight, so they will take these as requests, which will be referred to County staff for more information. Commissioner Halkiotis asked Margaret Hauth to explain what type of facilities they were looking for. Margaret Hauth said that they are predominantly looking at fields. There has been a commitment for active fields in Waterstone -both by the developer and in later phases by the Town. She said that a number of years ago she remembers hearing that there was a need for play space and that the County had adequate teams and the ability to generate teams to fill facilities with team play. Mayor Phelps said that their Parks and Recreation Board has started their planning to see what could be put at the park. Margaret Hauth said that there is positive movement from the rail line to get true access to the park under the rail overpass by the river. Mayor Phelps said that they have proceeded further in talking about Gold Park. Regarding Waterstone, the developers will design and develop part of the park and the Town will do the rest at a later date. Commissioner Carey said that he remembers the general comment made by the Board, but he thought it was in the context of Fairview. He thinks this comment was made about ten years ago and a lot of things have changed. He would like to work together with the Town to coordinate some facilities. Commissioner Gering said that it is expensive for their staff to administer and organize facilities Chair Jacobs said that the Board has come up with some guidelines for working with public entities an soccer fields. He asked about the soccer field and if it is just a placeholder until they decide what fits best. Margaret Hauth said that the commitment by the developer was for a children's playground and one soccer field with a dollar figure cap. Town Manager Eric Peterson said that the developers agreed to do the planning and design for the entire 10 acres and pay for that, and then pay far the construction of half of it, which is a soccer field and a children's playground, and then part of the design and planning process would be to determine what would go on the other half. Chair Jacobs said that he agrees with Commissioner Carey. The County is sharing a soccer field with Carrboro and there is joint use. John Link said that they would be glad to share with the Town the agreement they have with Carrboro. He said that we should keep in mind that whatever is done together, it is for a public purpose. 2. Churton Grove Build-out Schedule (Hillsborough) Mayor Phelps thanked the County for the summary from Planning. He said that every year at their budget process, they go through a struggle with their water rates. They want to address this by getting more customers, and with the Churton Grove item, he wanted to bring this up. The reason it was phased in was the Town's limited water capacity when Churton Grove was approved but now they have plenty of water to provide to Churton Grove. They are committed to Churton Grove and they cannot give it to anyone else, no matter how long it takes Churton Grove to build out. Chair Jacobs asked Geof Gledhill if Hillsborough were to annex Churtan Grave if it would take over the special use permit. Geof Gledhill said that he did not knave. He thinks the special use permit survives the annexation. He knows that presently the special use permit contains the phasing plan. In order for that to be changed, the owners and developers of the property would have to make an application to the County for an amendment to the special use permit. They know that because they asked the same question about a year and a half ago. He suspects that is why this has not happened because they also know that once they make the application to change the special use permit, it opens the door to other possible changes to the special use permit. Chair Jacobs asked because he has spoken to the developer and citizens have called him. He said that the developer would rather complain than to apply and change the special use permit. The phasing was to space out the impact (traffic, schools, etc.). Geof Gledhill said that he would be glad to talk with Bob Hornick and give both boards the answer to the annexation question. Commissioner Halkiotis said to ask staff to present at one of the next meetings some information on the resolution of various controversies going on in Churton Grove from the perspective of homeowners. He said that the developers were supposedly not living up to their promises. 3. Status ReportlUpdate on Waterstone Development (Hillsborough & Orange County) Margaret Hauth said that an March 8th the Town took four actions to bring the Waterstone development into the Town of Hillsborough. They adopted a water and sewer extension agreement, annexed the property, zoned it to Entranceway Special Use, and then adopted a master plan. The developer still does not have the authority to build there, but the master plan carries some conditions in terms of maximum intensities, types of land uses, phasing, and capital contributions. There are 22 special use permits. Margaret Hauth said that a map of the project is available on their website. Chair Jacobs asked about public water and sewer on page 3 and if there is a timeframe. Margaret Hauth said that they must start within 24 months. Eric Peterson said that water capacity is reserved up to 350,000 gallons for ten years. Mayor Phelps said that they intended to use water within two years. In answer to a question about the meaning of "start", Town Engineer Kenny Keel said that start means to break ground and put pipe in the ground. Margaret Hauth said that this issue is covered in the water and sewer extension agreement. Chair Jacobs said that the master plan shows a road connecting Old 86 and new 86. He verified with Margaret Hauth that this would not happen in the first phase. Chair Jacobs asked about the timing of the first phase. Margaret Hauth said that there are no completion dates, only start dates. The first phase is the east/west connector road, but only as far as it intersects the loop road. Chair Jacobs asked when the road is supposed to be extended all the way through. Commissioner Lowen said that it is Phase two. Margaret Hauth said that there is no requirement that a phase must be completed before another one is started. John Link said that he would like to confirm that there are 20 acres for the community college site in the master plan. Margaret Hauth said yes and with a timeframe within which it could become another use. A community college is the primary use at this time. Commissioner Carey asked if this was in phase one and Margaret Hauth said yes. Commissioner Hallman asked about an update from the County an the possible community college. Chair Jacobs said that they have narrowed down the sites. It needs to be under construction by the fall of 2006. Commissioner Halkiotis asked about the water tank contributions for fire and police and if there are other contributions. Eric Peterson said that there is $500,000 for the water tank, $600,000 for fire capital (truck or substation), $105,000 for police, dedication of a linear park for walkways, a 3.6-acre civic parcel, recreation, and the affordable housing component. The developer is also contributing $5,000 per affordable housing unit, for a total of $120,000 to help bring the price down. Chair Jacobs asked about a buffer along Beckett's Ridge and Margaret Hauth said it is 50 feet. Chair Jacobs asked about Cates Creek and a greenway. Margaret Hauth said that along the northern part of the single-family area, there will be a constructed greenway with appropriately placed benches, which will be dedicated to the Tawn. Chair Jacobs asked if there were any assurances that the developer would do a site survey to identify natural features. Margaret Hauth said there is a known old road bed, which will be surveyed and mapped so that it can be overlaid on the plan. Commissioner Carey asked about the affordable housing component and where they would be located. Margaret Hauth said that they are located in the townhouse sections and hopefully they will be designed and permitted together. Commissioner Carey asked about projected costs and Margaret Hauth said that they will be affordable to 80°l0 of the median income. They will be permanently affordable. 4. Orange County Comprehensive Plan & Hillsborough Assistance (Orange County Planning & Hillsborough) Craig Benedict said that Orange County is in the process of updating a master land use plan that was started in 1981. The master land use plan is a way to look at all of the densities of properties and the use of properties throughout Orange County's planning jurisdiction. They have done demographic research from the 2000 Census. They are now in the process of doing outreach and will be having seven township meetings, which will be interactive. Tomorrow night is the first township meeting. The purpose of these outreach meetings is to get perspective from residents and to offer ideas. They will be wrapping up the outreach on April 2$~" in the Battle Courtroom for Hillsborough. The meetings are informal and are not part of the public hearing process. They realize that same of the most important planning areas are within the County and the Town and the fringe areas. They would like to work with Hillsborough to plan the fringe areas. He said that item 5 is how the County and the Town can plan for this urbanlsuburban/rural fringe and how to make sure there is no sprawl. 6. Potential Joint Task Force far Coordinated Land Use Plannina (Hillsborough) Commissioner Gering said that concern has come up from time to time about the need to coordinate land use planning with the County. Now that the County has a comprehensive land use plan change, it seemed like a good time to have a more constructive dialogue and work together far mutual benefits. Chair Jacobs asked Craig Benedict to work with Margaret Hauth on a proposal for haw to take the comprehensive land use plan update and segue it into working together. Chair Jacobs said that the time frame to update the land use plan is this calendar year. Craig Benedict said that this is a doable process and they have already done an analysis on water and sewer boundaries, transition areas, developed versus undeveloped, etc. Mayor Phelps asked Craig Benedict about the public meetings and if he has developed a plan for the Hillsborough area. He asked if there were some things in draft form for their area that they need to be aware of. He asked if there was a goal date set to implement this. Craig Benedict said that they will try informal township meetings and on the back of the sheet is the more formal process timeline. He said that one primary thing is to have a sharp demarcation of where an urban area lies and where a rural area lies. He said that he would be available to meet with their board to talk about this plan. He said that this plan only handles the planning jurisdiction of Orange County, but it would handle the perimeter where there would be water and sewer services offered. Chair Jacobs said that they are not going out with maps yet. This is only a concept and discussion. He thinks it is great that they can plan together. Margaret Hauth said that the two boards have worked together with short term task forces before and maybe they could activate one again. 6. Future Plans for Former Orange Enterprises/Current Alternative School Site (Hillsborough and Orange County) Mayor Phelps said that this item was about the future plans for the Tryon Street site Commissioner Gering said that he remembers when there was a garage there and a tree fell through it and the County deconstructed it. He said that after that, the County had a temporary structure for the library and they told the neighbors that this was only temporary and now it is a temporary site for the alternative school. The neighbors are apprehensive about this continued use of this parcel for a temporary site with mobile trailers. He asked about the plans the County has far a permanent site for the alternative school. John Link said that the lease has a time limit and the Board of County Commissioners are addressing County space needs and that is a small parcel and some of the County's needs will outpace the timeframe that the parcel would be usable. He thinks that the parcel will be vacant after the mobile unit is gone. Commissioner Gering said that it would be a goad gesture to the neighbors to have some assurances that something good will be coming to this parcel. Chair Jacobs said to make it an outdoor sculpture park until they find another use. He said that the Board has been concerned about the neighbors during the entire process. Commissioner Hallman requested that they have same assurances that the planning process to find a permanent site for the school is ongoing. Commissioner Halkiotis said that the school system will be required to leave within two years. He said that it was stated very clearly and that it was captured on tape at a meeting where they made a commitment. The Superintendent said very clearly that in two years they would find a permanent home. Commissioner Lowen said that they made the same commitment at the Board of Adjustment meeting. Commissioner Halkiotis made reference to the original site and said that he felt that the building that was there was an eyesore and that this affords an opportunity to set up a small group to look at traffic and parking within the core area of Hillsborough. He said that people have asked him why there is not a trolley service to run from one end of the town to the other and to look at resolution of the traffic problems. He said that this is a good opportunity for the Town and the County to work together to alleviate the traffic issues. Chair Jacobs said that some people from Walkable Hillsborough have talked with TTA about getting County employees to their jobs without them having to drive. 7. Information Kiosk at Old Courthouse (Hillsborough) Mayor Phelps said that there is a group of downtown merchants that brought this up. Commissioner Hallman said that the Downtown Merchants Association wrote a letter (in packet) requesting that the two boards consider a downtown kiosk. The intent was to have a central place for information. It seemed that one of the best sites would be on County land. They would look to the Caunty to provide land and some possible funding assistance. Commissioner Halkiotis asked what it would look like. Dave Goodling said that it would be like a wooden painted structure and there would be different facets on it. There would be a directory and a map for downtown merchants and a calendar of events. Commissioner Carey asked about the size and David Goodling said not more than 6 feet tall and several feet wide at each facet. Mayor Phelps asked Margaret Hauth to address zoning concerns. Margaret Hauth said that the ordinance as it is written now does not allow this unless it is erected on behalf of the government. Chair Jacobs said that in one of the subgroups they had talked about erecting a sign to direct the public to other County facilities. This would be a goad place to do that. Commissioner Halkiotis said that they have been talking about that for four years. Chair Jacobs asked that the Town give the County a conceptual design to look at and the options. Commissioner Hallman said that they have not discussed this as a board yet. Jahn Link said that they also need to know which groups would be responsible far keeping information correct and updated. Commissioner Halkiotis painted out that a couple of meetings ago he asked the Manager to look at their own infrastructure needs that surround County buildings. For example, the sidewalk along the old courthouse is starting to disintegrate and the curbing is falling apart in front of the new courthouse. Chair Jacobs made reference to the Justice Facilities Exterior and Interior task forces. This might fit well into that process. Commissioner Halkiotis asked who was an the task forces and it was answered Commissioners Lloyd and Hallman. Commissioner Lloyd said that as a member of the clack committee, she wanted to thank John Link far all of his help in getting the clock restored. 8. Uadates and Potential Discussion Tonics -Town of Hillsborouah a. New Water Restriction Ordinance (Hillsborough) Kenny Keel said that about a year ago they started looking at the current restrictions and taking into account the new reservoir that the Tawn built. The Water and Sewer Advisory Committee discussed the Water Restriction Ordinance at length and came up with the current submittal. The committee is interested in trying to implement some changes to the restrictions prior to this year's dry season. County Engineer Paul Thames said that they have received this information and it went into a larger report dealing with the inter-relationship between the Water Conservation Drought Ordinance and the Eno River Capacity Use Agreement. It has been forwarded to the Board and the staff has commented on it. There is a drive to make sure that the water ordinances mesh because half of the customers are under the County's jurisdiction and half are under the Town's. This creates some confusion when there is even a small difference in the requirements. Mayor Phelps said that the prediction is that even if they are dry this summer they will have plenty of water. Kenny Keel said that considering the level of water usage now and the fact that there is a full reservoir, he does not think they will have to ga into restrictions this year. Commissioner Halkiotis asked about gallons per day usage and Kenny Keel said 1.3 million gallons a day. They can treat and deliver 3 million gallons per day. Commissioner Gering said that even with the west fork of the Eno being full, the water restriction ordinances far the County are based only on the level of water in this fork. He said that there might be an artificial restriction. Chair Jacobs said that in Paul Thame's memo there is mention about the unfairness. They run Lake Orange down so that it is almost dry. In some ways that is fair to Hillsborough, and then Hillsborough maintains the levels in Lake Orange and therefore Orange-Alamance has the opportunity to not be in restriction for a longer period of time. On the other hand, the people who live out at Lake Orange need assurance that there is going to be a minimum amount of water there. They need to comb through to see how this all will work. Commissioner Halkiotis said that he asked about gallons per day far a reason. He said that when he came to graduate school back in 1967 at Chapel Hill, this is what the water usage use was back then. Now OWASA is putting out 13 million gallons a day. He said that he got scared last summer when he heard about Guilford County making plans to start moving people from nursing homes because the water was not there. He hopes that we continue to conserve water. b. Fairview ParklProposed TawnlCounty Land Swap (Hillsborough & Orange County ERCD) Chair Jacobs said that they met on Friday about this park and they have a draft plan. The Mayor, Commissioner Lowen, and Chair Jacobs were there as well as staff and they talked about how to swap land for the Town to have their own Public Works facility and to use non- landfilled property for active recreation purposes. They are trying to balance a commitment to provide facilities to the Fairview community and for the larger Hillsborough community, realizing that there are some severe site constraints. They have talked about phasing with this park. He pointed out some areas of the park on a map. Mayor Phelps said that he thought it was a productive meeting and everyone is on the same page. He has a few concerns and he would like for the Town Board to talk about it before they proceed anymore. One of the concerns is that they would not want to have their Public Works facility divided by a road. If it works out, they might not have to do an acre for acre swap. Dometric Potts said that he got this map today and that he and Wilbert McAdoo would get together and discuss the current configuration. Dave Stancil said that this map was created out of a charette the staff had. The map is just a first cut at things. Commissioner Gering asked if surveys of the community have been completed about the kinds of recreational uses they would like to have. Dave Stancil said that in October of last year there was a draft memorandum of agreement between the Town and the County that would spell out the process for proceeding with the park. This would be the mechanism for setting up the process. Margaret Hauth said that after the School of Public Health had their meetings an Revere Raad, Commissioner Sheridan asked staff to devise a simple survey that was distributed by the community authority and police officers in the Fairview community and collected back by them. She still has the results of the survey. Chair Jacobs said that Commissioner Lowen made suggestions about the uses that fit the results of the survey. Commissioner Lowen said that the shape of the property limits the usage because of the configurations of the landfill. Commissioner Gering asked about the schedule far the band money and John Link said that the County has 7 years to use the funds. Once the plans are agreed upon by both boards, the bond money will be in place. Chair Jacobs said that the importance of having pedestrian and vehicular access is high. Commissioner Halkiotis asked if there was a way to piggyback the Public Works facilities and if anyone was interested in doing this. Eric Peterson said that he and John Link had talked about shared facilities or joint designs and they are happy to discuss this. Commissioner Halkiotis said that they have seen what it takes to get people to co-locate and it is a challenge. He said that if there is an opportunity for sharing, then we need to look at it. Commissioner Lowen said that it was his understanding that some of this property going to Orange County will be used for expanding the Public Works facility for Orange County. John Link said yes. He said that in order to speak to this issue, they need to look at what Hillsborough's functions would be in their new facility and the capacity of the County's present facility. c. Riverwalk Project (Hillsborough) Margaret Hauth said that the Riverwalk is a planned greenway from the County courthouse west to the Occaneechi State Natural Area following the river. They have received and adapted a trail grant for $5,000 to build a portion of the trail that would be on the Gold Park parcel. They are expecting word from the railroad that they will allow construction of the facility under the railroad trestle at the river to allow people to walk under the trestle as it crosses the river. They also have a land and water conservation grant due at the end of this month far the western portion of the project. Commissioner Halkiotis said that he was worried about Eric Peterson's memo about the Indian village being possibly moved. Commissioner Hallman said that that was an article in the paper. He talked with John Jeffries, who corrected this perception. Chair Jacobs asked what the Riverwalk would look like. Margaret Hauth said that it would probably be a paved path and the width has not been determined. It will probably be six to eight feet wide. 9. Updates and Potential Discussion Topics -Orange County a. Outdoor Advertising Billboards on Interstates (Orange County Planning & Hillsborough) Chair Jacobs said that this is part of their package to the legislative delegation. This came up because the I-40 billboard ban had expired and someone asked what happened with Hillsborough's standards because they were not the same as Orange County's standards. Margaret Hauth said that she could not speak to whether the two ordinances agree, but their ordinance prohibits off-premise signs. Their ordinance does not speak to I-40, but along I-85 there is a 100-foot buffer where signs cannot be placed. There can be a text amendment to add I-40 to this. She said that the off-premise sign prohibition puts an end to any sort of billboard. b. Transportation Improvements (Orange County and Hillsborough) Chair Jacobs said that Commissioner Gordon raised this issue that Hillsborough's highest priority was not the same that the MPO had determined. Craig Benedict said that both boards have submitted their priorities for this and the information was pulled together through the MPO -attachment 6. South Churton Street congestion management ranked high locally and regionally. The staffs will keep the boards informed about these projects. He pointed out the rankings on the attachment. Chair Jacobs said that one of the higher priorities in Caswell County is to make Hwy $6 four lanes to I- 40. He said that they might be supportive of some kind of bypass through Hillsborough. Commissioner Halkiotis said that he, Evelyn Lloyd, Mark Sheridan, and Chair Jacobs did good work on the Orange Grove Road work group. He said that this had a strong impact on Doug Galyon from NCDOT because it showed a united front. He encouraged future collaboration on transportation issues. They are still working on getting the pedestrian and bike lanes on the bridge next to Cedar Ridge High School. Mayor Phelps asked about the US 70 upgrade. Craig Benedict said that the joint task force was created and it is a primary criteria for funding a project through NCDOT. The County and projects within Hillsborough received over $2 million worth of roadway improvements because of the task force study about access management. One of the projects was shoulder widening on US 70 Bypass. Commissioner Lawen asked if the State provided any examples about their improvements. Craig Benedict said that they can work with Chuck Edwards with DOT to ask him for updates on construction. There will be a left turn lane at NC 86 and Old NC 10. Chair Jacobs said that there will be a right turn lane at Oakdale turning south on Old 86 at the Credit Union. The State will pay for most if not all of this. Commissioner Hallman said that he saw an article saying that NCDOT was postponing projects and consolidating projects into larger projects. Mayor Phelps said that at US 70 Business and NC 86 intersection at Elizabeth Brady Road, the Town asked for a study about a stoplight. They gat a letter and he understands that a stoplight will be put in here. Mayor Phelps said that they have had questions about the status of the request from the State Employees' Credit Union. Craig Benedict said that the process was approved by the Board of County Commissioners for both the special use permit and the rezoning. They will be expanding the drive-through lanes and parking. Commissioner Lowen said that the Planning Department came before the Board of Adjustment far the expansion of the Planning Department building. He asked about the status of this. Craig Benedict said that the project was proposed before the State budget cuts. It is an hold far now and they will try and address it in different ways. Margaret Hauth said that it expires in 10 days. 10. Other Business Commissioner Lowen said that there is a property in Hillsborough's ETJ property next to Lowe's - the Corbin property, which is full of junk. He said that this is in horrible shape and he has received calls about it. This is not in their jurisdiction and it is becoming more recognizable because of the addition of the turn lane. He requested that the County do something about this as soon as possible. Craig Benedict said that he would work with the County Attorney to find out about the violations. Geof Gledhill said that Orange County does not have afree-standing junk vehicle ordinance. The zoning ordinance does not go into the ETJ, so it is no one's land regulatory area. Commissioner Halkiotis said that the steak house burned about three months ago and the mess has stayed there. He asked whose jurisdiction this was in. It was answered that it is in the Town's jurisdiction. Margaret Hauth said that she received the condemnation notice today from the Building Inspector. Commissioner Halkiotis said that there is a junk trailer parked there with an automobile on it that is covered with canvas. There was also sheet metal flying across the road with the wind. This is a safety issue. Commissioner Lowen said that he would like to address the situation behind Lowe's as soon as possible. Chair Jacobs said to put this on the proposed joint task force far coordinated land use planning. Geof Gledhill said that it could be done by incorporating the kinds of nuisance and junk vehicles in the zoning regulations because Hillsborough's zoning regulations do apply in the ETJ. Commissioner Halkiotis thanked the Hillsborough Tawn Board for hosting this meeting. Chair Jacobs asked that the Board of County Commissioners adjourn this meeting until 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, March 30t" at the Government Services Center. A motion was made by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis to adjourn this meeting until 11:QOam on Tuesday, March 3Qt" at the Government Services Center. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Barry Jacobs, Chair Donna S. Baker Clerk to the Board