Minutes - 02-21-2000 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Janice Putnam reported that many that live near the landfill had not received notification of the meeting, probably due to the snowstorm. Noting that residents had filed a protest petition, Ms. Putnam said that the Governor's office had announced that the State needs a million acres of greenspace. She pointed out that this would mean about 1,000 acres per county. Ms. Putnam explained that water line construction an Rogers Raad is tang overdue, but added that, in fairness; everyone equidistant to the landfill should have a water line provided to them. She asked why the buffer could not be enlarged to 200-500 feet if 10-12 acres is all that is needed for materials handling. Ms. Putnam asked people in the audience to hold up their sheets of paper which read "No Materials Handling." Ms. Putnam commented that there would be a fight if the Commissioners did not change their vote on this issue. Judy Nunn Snipes, speaking for her mother Gertrude Nunn and the rest of her family in the Eubanks/Rogers Road neighborhood, stated that her family had carried the burden of the landfill since 1972. She said that she had been barred from building a home on 200 acres of land that had been in her family since 1862. Ms. Nunn said that this was environmentally unjust, and asked the Town Council not to rezone the area and to correct the wrongs of the past. Commissioner Carey restated his opinion that a materials handling facility would not include burial on the site. Scott Radway, who had helped the City of Durham with its landfill research, said that he was not opposed to these materials handling activities per se, but asked if placing a facility an the Greene Tract would be the best use of that property. He commented that there must be better and more socially correct locations. Mr. Radway criticized the process and recommended bringing back a plan for Town review rather than putting the burden on the Town Manager to defend the decision. Chapel Hill resident and social activist Ruby Seinreich labeled the decision to rezone the land as environmental racism. She said that if the Town Council was really concerned about the landfill's neighbors, there would be no reason to sign the agreement. Ms. Seinreich asked the Council to make a decision that does not further burden the Rogers Road neighborhood with waste. Dawn Gerakaris, a Bilabong Lane resident, asked the Council to be "good stewards of God's county," and to consider how they would vote if this land were their children's inheritance, if the Town were about to build a materials handling district in their backyards. Alvin Scott, who lives at the west boundary of the Greene Tract, described it as odd that this is the only location that could be found in such a large county to build a materials handling facility. He stated that there had been no effort to find another location, such as in the middle of some 40-acre farm where it would hardly bother anybody compared to the numbers who would be affected around the Greene Tract area. Mr. Scott said that he had visited a similar transfer station in Durham, and expressed doubt that many Council members had done so. He said that the Durham facility hauls 1,000 tons per day out of that area, which means 286,000 tons a year. Mr. Scott said it casts them $500,000 per month to da this, and added that it would be expensive even if they put a MRF station in and eliminated the recyclables. Mr. Scott asked why the Town would even consider allowing this facility in the midst of a heritage class of people, an a valuable piece of property that could have much better uses. He Hated that it is in the middle of a residential area, which includes $300,000 homes that were recently built based on the promise that the Eubanks landfill was ending. Warren J. Harding criticized the Chapel Hill news media far Hat having done a better job alerting those outside the immediate neighborhood about this resolution. He said that he had gotten his information from the Raleigh News and Observer. He noted that there were plans for 287 homes at Parkside II, which would be within 1,000 feet of the proposed station.