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Planning Board July 11 , 2012 regular meeting <br /> Attachment 5 <br /> STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA BEFORE THE BOARD OF <br /> COMMISSIONERS AND PLANNING <br /> BOARD <br /> COUNTY OF ORANGE <br /> IN RE: Strata Solar- Solar Farm Use <br /> Orange County PIN: a portion of 9748-34-9639 <br /> Address: 2314 White Cross Road, Chapel Hill,North Carolina <br /> STATEMENT OF JUSTIFICATION IN SUPPORT OF THE <br /> SPECIAL USE PERMIT APPLICATION <br /> NOW COMES THE PETITIONER, by and through counsel of record, and respectfully <br /> requests approval of their application for a special use permit to operate a solar farm. In <br /> support of this request, Petitioner provides the following information: <br /> I. Introduction <br /> Strata Solar proposes to construct a solar farm on 53.31± acres of land owned by the John <br /> Bradshaw Family Limited Partnership. The property is located on White Cross Road <br /> near its intersection with Butler Road. The property is currently zoned Agricultural <br /> Residential (AR) within the Haw River Protected Watershed Overlay District. Adjacent <br /> properties are developed as homes, a mobile home park and farms. Adjacent properties <br /> are also zoned Agricultural Residential (AR) within the Haw River Protected Watershed <br /> Overlay District. <br /> An overarching theme of the Orange County Comprehensive Plan is a desire to create a <br /> sustainable future. In Chapter 1, the Plan Overview,the Orange County Comprehensive <br /> Plan states that". . .we must seek to develop a community that meets the needs of the <br /> present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their <br /> needs."This solar farm fulfills the County's goal to reduce dependence on fossil fuels <br /> and nuclear power and turn to a sustainable form of energy generation. <br /> The solar farm will contain rows of Photovoltaic (PV) cells mounted on posts set in the <br /> ground by hand. The posts are set individually in effort to minimize the amount of <br /> grading on site. These rows of PV cells are referred to as "solar arrays." The solar arrays <br /> will be fixed in place facing south in order to receive the maximum amount of solar <br /> energy. This configuration contains no moving parts. The power generated from the <br /> solar farm will be sold to Duke Power Company for use by Orange County and <br /> consumers in place of power produced by non-sustainable means. <br />