Orange County NC Website
APPROVED 10/13/2014 <br />OC Board of Adjustment – 8/27/2014 Page 21 of 64 <br /> <br /> <br />subdivisions. I am also a farmer. I have owned a farm since 1989 and part of this land that I purchased 1 <br />which we will talk about is also farm. I am going to talk about access issues, buffering issues, impervious 2 <br />surface limitation issues and I am going to conclude with pipeline safety. I am not a pipeline safety 3 <br />expert but I do have a piece of pipeline that sat in the North Carolina City Soils for some 58 years until I 4 <br />uncovered it and you might find it interesting and we will talk about that in a little bit. Let me start first by 5 <br />telling you what I own and where it is located. First, off Mebane Oaks Road, here, the next road is here, 6 <br />the next road is here. I own the area in black. This is my access road from Mebane Oaks Road. It is 7 <br />names Radner Farm Road and it leads out here. It is an 80 acre parcel. My neighbor is here tonight. I 8 <br />also own 105 acre parcel, here and I am going to go from east to west and cover several points during 9 <br />my presentation. Let me again by saying, I had a number of excellent conversations with Andrew Moore 10 <br />and Rob Priester and if it weren’t for being sued by SCANA, I would still be talking today but Mr. Rhoads 11 <br />wishes to move the process ahead and the only way he figures how to do that is sue people. 12 <br />Matt Rhoads: I am going to object to that because it is completely irrelevant in the criteria of the Board. 13 <br />Larry Wright: Objection heard is accepted. 14 <br />Joseph Zaragoza: Before I purchased this property, I did considerable due diligence. We have heard 15 <br />some about the old pipelines and what is coming. This is as complicated as you are going to get but this 16 <br />is actually what it looks like under the ground. In 1952, we have heard about the 10 inch pipeline that 17 <br />was installed, well, it is the one existing. In this area, it crosses under Nicks Road and comes to a valve 18 <br />station which is about 45 feet by 50 feet. That is 1952. That line continues on and over here it starts 19 <br />here and runs clear across here, much of it on my property. In 1999, Cardinal, which I believe is owned 20 <br />partially by PSNC installed their pipeline, the 20 inch line and it runs parallel. It goes under and over in a 21 <br />few places, at least at one place on my property, they go like that. There is a lot of flexibility with these 22 <br />pipes and the way they lay them out. Okay, 1999, the question was asked whether a special use permit 23 <br />was needed for this fenced area, this value station, one of the documents I am giving you, shows the 24 <br />easement that my predecessor of ownership the Nicholson’s entered into with Cardinal. There was one 25 <br />and it was revised six months later, in January 1999, the only revision in January 1999 was to require a 26 <br />50 foot radius vegetated screen buffer and today if you go out there, you will see two rows of trees right 27 <br />in this vacuity, there is another few trees here, there is none over here because it was wouldn’t have 28 <br />been practical given this area is where the existing 10 inch line is. So in 2008, one year before I bought 29 <br />the property, PSNC decided they needed an additional easement area which led me to think well, if they 30 <br />are ever do anything, they are going to use this or widened 2008 what they have purchased this piece so 31 <br />2010-2011 rolled around and I started to build my access road and in 2011 I built a culvert with DOT 32 <br />driveway permit. Then 2014, I first met Rob Priester on my property in March of this year. I took him all 33 <br />around; virtually everything I am saying tonight is what I told him in March. I said, really, you need to 34 <br />stick to this easement but if you don’t, you got to accommodate my road here and don’t make it 35 <br />impossible for me to develop my land. How could they make it impossible for me to develop my land? 36 <br />This is that culvert I am showing here. They could put their pipeline right here at this gray. Let’s say 37 <br />three or four feet rather than down here. This is where the 16 inch line could go, it could go anywhere 38 <br />along here. This is where the 10 inch line could go. Could go almost anywhere. This is an eight foot 39 <br />difference between the existing grade at Nicks Road, eight feet, why, because I have three foot ditches 40 <br />here and then five feet of minimum covered. If I were to build a road, they would tell me I need five feet 41 <br />of cover. No 36 inches. In fact, when I did build this farm road, they required, PSNC required me to add 42 <br />two additional feet of fill right here in order to cross it. They have yet ever to respond to my request for 43 <br />them to put this line down deep. I don’t know what it is, they can show it on plat, they can show it on 44 <br />drawing but if you don’t put it in writing, it doesn’t exist. So eventually, I will be a DOT standard road 45 <br />here. Right now it is a farm path. It takes me from Nicks Road to my farm fields. Let’s go on, you 46 <br />noticed I haven’t said anything like I am opposed to this pipeline. I never said that. Alright, so the 47 <br />pipeline, PSNC has a 35 foot wide easement on my property. Part of what I did. In addition to that 30 48 <br />foot easement, it says in simple language, you don’t have the right to use any of my land except for the 49 <br />easement. Something they don’t understand. They don’t understand English. This part of Radner Farm 50 <br />road is in contention. What I mean by that, Radner Farm road is existing on a 50 foot easement. 51 <br />Cardinal has a 50 foot easement; PNC has a 30 foot easement. Yes, they want to put their 16 inch line 52 <br />in the 30 foot easement right at the edge. But what else do they want. They want 20 additional feet of 53