Orange County NC Website
2 <br /> 1 a. Matters not on the Printed Agenda <br /> 2 <br /> 3 Chair Rich asked if Board members wanted to hear from all speakers, or from only the <br /> 4 first 20 speakers, due to the hour time constraint. <br /> 5 The Board unanimously signaled to allow all 29 speakers the time to speak, regardless <br /> 6 of the time overage. <br /> 7 Jessica Sheffield thanked the BOCC for allowing her to speak. She said she is the Eno <br /> 8 River Association (ERA) Executive Director, and thanked the Board for its capital investment. <br /> 9 She asked if the Board would continue to maintain funds for ERA in the future years of the <br /> 10 Capital Investment Plan (CIP). She said the ERA works to protect good environmental <br /> 11 stewardship in the Eno River watershed. She said ERA has great concerns about the proposed <br /> 12 Research Triangle Logistics Park, as it will not protect water quality, and quantity, of Cates <br /> 13 Creek and the Eno River. She said 6 acres of the 161-acre proposed project have been <br /> 14 designated by the State as Natural Heritage Natural area, and the current plan goes over this <br /> 15 land. <br /> 16 Chair Rich said the Commissioners have not received this project yet, and it is set to <br /> 17 come before the Board of County Commissioners on September 15th from the Planning <br /> 18 Department. <br /> 19 <br /> 20 Ronald Sieber read the following comments: <br /> 21 My name is Ronald Sieber, and I live in the New Hope Springs neighborhood off of Davis Road. <br /> 22 1 live approximately 1 3/4 miles away from the proposed RTLP project, about which I am <br /> 23 addressing you tonight. I mention this mileage figure because that cited distance triggered an <br /> 24 offhand comment from a Planning Board member at their August 5th meeting which implied that <br /> 25 the citizen who was speaking at that time lived too far away from the project to be affected by it. <br /> 26 1 am here to assert that ALL of the people who live along Ode Turner Rd. and Davis Rd. use <br /> 27 Davis at its intersection with Old NC Hwy. 86 as an entrance/exit to our homes. We will ALL be <br /> 28 affected by this project that threatens our rural neighborhoods. <br /> 29 I've written several letters about this and other matters related to the process by which decisions <br /> 30 so far have been made and how those decisions will affect both the community of which 1 <br /> 31 speak, as well as the surrounding communities all along Old NC Hwy. 86, because all <br /> 32 communities will likely be affected. <br /> 33 Although I write as an individual, I am a member of my local neighborhood as well as the larger <br /> 34 community of Hillsborough and Orange County. I have listened to what others have said about <br /> 35 this issue, and therefore, many of my concerns reflect what others have also voiced. Therefore, <br /> 36 in this manner I am speaking for a much larger group than myself alone. And we are all of one <br /> 37 mind on this issue: the proposed project is too oversized in its present state and amendments to <br /> 38 land use should not be approved that would allow it go forward as proposed. <br /> 39 1 ask that the Board of County Commissioners read the concerns expressed in the letters that 1 <br /> 40 have written, and I implore each commissioner to consider the ramifications of their decisions <br /> 41 yet to be made. <br /> 42 Thank you for your time. I look forward to the public hearing on September 15th <br /> 43 Joan Kalnitsky thanked the BOCC for taking the time to hear from the public. She said <br /> 44 she is opposed to the research triangle park redistrict. She said she has written to the BOCC <br /> 45 and will do so again prior to the September 15 meeting. She said Davis Road was not built to <br /> 46 hand the RTLP, as there are no shoulders and no sidewalks. She said the County allowed <br /> 47 Davis Road to be developed as a quiet neighborhood road. She said it is really difficult to wrap <br /> 48 her head around the proposed building capacity of 950,000 square feet on an immediate access <br />