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63 <br /> threshold used for other areas. EDC will look at these and submit some <br /> specific recommendations for the different land uses. The ordinance ha- -, <br /> an open ended approach for projecting traffic impact of future <br /> development in a study area during the period under which a development <br /> is under construction. EDC would like for this approach to be <br /> standardized to reduce the potential for misunderstanding during the . <br /> entire review process. The existing ordinance under 13.3 provides a " <br /> general exemption which is to be deleted. EDC feels there may be <br /> certain instances in which this provision may be needed. EDC is <br /> presently in the process of making a recommendation for prezoning of <br /> certain areas in the County that would be suitable for economic <br /> development. The extent to which the traffic impact study ordinance <br /> provisions are going to be required for the areas they have under <br /> consideration is an important concern. Money will need to be included <br /> in the budget to pay for the traffic impact study on these areas under <br /> consideration. He stated that a written statement from EDC will be sent <br /> to the Planning Board before they consider this item and make a <br /> recommendation to the Board. <br /> Barry Jacobs made reference to an area in Durham County which was <br /> prezoned without taking into consideration the impact of the traffic and <br /> how this adversely impacted the neighborhood. The only way he would <br /> feel comfortable with prezoning would be to consider the impact of the <br /> development in the area and a way to include that in the approval. <br /> Larry Meisner from Kimley Horn stated that the thresholds were put in . <br /> as a guideline. Rather than have a developer come in and take a look a <br /> the trip generation of 800 trips a day or 100 trips in a peak hour and <br /> determine if his development meets that and then wonder if he has to go <br /> through an impact study to find out if he needs to do one, the TAS <br /> suggested putting in these typical thresholds. These are not <br /> necessarily the final guidelines. They are based on the Institute of <br /> Transportation Engineers trip generation report which is a standard for <br /> the number of trips generated per one thousand square feet of office, <br /> per thousand square feet of retail, per unit of single family or multi- <br /> family units, etc. <br /> Chairman Carey questioned the necessity of having the transportation <br /> plan certified, stating that this increases the cost of doing the study. <br /> Meisner indicated they want the study to be done by someone who is a <br /> registered engineer or certified planner. It is a way to protect the <br /> applicant and the public. The cost of a traffic impact study will <br /> depend on the location, the intersections involved, the complexity of <br /> the project, etc. Usually the minimum cost would be $2,500 to $3, 000 <br /> for a small project. For a medium size project it could cost from <br /> $3,000 to $5,000. <br /> JAY ZARAGOZA stated that what Chapel Hill or Durham does should be <br /> irrelevant to what Orange County does. Wake County seems to function <br /> very well without a traffic impact analysis. He feels that hiring a <br /> certified engineer to come up with figures that can't be all that <br /> accurate is unnecessary. <br /> Motion was made by Commissioner Marshall, seconded by Commissioner <br />