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To: Orange County, NC Commissioners: Bernadette Pelissier, Pam Hemminger, Valerie P. <br />Foushee, Alice M. Gordon, Barry Jacobs, Earl McKee and Steve Yuhasz <br />From: Michael Recny, Bill O'Neil, Ed Lowdermilk, Jack Olich, Mary Miller, Vikram Rao, and W. <br />L. Triplett <br />Re: Proposed Solid Waste Transfer Site location on the northwest corner if 140/NC 86 <br />Preserving the beauty, integrity and character of the Chapel Hill/Carrboro Rural Buffer is <br />absolutely essential to maintaining our town as one of the most desirable places to live and to <br />raise families in Orange County, NC. The Rural Buffer was created decades ago by visionary <br />Chapel Hill/Carrboro and Orange County community planners who worked toward a common <br />goal of creating a buffer region to prevent unchecked urban growth and commercial sprawl that <br />has plagued other communities in NC. To their credit, Chapel Hill/Carrboro under the Joint <br />Planning Agreement have (to date) demonstrated a commitment to preserving Urban Services <br />Boundary by permitting only low density residential housing and no commercial development in <br />the Rural Buffer, thereby preserving the natural character and beauty of this precious <br />neighborhood resource. <br />However, Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton recently put forth a proposal to build an industrial sized <br />solid waste transfer station ("WTS") to serve the needs of Chapel Hill, Carrboro and the rest of <br />Orange County within the Rural Buffer on a tract of land at the northwest corner of Interstate 40 <br />and NC 86. <br />We the undersigned, who serve as representatives of six Orange County Homeowners <br />Associations which collectively represent approximately 450 properties and more than 1000 <br />residents express our vigorous opposition to fhis proposal. Construction of a WTS on this <br />site would breach the integrity of the Rural Buffer and constitute a major violation of the <br />fundamental principles upon which this region was originally created, and successfully <br />maintained for the past 30 years. <br />Furthermore, it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever to locate a commercial WTS in the <br />Rural Buffer on the proposed site that: <br />(a) has no municipal water or sewer service to adequately address the need to <br />sequester, treat and dispose of toxic chemicals/waste generated within such a <br />commercial operation; <br />(b) would destroy a tree-laden, highly visible tract of land that currently serves as a <br />pristine gateway between the Rural Buffer and Chapel Hill city limits, and <br />(c) places a major industrial operation in very close proximity to hundreds of homes and <br />thousands of residents who live within the Rural Buffer. <br />In addition to breaching the underlying integrity of the Rural Buffer with a commercial WTS <br />operation, thereare other significant environmental concerns which motivate our opposition to <br />this site, such as (but not limited to) the potential impact on watershed areas near the proposed <br />site from waste water runoff that could be contaminated with toxic chemicals escaping from the <br />site, and the potential contamination of personal and community wells that serve thousands of <br />residents living in close proximity to this site. <br />Therefore, we request the Orange County Commissioners immediately eliminate this particular <br />site from further consideration. Furthermore, we request that the Commissioners adopt a firm <br />