Agenda - 08-24-1992 - Laserfiche WebLink

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.t KPC'U S•21 -9 I 1 '0o on► Lee & Trish Rafalow 4512 Powder Mill Road Chapel Hill, NC 27514 August 18, 1992 Noses Cary, Chairman Orange County Commissioners Orange County Planning Department 306F Revere Road Hillsborough, NC 27278 Re: Public Hearing, CP -1 -92 University Station Land Use Plan Amendment Unfortunately, we will be out of town during the subject public hearing on August 24th, so we would like -to register our concerns about the proposal via this letter. In reviewing the proposal for a rural village, we found ourselves drifting back into a simpler time where small, isolated communities nurtured and supported the residents. Clearly, the combination of the widely -felt frustrations with the problems of our current society and a nostalgia for an earlier time is very appealing. But let's make an effort to separate the fantasy -- and the marketing -- from the facts and the risks. The proposed amendment to the Land Use Plan will create additional traffic; it will create significant economic pressure for other changes to the Land Use Plan; and it does not conform to the intent of the Plan. In their plan sketch dated 6/92, the Amerivest /Kenan /Cogswell Group state that the proposed planned community and site meet the spirit of the criteria outlined in the latest draft of the Rural Character Study. But is this site suitable for the 10 -year transition from rural to urban? Although this hearing seeks public comment on a plan amendment and not a specific proposal, in submitting a sketch of their plans, the developer.offers a staged implementation of a rural planned community that can be examined to help understand the potential impacts of the proposed plan amendment. The proposed development will not be formed overnight with 1326 units, a population of roughly 3000 people, support services and jobs within that community for those people and public transportation to neighboring communities. Instead, it will start with 100 -150 residential sales per year and no viable commercial activity, except perhaps a golf course, in the early stages of development. At what point will it reach a critical mass to support small amounts of commercial use: a convenience store perhaps or a Fearrington -style boutique? At what point after that will it reach a critical mass to support competitive support services: a grocery store, a drug store, a bank? At the same time that these neo- traditional villages have been gaining favor in the development industry, Wal -Mart, Office Depot, Home Quarters and other super stores