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2 <br />Neighborhood Activity Node would allow up to five acres each of Local <br />Commercial-1 (LC1) and Neighborhood Commercial-2 (NC-2) zoning. The <br />property is currently zoned AR, and is within the Protected Watershed-II <br />(PW-II) overlay district for Cane Creek watershed. It is located outside <br />of the Water Quality Critical Area for Cane Creek Reservoir. <br />Rural neighborhood activity nodes are areas at strategic intersections <br />which may contain a limited amount of small-scale commercial activity, such <br />as country stores. The applicant's plan would use only a portion of the <br />intersection. There is no proposed zoning change at this time. The <br />current zoning of Agricultural-Residential (Protected Watershed [PW]) would <br />not be amended by this proposal. However, it would add an overlay district <br />of Rural-Neighborhood Activity Node in a 1/4 mile radius around the <br />intersection. A future petition for LC-1 or NC-2 commercial zoning may be <br />requested for certain parcels. Otherwise, the zoning will remain <br />agricultural-residential. In support of their request, the applicants <br />cited the following points: <br />There has been rapid subdivision development in Bingham Township over <br />the past 20 years. The applicant has counted 1000 mailboxes within a <br />possible market area for a community store. <br />This is a strategic intersection where two collector roads that are <br />primary thoroughfares in the township come together. <br />There is no community store in the area to provide services to <br />residents, or to provide an outlet for local agricultural products. <br />--The Orange Grove Volunteer Fire Department has indicated it will <br />remove the underground fuel storage tank if fuel services can be provided <br />at this site. <br />In addition to evaluating the proposal against locational criteria, <br />two other efforts relate to the amendment. The Rural Character Study <br />addressed the issue of rural community and neighborhood centers, and <br />recognized their historic and cultural significance. It recommended the <br />protection of existing rural centers and recommended that the potential for <br />designating new community focal points be studied. The Water Supply <br />Watershed updates are also relevant, since this site is within Cane Creek <br />watershed. There are four goal statements in the Land Use Element that <br />relate to watershed protection, and these are proposed for updating as part <br />of CP-4-93. The state standards allow up to 5~ of the watershed (outside <br />of the critical area) to be used for non-residential purposes and up to 70$ <br />impervious surface. The proposed node, plus the existing commercial zoning <br />totals 14.6 acres with less than 1~ of the watershed outside of the <br />critical area. The applicants next steps involve petitioning for rezoning <br />to LC-1 or NC-2 for the country store site. These zones are the lowest- <br />intensity commercial zones in the Zoning Ordinance. A conventional <br />activity node could have up to 10 acres of LC-1 and NC-2 zoned land. <br />However, an alternative for consideration is the creation of a more <br />compact, refined node, with limited commercial activity permitted only at <br />the intersection core. This approach was used in the Joint Planning Area <br />at Blackwood Station. <br />In response to a question from the audience, Stancil indicated that <br />