HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 05-01-1996 - VIII-E 1
ORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Action Agenda
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ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Item No =
Meeting Date: May 1, 1996
SUBJECT: Establishment of Required Landfill Public Hearing Date
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DEPARTMENT County Manager PUBLIC HEARING YES NO X
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ATTACHMENT(S) INFORMATION CONTACT
4/15/96 Managers ' Memo County Manager, ext 2300
4/15/96 Attorneys ' Memo TELEPHONE NUMBER o
Hillsborough 732-8181
Chapel Hill 968-4501
Mebane 227-2031
Durham 688-7331
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PURPOSE: To consider establishing a date for the conduct of a
statutorily required public hearing on the potential siting of a new
landfill in Orange County.
BACKGROUND: The attached memo from the County and Town attorneys
outlines a number of procedural requirements pertaining to the siting
of new landfills. Among these is the requirement for several public
hearings . The attorneys have recommended that all four governing
boards conduct a joint public hearing on the potential siting of a
landfill for sometime this Spring.
At the joint solid waste forum held on April 18 at Chapel Hill Town
Hall, several dates were suggested as possibilities for required public
hearings, but no agreement on a specific date was reached. The Manager
suggests that the Board of Commissioners consider Wednesday, June 19,
1996, as a possible date for a required public hearing.
RECOMMENDATION: As the Board decides .
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MEMORANDUM
TO: Carrboro Board of Aldermen
Chapel Hill Town Council
Hillsborough Board of Commissioners
Orange County Board of Commissioners
FROM: W. Calvin •Horton, Chapel Hill Town Manager
John Link, Orange County Manager
Robert Morgan, Carrboro Town Manager
Eric Swanson, Hillsborough Town Manager
SUBJECT: Procedures for Selection and Approval of the Siting of
the next Orange County Landfill
DATE: April 15, 1996
The attorneys for the four local governments involved in the
selection of the landfill have prepared the attached memorandum at
our request . The memorandum explains various further legal steps
which are necessary for the siting of a landfill and provides an
estimate of the time required for• these steps.
We hope this information is of assistance as the local governmental
elected officials continue to consider the selection of a site for
a landfill .
Part of the attorneys' recommendation is for a joint public hearing
this spring to comply with a requirement in state law. We
recommend that when the Boards gather on April 18 for the joint
public forum they attempt to identify a date for such a hearing.
We recommend the hearing be held on one of the following possible
dates : June 13, 1996 (Thursday) ; or, June 19, 1996 (Wednesday) -
Scheduling this hearing on one of these dates would allow the
governing boards, if they deem it appropriate, to consider voting
to select and approve a site this spring.
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MEMORANDUM
TO: W. Calvin Horton, Chapel Hill Town Manager
John Link, Orange County Manager
Robert Morgan, Carrboro Town Manager
Eric Swanson, Hillsborough Town Manager
FROM: Ralph D. Karpinos, Chapel Hill Town Attorney
Geoffrey Gledhill, Orange County Attorney
Michael B. Brough, Carrboro/Hillsborough Town Attorney
SUBJECT: Procedures for Selection and Approval of the Siting of
the next Orange County Landfill
DATE: April 15, 1996
This memorandum responds to your request for information outlining
the remaining steps necessary for a final decision on the
selection, approval, acquisition and permitting of a site for a
new landfill for Orange County and its municipalities and providing
an estimate as to the time period which might be required to
complete those steps.
Background
Local governments involved in the selection of the next landfill
for Orange County have made, or are considering, legislative/policy
decisions supporting the selection of OC-17 as the next site for a
landfill in Orange County:
Subject to the specific provisions contained in the
resolutions adopted, three of the four local governments (the
Orange County Board of Commissioners, Chapel Hill Town
Council, and the Hillsborough Town Board of Commissioners)
voted on February 12 to support the location of the next
landfill on OC-17 .
The Carrboro Board of Aldermen, on February 13 , deferred the
matter pending consideration of questions raised by Board
members.
While these legislative/policy decisions have been made or are
being considered, they are only a preliminary step and do not
constitute final decisions .
Discussion
I . Summary.
Before a final decision is made on the selection and approval
of a landfill site, and OC-17 in particular, state statutes and
administrative regulations require that the governments involved
consider certain factors and follow specific additional procedures,
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including the conduct of additional hearings and meetings . It is
the purpose of this memorandum to explain these additional steps,
recommend a process for completing those steps and provide an
estimate of the time needed, for each step, where possible.
II. Additional Procedural Steps Required.
A. Statutory public hearing.
North Carolina General Statute Sections 160A-325 (applicable
to municipalities) and 153A-136 (c) (applicable to counties) contain
specific requirements for public hearings before any final decision
is considered which would result in OC-17 being selected for a
landfill .
Specifically, these statutory provisions require that a
governing board must :
a) "consider alternative sites and socioeconomic and
demographic data" ; and,
b) "hold a public hearing" before it
c) selects or approves "a site for a new sanitary landfill'
that receives residential solid waste that is located within
one mile of an existing sanitary landfill within the State. "
OC-17 is within one mile of the existing Orange Regional
Landfill and these requirements therefore apply.
B. Regulatory public meeting.
North Carolina Administrative Code (NCAC) Section T15A-C13-
S13b. 1618 (c) (5) (A) imposes additional procedural requirements on
the local government where the landfill is to be located. In the
case of Site OC-17 as well as the other final candidate sites,
Orange County is that government . The County is required by the
regulations to approve the site either by a resolution or vote on
a motion. Before approving the site, the County is required to
hold at least one public meeting upon 30 days public notice.
Information submitted at the public meeting must be submitted
as a part of the permit application submitted to the State. The
meeting and approval action required by the Administrative Code
must be completed prior to the submittal of an application to the
State for a landfill permit .
The requirement in the Administrative Code for this approval
is based on provisions in General Statute Sec. 130A-294 . In part,
the statute indicates that the approval may be in the nature of a
franchise (Sec. 130A-294 (bl) (3) ) , which would require two votes by
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the County Commissioners under G.S. Sec. 153A-46 .
C. Local zoning approval/hearings.
The NCAC includes a requirement that the permit application
submitted to the State include a letter from the unit of local
government with zoning jurisdiction (in the case of OC-17, Orange
County) stating that the proposal meets all the requirements of the
local zoning ordinance . (This requirement in the Administrative
Code for the letter regarding compliance with local zoning is based
on provisions in General Statute Sec. 130A-294 (bl) (4) . )
In the case of a publicly owned landfill, there is some
question regarding what is necessary to comply with local zoning
requirements . N.C.G.S . Sec. 153A-347 provides that the County' s
zoning regulations are applicable to the construction of buildings
of a political subdivision. Thus, whether County zoning approval
(possibly a special use permit along with its required hearing
procedures) is needed for the proposed landfill would depend on
what is being proposed for the new site (i .e. , a landfill only or
associated buildings) . An additional factor could be whether the
legal entity or entities which will be applying for the state
permit fit the definition of "political subdivision" . Based on the
law as currently written, no zoning regulations would restrict the
siting of the landfill at OC-17, if the buildings are sited
elsewhere and any of the current local governments or a combination
thereof are the owners and applicants for the state permit .
III . Recommended Process for Further Consideration of OC-17
Based on the required procedures outlined above, we recommend
the following as next steps:
A. Socioeconomic and demographic data hearing.
In order to comply with the requirements pertaining to public
hearings and consideration of socioeconomic and demographic data,
we recommend the four governing boards (with a quorum from each
present) conduct a joint public hearing if OC-17 is to be
considered as a possible site. Socioeconomic and demographic data
on the four final candidate sites should be submitted. Information
on site OC-17 and other alternative sites should be presented.
Socioeconomic and demographic data should include data prepared and
presented by the governing boards' staffs . Further consideration
of OC-17, including possible final approval, should occur after
this joint hearing.
Each governing board should consider the information presented
at the public hearing and consider further the selection of a site
for a landfill at a follow-up separate meeting of that board.
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We recommend that this hearing be scheduled this spring and
propose that the elected boards be asked to attempt to reach a
tentative consensus on scheduling this hearing when they gather for
the joint public forum on April 18 . The date of the hearing would
need to be confirmed by each board at a regular meeting of that
Board.
We believe that at this hearing the property owners whose
property is part of the site identified for possible acquisition as
site OC-17 should be allowed to make whatever presentation they
wish to make and be given a reasonable opportunity to present
information and place information before the governing boards for
their consideration. Owners of property in the area surrounding
the property under consideration for acquisition should be given a
similar opportunity.
B. North Carolina Administrative Code hearing.
In addition to selecting a site for a landfill (after
complying with the hearing requirement described above) the County
Commissioners, as the "host" jurisdiction for the site are required
to approve the site following the procedures required by the North
Carolina Administrative Code. The Code requires, before the County
considers whether to approve Site OC-17 or any other site within
the County' s jurisdiction, an additional public meeting.
The State Administrative Code contains specific requirements
for how this public meeting is to be advertised and how the record
of the meeting is to be made. This meeting should be separate from
the joint public hearing described above and will afford another
opportunity for public input from property owners and surrounding
neighbors as well as other interested citizens prior to a County
decision being made.
Information regarding this hearing is required to be submitted
to the State as part of the application for a State permit .
C. Zoning approval .
In addition to approving and selecting a site for a landfill,
the governing board with zoning jurisdiction (in the case of all
final candidate sites this is Orange County) must provide a letter
to be submitted with the State application stating that the
proposal meets all requirements of the local zoning ordinance.
We anticipate that an application to the State for a landfill
permit will not be ready to file before 1998 or 1999 . Prior to the
application being prepared for filing, design plans for the
proposed landfill will need to progress to a stage sufficient to
allow -there to be a determination as to what, if any, County zoning
regulations need to be followed so that the requisite permits can
be issued, thereby allowing the County to submit the letter
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required by the State regulations.
The County' s Development Ordinance requires that the property
being considered for a zoning permit be owned by the party
submitting the application for development approval by the County
or that the applicant have the legal authority of the owner to make
the application, in which case the owner must join in the
application to indicate its consent to the application. Thus,
before this step can be taken the County or Town (s) , alone or in
combination, must establish a sufficient legal interest in the
property to submit an application for the development permit . A
, legally sufficient interest would include acquisition of the site
through purchase or, if necessary, the vesting of title following
the initiation of an eminent domain proceeding in Court . Consent
of the owner to the application would also be an option.
Whatever is determined to be required in the way of zoning
applications, processing and approvals from the County is, thus, a
step that should come after governing boards consider the selection
of a site under the statutory and regulatory requirements discussed
above. Opportunities for public input in this development approval
proceeding, if one is determined to be necessary, should be
available consistent with the provisions of the County' s
Development Ordinance."
IV. Other remaining steps.
A number of other major steps, in addition -to those necessary
to complete the local selection and approval of a site for a
landfill, will need to be completed in order to complete this
process . These include:
a) decidincr on the organization of the agency to own
and/or operate the landfill, or identifying an existing
agency to assume these responsibilities;
b) creating any organization determined to be needed;
c) selecting a financing tool to fund any initial
acquisition and, later, development costs;
d) implementing the financing tools selected to
establish the funds needed for initial acquisition;
e) purchasing the property, which may include acquiring
tracts by exercise of the power of eminent domain;
f) applyincr for a permit from the State, including
submittal of all necessary permit application materials;
g) receiving a permit from the State; and,
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h) biddincr, contractincr for and constructincr initial
cells for disposal of solid waste.
Any of these steps could face delays due to unanticipated
problems or legal challenges. The attached timetable has been
prepared by Joyce Engineering, the Landfill' s engineering
consultant to provide estimates on how some of these steps could
proceed.
Estimates as to how long administrative appeals in a
permitting process could be extended if challenges were brought
would be difficult to establish. Likewise, if it is necessary to
initiate eminent domain proceedings to acquire properties,
acquisition of title to property could be delayed by court order
for some period of time .
Conclusion
The local governments and citizens of Orange County have been
engaged in a process for several years which may lead to the
selection of a site and construction of a new landfill for Orange
County. The steps identified in this memorandum are required in
order for that process to continue to move forward.
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