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cost-effective? The girls should have a softball field, but it doesn't need to be at the expense of <br />the Stoneycreek neighborhood. <br />Will there be lights on the field? Who will use the field? At present, I hear noise from the <br />football field. The loudest people use it on Sundays in the summer -sometimes even before <br />9:00 a.m. When I went to the school, I discovered that there were grown men and not children <br />using the football field. <br />Will there be a buffer of trees - or anything else - to prevent or reduce access to our <br />neighborhood? <br />She said that it was her understanding that the Town of Chapel Hill is very careful to <br />leave buffers around a school and spend the money required to do this. She asked why the <br />people who live in the country should be less important. She said that the destruction of natural <br />areas would have a negative impact on the environment. She asked where the Environmental <br />Impact Statement was. She said that the County Commissioners adopted a policy on <br />December 5, 2005 on environmental responsibility in government. She asked what steps are <br />being taken to comply with this policy. She asked if there would be another hearing before any <br />trees are cut and before any dirt is moved. <br />Meg McKean lives next to Sally Logan. She said that she went through the construction <br />of Stanback. She said that there seems to be a couple of areas of confusion where the affected <br />public is getting multiple stories. It is less the school and more the long-term deforestation plans <br />in phase 2 that bother her. She said that they are getting inconsistent information. She said <br />that there are only 15-20 students now and the phase 2 plan expects this number to increase to <br />100. She said that they are very confused about how many of this population of students would <br />be children expelled from school, how many would have psychological problems, and how many <br />would be children that need to be taught differently. The Stanback parents have been told that <br />na children with psychological, disciplinary, or legal problems will be at the alternative school. <br />Another peculiar thing to her is that the environmental impact statement refers to the 1.4 <br />acres, but the special use permit refers to the 20 acres and includes phase 2. There are <br />currently no funds to do phase 2 and there has not been an impact study on this. She said that <br />it is confusing to her that a school with a maximum population of 100 students will need a <br />softball field and tennis courts. It is fairly plain that the softball field is really for Stanback. She <br />said that the parents at Stanback have been told that there will be no mixing of children in the <br />use of athletic facilities. She said that this is probably not the case. She said that the tennis <br />courts seem a little lavish and it seems that phase 2 should be discussed very slowly and <br />carefully. She said that with the construction of Stanback, they noticed a big difference in I-40 <br />noise. She is worried about the additional sound impact from this much clearing. She said that <br />Stanback students already use this forested area for cross-country and it would be a shame to <br />lose a free naturally-provided athletic facility. Her request is that the phase 2 elements be <br />removed from the special use permit in order to allow for a more realistic projection of County <br />needs, a clearer public discussion of what students will be combined together in the alternative <br />school and which children would use which facilities, and much more community input in <br />negotiations over the placement and scope of athletic facilities and deforestation that will <br />accompany this. Also, she would like an environmental impact of a scaled down plan and a <br />schedule far negotiations on buffers, fencing, additional plantings, hours of use, and a total ban <br />on lights for nighttime use. <br />Tom Clark said that he strongly endorses the separation of phase 2 from this special use <br />permit. He does not understand why it is being added to this special use permit. He is glad to <br />hear that the Board does not feel obligated to decide on this tonight. He said that the Planning <br />Board was told that there was substantial public opposition to putting the phase 1 of the portion <br />of the project on an existing campus and then phase 2 would merge the campuses' athletic <br />facilities. He said that the public did not have any idea about this before and it was not <br />discussed during the public hearings about the initial school. This was a concession made by <br />