Minutes 05-27-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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officials directly and indirectly that it would be inappropriate for Board members and County Commissioners to visit Falls of New Hope. I maintain in this case, and for the aforementioned reasons, it would be irresponsible for them not to visit Falls of New Hope. In closing, I would like to quote from an article by John Downey, senior staff writer in the March 29, 2013 edition of the Charlotte Business Journal, which I submitted to you now for your consideration and also for the record: "Arizona based Sunlight Partners is in a rush to get into North Carolina's solar market. In the last two months it has applied for 19 proposed solar projects, all 5 megawatts or smaller. Added to half a dozen or so projects the company had already proposed in the state, it shows how ready Sunlight is to jump in with both feet. Keith Colson, Sunlight's Director of Development for the eastern United States, admits it's a scattergun strategy. `We will lose quite a few of those,' he says `The deals are pretty speculative, but we want to move fast into the state."' End of quote, and end of the first half of the article. Commissioner Jacobs, Orange County Commissioners, Mr. Hallenbeck, Orange County Planning Board, Orange County has been making wise planning decisions for decades, decisions that make Orange County the kind of place it is, a place we all treasure. If you approve this special use permit, and Sunlight Partners builds a commercial solar utility adjoining the Falls of New Hope subdivision, it will not only be the first commercial solar utility adjoining a subdivision in the Triangle, it will be the first commercial solar utility Sunlight Partners builds in North Carolina. Please don't move fast without due consideration of this matter. Please don't let Sunlight Partners speculate with one of Orange County's most unique subdivisions. Please don't let Orange County and Falls of New Hope be the ones who lose. Michael Fox: I don't have any questions for this witness. David Rooks: Mr. Chairman, one last witness, Kathy Bolte. Kathy Bolte: My name is Kathy Bolte, and I was sworn in. I live at 5505 Cascade Drive, and I do have a few questions to pose. First of all, if you approve this, will you guarantee that this proposed power plant will not adversely affect our property values, health and overall well being? When it does, what measures will you take to compensate all of us, for a decision you clearly made for us against our will? As elected officials, we expect you to make decisions that protect the citizens of this County. Allowing a company to operate a business in the middle of our neighborhood does not meet the expectations that we have. Are you willing to vote yes for this? Second, will you guarantee that Sunlight Partners will maintain the property in the manner in which this community is accustomed to living? In my household, we eat organic food, recycle, and don't use harsh chemicals, pesticides and herbicides. We choose to live in such a manner that we do no harm to our environment or ourselves. Our home is situated where we receive the runoff from the land in question, and that runoff flows into New Hope Creek, which is in our backyard. Who is willing to guarantee us that no chemicals, pesticides and herbicides will flow through our yard, seep into our groundwater, contaminate the creek and our wells. When it does, what recourse will we have, and who will be accountable for it. Third, in the limited amount of time that we have had to research this company, we have found no evidence of previous projects that Sunlight Partners has completed. Why is a company from Arizona being considered to do a project in the middle of our neighborhood?