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MEMORANDUM <br /> <br /> TO: Board of County Commissioners <br />CC: Bonnie Hammersley, County Manager <br />Travis Myren, Deputy County Manager <br />Steve Brantley, Economic Development Director <br /> FROM: David Stancil, DEAPR Director <br />Craig N. Benedict, Planning & Inspections Director <br /> DATE: October 12, 2020 <br /> SUBJECT: BOCC Request for Clarification of Environmental Comments <br />Including Water Quality Measures and Natural Areas <br /> <br /> <br />During consideration of the Research Triangle Logistics Park Conditonal Zoning (RTLP-CZ), <br />both residents and interest organizations have commented on two primary environmental <br />concerns: <br /> <br />1) protection of a portion of a Natural Heritage Site located on the proposed RTLP <br />property; and <br />2) protection of water quality in an unnamed tributary to Cates Creek that is also located <br />within the project boundaries. <br /> <br />In response to these concerns, the Board of Commissioners requested that the Planning and <br />Development Department coordinate with the Department of Environment, Agriculture, Parks <br />and Recreation to further examine the extent to which the current project proposal protects these <br />existing natural features. <br /> <br />Natural Heritage Site <br />Natural Heritage Site E09 (Cates Creek Hardwood Forest) was originally identified in the 1988 <br />Inventory of Natural Areas and Wildlife Habitats. The boundaries of this site were adjusted in <br />2004 to decrease the size of the Site to a total of 80.3 acres to reflect timber harvesting. <br /> <br />A portion of the Natural Heritage Site (5.6 acres) remains inside the southern and western <br />borders of the proposed RTLP project. Based on feedback from the Board of Commissioners, <br />Planning staff has worked with the developer to preserve a 100-foot vegetated buffer along the <br />southern and western boundaries of the RTLP site adjacent to the Natural Heritage area. This <br />100 foot, no build buffer will help to mitigate impacts on the Natural Heritage site located on and <br />adjacent to the RTLP site. <br /> <br />The Natural Heritage Program also recently provided notice of a State – listed threatened <br />freshwater mussel, the Notched Rainbow (Villosa constricta), to the north of the RTLP property <br />but within the unnamed tributary of Cates Creek that continues off the site. The floodplain and <br />stream buffer requirements contained in the RTLP conditons will provide a layer of protection <br />for the freshwater mussel species. <br /> <br />Water Quality in the Unnamed Tributary to Cates Creek <br />The RTLP MPD-CZ conditions provide three primary water quality protections onsite as well as <br />within the broader watershed. <br />Attachment 2 6