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9/19/94 Planning Board Minutes <br /> • 10 <br /> (3) Borrow Pits/State & Federal Highway Projects <br /> Presentation by Mary Willis. <br /> This item is to consider a proposed amendment to <br /> the Zoning Ordinance to allow borrow pits <br /> associated with a state or federal highway <br /> construction project as a use permitted by right <br /> in all zoning districts. <br /> The issue of borrow pits was recently brought to <br /> the attention of the Planning Staff by a <br /> contractor bidding for a NCDOT contract to <br /> replace the bridge on NC 54 which crosses the Haw <br /> River. A. borrow pit is an area excavated to <br /> provide fill dirt for construction projects, <br /> including major road construction projects. After <br /> the excavation is completed, the area is <br /> generally reclaimed. Reclamation may include <br /> refilling the borrow pit with inert construction <br /> debris from the road project. <br /> Currently the Zoning Ordinance does not provide <br /> a distinction between a borrow pit and a <br /> commercial quarry operation, nor does it <br /> distinguish between the reclamation of a borrow <br /> pit and the creation of a landfill. Both <br /> landfills and quarries require approval of a <br /> Class A Special Use Permit. <br /> The amendment would allow the creation and <br /> reclamation of a borrow pit associated with a <br /> State or Federal highway improvement project as a <br /> use by right, provided that certain conditions <br /> specified in the amendment text are met. <br /> The proposed amendment was presented for public <br /> hearing on August 22, 1994. There were no <br /> citizen comments. A Planning Board member <br /> requested information on the differences between <br /> local and State or Federal erosion control <br /> programs. A memorandum from the Erosion Control <br /> Supervisor regarding this issue is an attachment <br /> to these minutes on page <br /> The Board of Commissioners commented that <br /> construction debris should be reused to the <br /> extent possible rather than be buried in the <br /> borrow pit in order to be consistent with the <br /> Sustainable Communities Policy. The Board of <br /> Commissioners also raised the issue of enforcing <br /> the requirement that the borrow pit be reclaimed. <br /> The County Manager responded to the concerns of <br /> the Commissioners by stating that the provision <br />