Agenda - 04-06-1989 - Laserfiche WebLink

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and they are simply trying to obtain the most flexible land use designation for this land in order to increase its future expected value in the eyes of potential buyers and thus to sell it now. In effect, the investment of lobbying time and energy is probably P13 that University Station Associates will invest in this land, in return for which they will reap substantial a substantial capital gain. Once buyers who have paid a high sum acquire the land, they will feel forced to pursue the plans for high"density develoment, with Hillsborough carrying the cost of water and sewer, in order to receive any return whatever on their investment. In effect then, changing the land use designation (and thereby encouraging an immediate sale of the land at an inflated price reflecting expected future value) will guarantee a chain of events that will result in high density development, with government bodies (and local taxpayers) carrying most of the social costs resulting from this development project. What is ironic about all this is that a few months ago University Station Associates were talking about a low density development project in which they themselves would carry the cost of water and sewer. That kind of a project would in fact be profitable, but University Station Associates are obviously trying to use a change in the land use plan to further increase their net profit on the sale of the land by foisting the water and sewer costs off onto Hillsborough. If the present owners have to • develop this land, let them do so at aglower density within existing constraints, which by their own admission (and earlier plan) allow for an adequate profit without imposing as many social burdens on the county. 4) This development would produce additional environmental and social costs in the futuie that would have to be borne by Orange County residents after the developers are long gone. The thousands of residents of this new BOO- household development and their 1000-1500 vehicles would use New Hope Church Road to travel to 1-40 and Old NC 10 to reach 1-85, and would put great stress on these roads. (Note that woodcroft in southern Durham, which began as a development about this same size, has placed Immense stress on Hope Valley Road.) Such a large number of households would very quickly require that the new elementary school at 86 and New Hope Church Road, not even built yet, would need to be doubled in size. The air pollution due to auto emissions in this area would become a severe problem -- and the Triangle area is already close to being a non-attainment area in terms of the Clean Air Act. Such a large project would greatly increase the pressure for commercial development along New 86, Old NC 10, and New Hope Church Reed, regardless of current land use designations. These same arguments apply even more strongly to the second request, to allow commercial development on 424 acres inside the Rural Buffer at the intersection of 1-40 and New Hope Church Road. This request, advanced by Nello 'leer and Envirotek, was considered April 6 and opposed by the Orange County Planning Department also. This change would permit Nello Peer, disappointed a couple of years ago when the county rejected a permit to operate a rock quarry in this area, to sell its land (about 200 acres, purchased for about $2000/acre in an area where land is now selling for several times that rate) at an even higher capital gain than is already possible even without any land use change. This same change would also permit Envirotek to build a gas station, convenience store, and bakery (and eventually such more, no doubt), supposedly "consistent with the area's rural character." This is utter foolishness -- the only thing that would be consistent with the rural character of the area is to maintain the Rural