Orange County NC Website
AGENCY COMMENTS <br /> No agency comments have been received. <br /> RECOMMENDATION <br /> The proposed amendments request two different means to an end which <br /> we believe is in the public interest. <br /> Amendment JPA-1-94 requests an expansion of the Extractive Use <br /> designation currently applied in the JPA Plan to cover the <br /> expansion of the current quarry site. Amendment CP-1-94 is <br /> necessary to create a Rural Industrial Activity Node under the <br /> Orange County Comprehensive Plan which would make it possible to <br /> request the appropriate zoning for the property's proposed use. <br /> Both proposed amendments have been evaluated against the Locational <br /> Criteria from the Land Use Element of Comprehensive Plan, since JPA <br /> amendments are also inherently Comprehensive Plan amendments. <br /> The proposed Extractive Use expansion complies with nine of 10 <br /> criteria, with a "questionable" evaluation on the criterion <br /> relating to "Hydrology" impacts. <br /> The issue of hydrology is questionable because the criteria states <br /> that "Extractive Use" sites should be outside of water supply <br /> watersheds. As such, there are very real questions relating to the <br /> stringent University Lake Watershed standards and OWASA- <br /> commissioned Camp, Dresser and McKee Study regarding possible <br /> runoff from the expanded quarry. These concerns are largely <br /> addressed by the EIS, however, which indicates that runoff will <br /> drain to the quarry pit and be recycled or released downstream <br /> through approved means. Also, concerns about the existing asphalt <br /> plant have been addressed through the previously referenced four- <br /> party agreement-. Immediate concerns regarding runoff have been <br /> addressed by the construction of containment structures and long- <br /> term concerns are met by requiring removal of the plant by May <br /> 2000. Finally, staff recognizes that there is a balancing "public <br /> good" in this case that further mitigates hydrologic concerns. . <br /> The proposed Rural Industrial Activity Node complies with 10 of the <br /> same criteria, receiving a "Questionable" evaluation on <br /> "Hydrology". <br /> Rural Industrial Activity Nodes, according to the Land Use Element, <br /> should be located outside of 100-year flood-prone areas. The <br /> floodplain of Phil's Creek which is 150 - 200 feet in width crosses <br /> through the site. The EIS states that impacts on the flood plain <br /> will be minor and temporary as a result of placing culverts for the <br /> 18 <br />