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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 05-05-2003-absORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS HILLSBOROUGH BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS JOINT MEETING AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: May 5, 2003 SUBJECT: Joint Meetina Discussion Items DEPARTMENT: County Manager/Planning PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) ERCD/Purchasing/Engineer/ Recreation & Parks No ATTACHMENT(S): As noted in "Background" section INFORMATION CONTACT: Greg Wilder, ext 2300; Craig Benedict, ext 2592; Margaret Hauth, 732-2170; Dave Stancil, ext 2590; Pam Jones, ext 2650; Paul Thames, ext 2303; Lori Taft, ext 2673 TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough Chapel Hill Durham Mebane 732-8181 968-4501 688-7331 336-227-2031 PURPOSE: To discuss topics of mutual interest between the governing boards of Orange County and the Town of Hillsborough. BACKGROUND: 1. Joint Orange County/Town of Hillsborough Orange Grove Road Access Management Study -Next Steps The Joint Orange County/Town of Hillsborough Orange Grove Road Access Management Study was authorized by the Town of Hillsborough and Orange County at their last joint meeting in March, 2002. The report was unanimously approved by the work group in December, 2002. Orange County Commissioners heard the report at the March 24, 2003 meeting and are ready to approve the report, after discussion with the Town of Hillsborough at this joint meeting. When both boards approve this report, both jurisdictions, as well as North Carolina Department of Transportation, will incorporate the recommendations into their regulations and review. This will ensure that as development occurs in certain high growth areas, proper transportation planning will occur (including, but not limited to: right of way dedication; roadway improvements; sidewalk and bicycle improvements; signalization; public transportation aspects; and proper access management techniques to enhance traffic flow and safety). Attachment 1-Joint Orange Grove Road Transportation Group Recommendations 2. Orange County Comprehensive Plan Land Use Element -Evaluation of Urban/Rural Transitions On March 25, 2003, the County held a Joint Work Session between the Comprehensive Plan Land Use Committee, Board of County Commissioners, and a few members of the Planning Board to discuss growth management tools and community outreach. The discussion focused on the challenge of defining a clear pattern of land use residential density and demarcating rural and urban uses and design. Simultaneous with community outreach efforts in the rural sections of the County, Orange County would like to solicit municipal input. Therefore, Orange County is asking for the Town's cooperation in examining the critical area surrounding Hillsborough. We can discuss previous studies of this area, and discuss the growth management tools that the County is considering. Although the critical area referred to above lies within Orange County's planning jurisdiction, Orange County recognizes the areas where rural and urban land uses meet as critical planning areas and anticipates a mutual interest in cooperative planning for this area. No Attachments 3. Schools Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (SAPFO) -Next Steps The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and Schools APFO have been approved by the majority of all the partners that are party to the Orange County School District and Chapel Hill- Carrboro School Districts. The Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Districts partners will be proposing changes, similar to the Orange County School District, that temporarily suspend the Schools APFO adequacy test until new capacity is added (for CHCCS, at the High School level; for OCS, at the Middle School level). With these changes, the Schools APFO could be adopted by all jurisdictions in May and June with implementation thereafter. Regarding the Orange County School District, since long term capacity is available at the Elementary and High School level and the Middle School adequacy test is suspended, then Schools APFO would not have a direct effect on new development. However, the Schools APFO and Certificate of Adequate Public Schools (CAPS) system does offer an important growth management tool to local government to monitor the pace of development through project phasing and greatly assist in the collection of information and capital planning used in providing school public services and maintaining the high standards of education in the District. Information is attached that responds to Hillsborough's inquiry regarding the potential impact, if any, (pursuant to the Town of Hillsborough's request through the Schools and Land Use Councils) from the City of Durham and Mebane which, at this time, are not parties to the agreement. Attachment 3 -Report on the Effect of the City of Durham and City of Mebane on Schools APFO 4. Orange County/Hillsborough Courtesy Review Provided for Board discussion is the revised Courtesy Review Agreement, including the "Reservation of Utility Capacity for Review Purposes", that can become part of the submittal processing schedule for projects with Orange County planning jurisdiction and Town of Hillsborough water and sewer service area. Attachment 4a -Reservation of Utility Capacity for Review Purposes Checklist Attachment 4b -Utility Options Matrix Attachment 4c -- Revised Agreement 5. Eno River Capacity Use Agreement The Eno River Capacity Use Agreement has operated with very little modification in operational procedures over the fourteen years since it was initially created. However, there is a least some sentiment to revise both the Capacity Use Agreement and the Orange County and Hillsborough Water Use/Drought Management Ordinances to reflect changing conditions such as the availability of water from Hillsborough's West Fork Reservoir, the use of large quantities of water from upstream -turf farm -users, and the dissatisfaction of property owners around Lake Orange with the aesthetic and recreational consequences of the drastic season draw down of the water level in Lake Orange. Copies of Hillsborough's draft or suggested Water Use Restriction Stages modifications as well as a comparison between the existing and proposed water restrictions are attached. The County will be proposing land use changes in the Upper Eno Basin that will improve water quality. This is consistent with the Upper Neuse River Basin Association goals of addressing water quality from both environmental and potable water resource aspects. The County would like support from Hillsborough in the achievement of these goals. Attachment 5a -Suggested Water Restriction Stages Attachment 5b -Table -Hillsborough Water Restrictions Comparison 6. Building and Erosion Control/Stormwater Service Agreement Orange County and Town of Hillsborough have informally agreed over the years (1979 and 1981) that the County will perform Building and Erosion Control services for the Town of Hillsborough within their town limits and Extraterritorial Jurisdiction. The regulatory and responsibility realms have dramatically changed over the years and preliminary discussions have begun between both administration staffs to formalize the agreements. In addition, as the County considers enhanced options in building, erosion control, stormwater and Neuse River Rule areas, it would be a benefit to our joint customers to know if all of the rules are the same or if some are excluded. A draft agreement was forwarded from the Planning and Inspections Department to the Town of Hillsborough for review. Adoption of such an agreement will clarify services and associated regulations and, as important, assist in the planning of personnel, operating and capital needs to be able to provide the level and scope of review and inspection in a growing community. Administration and legal staffs can further review the agreement and distribute for review an updated draft in the near future. No Attachments 7. Private Projects Updates a) Waterstone -Next Steps The Town of Hillsborough Planning staff will provide information as appropriate at the meeting. No Attachments b) Preserve -Next Steps County staff has met on occasion with the owner and others to discuss development of this site during the past 3 months, most recently on April 30, 2003. So far, the only plan that Orange County Planning has seen on this 465 acres property is one prepared by Jerry Turner and Associates, dated September 3, 2002 (enclosed in the information packet sent to the Hillsborough Board). This plan does not adhere to the concept of open space connectivity nor to the concept of borrowed open space. We have informed the Landscape Architect of this and he is working on a revision. Also, the perimeter 100 foot building setback buffer required around flexible development subdivisions is to be shown on a revised plan. Water/sewer issues are not yet resolved. The Courtesy Agreement with Hillsborough will set the procedures that will need to be followed. Attachment 7b -Landowner's Information Packet (under separate cover) c) Corbinton Commons -Next Steps The Town of Hillsborough Planning staff will provide information as appropriate at the meeting. No Attachments d) Meadowview -Next Steps The Town of Hillsborough Planning staff will provide information as appropriate at the meeting. No Attachments 8. Public Projects a) Fairview Park -Next Steps A work group of Town and County officials and staff has been meeting to further evaluate the Fairview Park opportunities. Last fall, at a joint meeting of the two boards, it was agreed that this project (which would be funded with $850,000 from the 2001 Parks and Open Space bond) would be considered as a master plan for all 92 acres of County and Town-owned land (42-acre County park site, 25-acre Town lands, 25-acre Public Works site). The Work Group has met on two occasions since that time, and conducted a site tour. A draft Memorandum of Understanding has been created for review by the Town and County as the precursor to developing a Master Plan, and a draft staff evaluation of the properties was recently presented. Unanswered question remain about the practical use of some portions of the site formerly used as landfill areas, while other portions of the site appear to offer more opportunities. The Managers and Public Works Directors will soon be meeting to discuss the possibility of co-locating public works facilities at the site. Attachment 8a-1 Draft Memorandum of Understanding Attachment 8a-2 Draft Staff Evaluation b) Potential Cates Creek Corridor The County's ERCD staff was asked recently by elected officials working on Fairview Park if an evaluation of potential conservation and recreation trail opportunities along the Cates Creek corridor could be conducted. Cates Creek, a tributary of the Eno River south of Hillsborough, begins in a wooded area just north of the intersection of Old NC 86 and I-40 and flows northeast under I-85 and US 70 Business to the Eno. There are many current and proposed developments adjacent to the stream corridor that may present opportunities for joint Town and County consideration. Some of the notable locations and projects alongside Cates Creek include the proposed Waterstone development, Hampton Pointe, the Millstone Office Park (and the namesake old mill and dam site on Cates Creek), Beckett's Ridge, and the proposed asphalt plant site (Valley Forge Rd.). Some of the known natural and cultural features in the corridor include two identified Natural Heritage sites (listed in the 1988 Inventory of Natural Areas and Wildlife Habitat), as well as the above-mentioned old mill and dam site located at the end of Millstone Drive. Cates Creek enters the Eno River on conservation land owned by Classical American Homes (Ayr Mount). Staff will provide a Cates Creek Area Map at the meeting. No Attachments c) Justice Facilities As was reported to the Town Commissioners during a joint work session on November 21, 2002, the County will appoint three planning committees to design the proposed Phase I, Justice Facility Expansion. Responsibility for the three committees is as follows: • Architect selection; • Exterior design, including the building, the area designated as "River Park" and the siting of the proposed Farmer's Market. • Interior building design. The Committees will be appointed by June 30, 2003. The appointment of the groups was originally planned for January 2003, however, workload constraints associated with the implementation of the County's new business system software have precluded that action. Additional meetings with judicial officials to clarify the programming that is expected for the building will be carried out within the next few weeks. This program definition will be translated into a request for proposal for professional design services and the selection process begun by Fall 2003. A recommendation by the selection group to the Board of Commissioners is anticipated prior to the end of the calendar year 2003. No Attachments 6 d) Durham Tech Satellite Campus -Next Steps County Commissioners, along with the two Durham Technical Community College Board of Trustees who live in Orange County, are responsible for the site selection of the proposed DTCC satellite campus. Several potential areas that meet criteria established by the Board of Commissioners and the Feasibility Study Task Force have been identified and will be presented to the site selection group before June 30, 2003. The site acquisition process must be completed by Fall 2004. No Attachments e) NCDOT Work -Churton Street New Signalization System North Carolina Department of Transportation is completing the new traffic signalization system along Churton Street from Oakdale to US 70 Bypass. The new traffic lights are connected to in- ground roadway `loops' that detect the amount and frequency of traffic around intersections. This information is monitored by a central computer system and adjustments can be made to improve traffic flow during the various times of the year. This type of system, if coupled with a traffic access management system (i.e. regulating driveway openings, etc.) can reduce traffic congestion. No Attachments fl Hazard Mitigation Program On July 30, 2002, Orange County submitted a full Hazard Mitigation Plan and resolutions of joint plan adoption from the towns of Hillsborough and Carrboro to the North Carolina Department of Emergency Management. State Mitigation Planner Nathan Slaughter reviewed the plan and addressed sections where more information was needed to meet FEMA Region IV Minimum Standards. Since that review, FEMA has made some adjustments to the Minimum Standards, requiring additional modification of the plan. The final plan must be approved by November 1, 2004 in order to receive federal and state mitigation funds. No Attachments 9. Other Business No Attachments FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no direct financial impact associated with discussion of these topics. There are no action items requiring formal Board decisions. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Boards discuss the topics listed and provide appropriate direction to the respective staffs.