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_ r ' <br /> UPI. <br /> AGENCY COMMENTS <br /> No agency comments have been received. Comments were <br /> solicited from the Town of Hillsborough; the N.C. Department <br /> of Transportation; the Orange County Sheriff's Department, <br /> Economic Development Commission, Engineer, Emergency <br /> Services, Soil and Water Conservation, and Attorney. <br /> STAFF ANALYSIS <br /> The issue of non--residential uses at the Interstate 40/Old 86 <br /> interchange is not a new one. Perhaps the most <br /> significant of the previous work on the subject came in 1984, <br /> with the I-40/Old 86 Area Study. <br /> The I-40/Old 86 Area Study was developed with area residents <br /> in early-mid 1984 . Documents indicate that the citizens <br /> involved with this study fell into two camps: those in favor <br /> of non-residential development at the (then under <br /> construction) interchange; and those who wished to see <br /> continued rural residential uses . The area study presented at <br /> public hearing in August 1984 (and again in November 1984) <br /> called for the establishment of a "blended" Commercial <br /> Transition and Rural Industrial Activity Node. Comments at <br /> those public hearings reflected both favor and disfavor. <br /> The eventual conclusion of the study came in January 1985, <br /> when the proposed amendments were not acted upon in favor of <br /> leaving the area Rural Residential. <br /> The current proposal again raises the issue of non- <br /> residential development at an interstate interchange north of <br /> the Rural Huffer. <br /> From a geographic or locational standpoint, the site meets <br /> the majority of criteria against which a Commercial <br /> Transition Activity Node is judged. Topographic and soils <br /> features are adequate for development, and there are no <br /> natural areas, farmlands, or culturally-significant sites <br /> that would be adversely affected by this proposal. The <br /> transportation system at this site is almost textbook in its <br /> qualifications, located adjacent to a freeway leading into <br /> the Research Triangle. <br /> The primary concerns with the site relate to the fact that is <br /> not currently recognized in the Land Use Element as a <br /> transition area, the lack of a supporting population density <br /> in the vicinity, and the question of public services. <br /> All of these issues are related to the question of <br /> appropriate development at the interchange. Of these <br /> concerns, the first has the most policy-related implications . <br /> It should be noted that the I-40 interchange is one of three <br /> in Orange County leading into the urban areas comprising the <br /> 7 <br />