Agenda 8-a - Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 WE Craig Benedict said yes, and the possibility of a new rail crossing is minimal. Commissioner Marcoplos asked if Norfolk- Southern is a private company. Craig Benedict said Norfolk- Southern has the use of the right of way from the State. Commissioner Marcoplos asked if anyone has approached Norfolk- Southern to see if they will change their mind. Craig Benedict said they are in the mode to close private crossing throughout the state, and close public crossings where they can, NCRR has rerouted roads rather than closing crossings. Commissioner Price asked if they are discussing at grade crossings. Craig Benedict said yes. Commissioner Price asked if, this area would be developed; would there be any at grade, open crossings. Craig Benedict said one suggestion was to have a grade crossing, as there seems to be no way to go under or over it. He said the likelihood of NCRR approving this is minimal. Commissioner Price asked if there would be trains going through the property without signals, and bars to alert people to the train's presence. Craig Benedict said the train is only used to transport coal to UNC, and there are no crossings being suggested for this site. Commissioner Price referred to the buffer, and asked if the buffer is a long standing policy, or a current recommendation. Craig Benedict said the wetlands necessitate required buffers. Commissioner Price asked if the size of the buffers is an existing requirement. Craig Benedict said the buffers are required, and the County has expanded them beyond the regulated size. He said these policies exist amongst the local governments. Commissioner Price said what bothers her is that the County is considering this project in isolation to the rest of the neighborhood, and without seeing what else is around the proposed development area. She said she would like the Board to be cognizant of this, and she requested working with the surrounding neighborhoods in an ongoing manner as the process moves forward, as opposed to at the end of the process. Craig Benedict said Reverend Campbell has been a good attendee of all staff meetings, and is already providing input. He said staff will do some ground trooping as it receives direction from the BOCC. He said the land will likely be a mixture of low, medium, and high density. Commissioner Price requested again that there be more interaction with the different residential communities that would surround this area. She said she would like to see some mixed use, such as a small business incubator, included in the conversation. Craig Benedict said this is a part of the mixed use discussions, and staff has heard from professionals, who build mix use, about the importance of considering the amount of critical mass that is needed to create enough traffic to get people to use retail and incubator space, in connectivity to different roads. He said eventual roads to the north and south will be important to create the critical mass of traffic. Commissioner Price said she is not thinking of a huge commercial development, but rather a centralized small business space for people in the neighborhood, or a small health clinic. She said there are a lot of residents in this area, and she would like to see them more involved in the conversation. Commissioner Jacobs thanked the Chair and the staff for being creative, and he said this is one of the most undisturbed natural areas in Chapel Hill. He said it would be useful to see more of where the roads are going to go out of the area, and it is important to make sure the neighborhoods are kept informed through neighborhood meetings. He said Reverend