Orange County NC Website
<br />21 <br /> 1075 <br />Michael Harvey said that it was established in the late ‘80s. The Hillsborough Economic Development District was 1076 <br />created as it currently exists in the mid to late ‘90s. 1077 <br /> 1078 <br />Randy Marshall said that it sounded like the possibilities for many of these uses have been there for 20 to 30 years. 1079 <br /> 1080 <br />Michael Harvey clarified that there are land uses as part of this application that are currently are not allowed. He said 1081 <br />that said land uses have been discussed in several forms with this Board and the BOCC as uses that these bodies 1082 <br />want to see. The applicant has mirrored its application based on the proposed changes in the Table of Permitted 1083 <br />Uses. There are aspects of this project that are currently permitted. If the question is, could there be some type of 1084 <br />industrial operation in this project, the answer is yes. Would it be reviewed under the current confines of the UDO? 1085 <br />Yes. This area has been encouraged and promoted as a good area for heightened economic development. 1086 <br /> 1087 <br />Randy Marshall said that several people have pointed out that they know that something is coming to the area and 1088 <br />no one wants to have their quality of life impacted by the area being developed, but the County wants to develop it. 1089 <br />He said that the Board is trying to make the best decision about what goes into the area. 1090 <br /> 1091 <br />Michael Harvey said that it is also important to note that up until recently, there have been limitations on development 1092 <br />in this area; most notably, lack of infrastructure. That’s about to change, he said. In a way it is inevitable that this area 1093 <br />be used for economic development, notwithstanding utility services, and because it is one of the last interchanges in 1094 <br />the area that has not seen appreciable development. The scarcity of land like this positioned near interchanges will 1095 <br />make this area attractive. These are the facts but these comments are not meant to make the Board act now. He 1096 <br />made the point again that the necessary tools to make development more possible in this area are being extended. 1097 <br /> 1098 <br />Lydia Wegman asked Michael Harvey to identify which of the uses listed on page 314 would not currently be allowed 1099 <br />but that are being considered for inclusion in the revised Table of Permitted Uses. 1100 <br /> 1101 <br />Michael Harvey said that most of these uses on page 314 will be included in the revised Table of Permitted Uses, 1102 <br />based on the directive Staff has from the Planning Board and the BOCC. There is not a lot of distinction, and the 1103 <br />developer used the Table of Permitted Uses discussion to influence what the County wants to see land use-wise. In 1104 <br />consideration of the purpose and intent of this zoning district, there could be a heightened level of industrial uses 1105 <br />allowed, once the Table is adopted at some future date. 1106 <br /> 1107 <br />Craig Benedict said that the regulations that the County has put together, in anticipation of this land use 1108 <br />implementation that has been on the map since the ‘80s, takes into account the impacts that community members 1109 <br />voiced. Traffic-wise, road capacity is evaluated by the TIAs. When traffic from this project meets certain thresholds, 1110 <br />the developer has to make improvements. Mr. Benedict said that this is not a case where the project continues and 1111 <br />someone else fixes the project later. Many residents raised concerns about lighting. Orange County has one of the 1112 <br />best “dark sky” ordinances in North Carolina. The lighting program in Section 6.11 of the UDO requires that light be 1113 <br />limited and directed down. In terms of the environmental issues, the site-by-site EIAs will be considered alongside 1114 <br />master planning for stormwater management which protects the water table. Even though wells are permissible 1115 <br />within the development, they may not necessarily have to install them. It could be the case that stormwater areas 1116 <br />down to groundwater could provide the water for irrigation and other landscaping. 1117 <br /> 1118 <br />Tony Blake asked if there is something that can be done to restrict the amount of water used from a well during a 1119 <br />drought. He acknowledged the technical solutions but asked if verbiage could be added to address the issue. 1120 <br /> 1121 <br />Craig Benedict responded the water table in Orange County is not in the typical stratospheric table seen in other 1122 <br />parts of the country. It is in granite. The creation of a well is about hitting the right cracks in the rock. Since there are 1123 <br />some adjacent properties with wells that are outside of this project, if there are wells are requested in the future for 1124 <br />landscaping, Staff can direct the developer to an area with the least susceptibility of affecting nearby wells. 1125 <br /> 1126 <br />Tony Blake said that there could be something codified about this issue. 1127 <br /> 1128 <br /> 25