Agenda - 02-24-2014 - C1 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Attachment _31 ORANGE COUNTY Department of Environment, Agriculture, Parks & Recreation 1/_•►_:�� Ill To: Michael Harvey, Current Planning Supervisor From: Peter Sandbeck, Cultural Resources Coordinator Rich Shaw, Land Conservation Manager Date: February 10, 2014 Re: Proposed 5- Kilowatt Plus Solar Generating Facility — Solar Strata Stout Farm (Redman Road / US 70W) Thank you the opportunity to review and comment on this application for constructing solar generating facilities. DEAPR comments on such developments are generally to address any concerns with respect to potential impacts on important natural or cultural resources. This application is for a five - megawatt plus solar facility on the Stout property, 52.66 acres (PIN 9844 -06 -5971 and PIN 9844 -17 -2687) off US 70W just west of the Efland community. Both parcels are zoned Rural Residential (R -1) Upper Eno Protected Watershed Overlay and Major Transportation Corridor (MTC) Overlay. The site is bordered by the I -40/85 highway corridor to the south and by Norfolk Southern /NC Railroad to the north (across SR 1311). Adjacent properties are a single - family home, Duke Energy substation, and warehouse /light industrial. Cultural Resources Review Comments_ The project site is immediately adjacent to an identified historic property, the Efland Home for Girls, built in the 1920s as the state's first centralized farm residency program for delinquent African American girls. It is located at 201 Redman Road, immediately to the east of PIN 9844 -17 -2687. The Efland Home consisted of a farm of 140 acres with a school /residence hall building, all built through funds raised by the North Carolina Federation of Colored Women's Clubs through statewide donations. The 1920's main school/ residence hall building still stands and is largely intact. It does not presently have any special local, state or federal historic designation but has been flagged by the Orange County Historic Preservation Commission as being historic and potentially eligible for historic designation, either local or via the National Register. Given the historical importance of this structure to the African - American history of the county and state, the site plan for the proposed new solar generating facility should include an appropriately designed and planted buffer, at least as wide as is currently shown on the site plan. The buffer should consist of dense evergreen vegetation tall enough to provide an appropriate level of visual screening. If properly screened, the project appears to be consistent with the historic preservation goals in the Orange County Comprehensive Plan, Goal 4: "Preservation of historic, cultural, architectural and archaeological resources, and their associated landscapes." Natural Resources Review Comments There are no known identified or mapped natural resource areas of significance (e.g., natural heritage sites, proposed wildlife corridors, prime forest) located on this property. There are two wetland areas and two streams documented on the property (Eno River tributaries), but the solar arrays are contained well outside of the 31