Minutes - 20040524 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

Planning Director Craig Benedict said that the purpose of this item is for a public hearing on this issue and to hear testimony from the applicant and the public. He explained the process of the special use permit. Architect Ken Redfoot was representing the Orange County School Board. He described the school building that would be built on West Ten Road. The school board opted to reuse a plan that was originally built in Chapel Hill. It is 123,QQQ square feet. It is a one-story building that utilizes full day lighting throughout the entire building. The school will accommodate 7QQ students, it will have 24 academic classrooms, three self-contained exceptional classrooms, a media center, foreign language classrooms, work force development classrooms, and a full auditorium with 3QQ seats with a working stage with lighting and sound systems. There will also be visual, vocal, and theatrical arts classrooms as well as a 8,5QQ-square foot gymnasium and a bleacher system of 6QQ seats. The cafeteria will accommodate 25Q students at one time. He showed how the building would sit on the site and how the traffic would move through it. The site is approximately 67 acres. There is a large athletic practice field (double-sized), an athletic stadium with a track, a baseball field, and a softball field. He said that the way the site was laid out was all about the safety of the students. The back area of the athletic fields is away from all of the traffic and the students would not have to cross any vehicular areas. There is a forested buffer area from the interstate. They are also kept far away from wetlands areas. Commissioner Gordon asked about the process. Craig Benedict said that the Administration recommendation is that after all testimony is considered, then a decision can be made or delayed. Commissioner Gordon said that at first the Planning Board recommended denial of the special use permit and then later it appeared that the Planning Board had approved it with additional conditions. She asked what this was all about. Craig Benedict said that at the conclusion of this item, he was going to explain the changes from the original submittal. There were three items that were changed. One change had to do with the unknown of the adjacent parcel and not knowing if there could be shared use opportunities. Since then, the County has purchased this site and has hired a consultant to examine the concept plan. This has been resolved. The second issue was the preservation of the environmental area. The two playing fields were shifted to the west so that there is a ridge-line. The Planning Board was also concerned about whether the school board knew about the environmental considerations. The other issue was that the Planning Board was not sure about the appropriateness of a school in this area. Staff commented that it was the decision of the County Commissioners that schools are a reasonable use in this area with a special use process. Since the changes, it was brought back to the Planning Board informally, and the board members were satisfied with the changes. Commissioner Gordon asked again about the informal process and Planning Board Chair Hunter Schofield said that it was not clear at the April meeting that this would not return to them. Commissioner Gordon verified that unless it gaes back to the Planning Board, it would not be voted in the affirmative.