Orange County NC Website
the school board that it would be adjacent and not an a school campus. He made reference to <br />the stakeholder section of the smart growth document that says that there were numerous <br />public hearings held to decide the location and receive feedback. He said that all of this <br />process was about phase 1. He said that there should be options where the County could <br />subdivide the land and ask for a separate special use permit. He thinks that there is a large list <br />of priorities for the school system that would come above phase 2 and he does not think there <br />would be funding anytime soon. He asked that phase 2 be removed from this special use <br />permit. <br />Carmine Prioli asked how many people had been to a Stanback baseball game. He has <br />two children that have bath played sports and they are very grateful to have the opportunity to <br />have their children enjoy the facilities. He made reference to the existing baseball field and its <br />proximity to the track and the football field and said that the only thing that has kept Orange <br />County from getting sued is the lack of left-handed batters in the league. There have been <br />many fly balls going into the track and onto the stands. This tells him that the planning for the <br />original school, Stanback, was very poor. He said that it was no exaggeration to say that when <br />the trees were cleared, they were cut all the way to the property line. He lives in Stoneycreek, <br />but not near the school. He spoke in support of his neighbors that live near it. He thinks that <br />the bad planning that went into the original fields is shaving itself again in the proposed <br />baseball field. He said that there is already a parking problem here. He asked where the <br />parking would be for this proposed baseball field. <br />Chair Jacobs made reference to the issues that were brought up -buffers, land clearing, <br />erasion control, swapping the field and the building, whether the environmental survey relates to <br />phase 2, whether the expansion is for 100 students, the relation and interaction with the middle <br />school, and the general issue of the phasing. <br />Mike Hammersley made reference to the buffers and said that the plan as shown is what <br />would be left as a buffer. This is 130 feet of natural woods that would remain. He said that they <br />would install an orange fence, and the area within the fence would be examined by the Orange <br />County Planning Department to make sure that the area within the fence is clearly delineated <br />before the loggers go in there. There is also a site plan approval after the special use permit <br />that will have the erosion control permits from the County and State. <br />Chair Jacobs asked when Stanback was built if the County had the same requirements <br />and Geof Gledhill said that there was no special use permit requirement for schools when <br />Stanback was built. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis said that about ten years ago there was a proposal from the <br />Recreation and Parks Department to look at putting lights on the fields at Stanback, and the <br />neighbors made it clear that they did not want lights. He asked if any thought had been given to <br />moving the tennis courts and pulling the softball field away from the trees and houses. <br />Mike Hammersley said that, with regard to erasion control, they ga through the permit <br />process with the State of North Carolina and Orange County. There must be approved permits <br />before any grading is done. <br />Craig Benedict stated that school board, education, and County projects are not under <br />their purview in Erosion Control, but are authorized by the State. He said that they can offer <br />advice in the process, but are not in the regulatory role. <br />Mike Hammersley commented that the original Stanback Middle School was not their <br />project. He said that they went through the orange fence process at Gravelly Middle School and <br />it worked well. He said that, regarding the confusion of the biological inventory, this is on all <br />20.8 acres of the site and even includes a wetlands delineation. <br />Chair Jacobs asked if they would consider swapping the existing building with the field <br />location. Mike Hammersley said that the existing building is an important function of what goes <br />on at the school now. <br />