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RECOMMENDATION: <br /> 1. Receive the application, <br /> 2. Conduct the Public Hearing and accept public, BOCC, and Planning Board comments. <br /> 3. Refer the matter to the Planning Board with a request that a recommendation be <br /> returned to the County Board of Commissioners in time for the May 8, 2014 BOCC <br /> regular meeting. <br /> 4. Adjourn the public hearing until May 8, 2014 in order to receive and accept the Planning <br /> Board's recommendation and any submitted written comments. <br /> RECOMMENDATION: <br /> 1. Receive the application, <br /> 2. Conduct the Public Hearing and accept public, BOCC, and Planning Board comments. <br /> 3. Continue the Public Hearing until March 18, 2014 to allow the applicant and staff to meet <br /> with local property owners and respond, in writing, to their concerns. <br /> Michael Harvey: This project, and this refers to attachment 2 of your packet, involves two <br /> parcels of property owned by Stout Farm, LLC, totaling 52 acres in area. The parcels of <br /> property are zoned Rural Residential, Upper Eno Protected Watershed Protection Overlay, and <br /> are located in the MTC overlay—the major transportation corridor overlay district, which is along <br /> the interstate. The area in question is located within the Commercial Industrial Transition <br /> Activity Node and is designated an Urban area on our Growth Management System designation <br /> map. And you have a copy of the PowerPoint presentation before you in the packet you have. <br /> In fact you have copies of all PowerPoint presentations that are going to be reviewed this <br /> evening, including the one from Strata Solar in that packet. <br /> This is an expanded view of that last map we just showed you, showing surrounding uses. <br /> Again, here are the two parcels of property. This is Redman Crossing Road here. To the north <br /> of the railroad tracks, you have residential land uses located in the Ten Year Transition area per <br /> our Comprehensive Plan Land Use Map. You have property to the east, large tracts, <br /> undeveloped property located in a commercial industrial transition activity node. You have a <br /> residential property, the Efland Home for Girls, here. It is also located in the commercial <br /> industrial transition activity node. You have an existing Duke Energy substation here; the <br /> NCDOT weigh station here; an existing commercial operation in the economic development <br /> transition activity node; and several undeveloped large parcels of property, also in the economic <br /> development transition activity node. <br /> As I previously indicated, the applicant is erecting individual solar panels on both parcels of <br /> property, which Strata Solar is going to be leasing. A typical array is anywhere between 7 and <br /> 8 feet in height, depending on the slope and angle of the actual array, with approximately 2 to 3 <br /> ground clearance, and they are going to be approximately 63 feet in length. This is also <br /> summarized in our abstract. Arrays are going to be screened by existing vegetation and which <br /> will be augmented with additional vegetation as necessary and required by County regulations, <br /> also enclosed by an eight foot high chain link security fence, topped with barbed wire that will <br /> enclose the perimeter of the property. There will be gravel paths throughout the site in order to <br /> permit access to the individual arrays by Strata Solar technicians to service the panels. As <br /> stipulated not only in application, but on the site plan, in certain areas there are going to be <br /> natural grass paths, depending on the soils. Vehicular access to the site is restricted by a 24 <br /> foot wide access gate off of Redman Road. There will be - this site will have an overhead <br /> power line connecting to Duke Energy and to the adjacent power—excuse me —the adjacent <br /> existing substation, which I identified for you just a few moments ago. <br />