Minutes 09-15-2020 Virtual Business Meeting

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35 signalized options are of more concern. He asked if the percentages of personal vehicle traffic and commercial truck traffic could be identified. Christa Greene said until the land user is known, the exact percentages will not be known. She said different times of the day will bring varying traffic, but the study looked at the heaviest possible traffic options. Commissioner McKee said his concern is the number of trucks that will be on Davis Road. He asked what amount of the 52% will be large trucks. He said he disagrees with the noise assessment, and thinks it will be louder. Christa Greene said she does not have the exact percentage, but it is only a portion of Davis Road, not the entire length. Commissioner McKee said he wants to know how many heavy trucks there will be, and why those trucks cannot be sent out exclusively on the signalized service roads. Christa Greene said the service road is too close to the interchange to have the stacking. Commissioner McKee said it is tricky, but the signals can be timed. Christa Greene said if it was a four-lane road, and the service road was further down, it would be sufficient, but these is the results of the traffic analysis. She said the study did consider the alternatives. Commissioner McKee said the issue is truck traffic on Davis Road. Christa Greene said the signal will make it safe for trucks to get in and out. Commissioner Price asked what other improvements will be made to Davis Road. Christa Greene said per NCDOT requirements, there will be signalization; a taper into the site; turn lanes; and a signal at the ramp will be completed. She said there will also be several improvements along 86. Commissioner Price said she is concerned about how narrow Davis Road is. Commissioner Price said the uses may not be known, but it is reported to be less trip generations than 2 fast food restaurants or a Walmart. She asked how this conclusion was reached. Christa Greene said there is a standardized trip generation manual, which allows the calculations to be made. Commissioner Price asked if there was a reason that the project was compared against fast food. She asked if it is unknown what will be on the site, how were these comparisons chosen. Michael Birch said the trip generation that was used was associated with the warehousing use, which has a particular trip generation associated with it. He said this was done as part of the scoping process. He said every use may not be a warehousing use, but it was taken into account that if there were other uses, with different trip generation rate, the recommended improvements would still accommodate the other allowable uses. Commissioner Price said she understands the formulas, but wondered how the comparisons were chosen given that the nature of the site is not yet specified. She said the concept plans to not mean the buildings will be as they are described. Christa Greene said comparison sites from around the country were used through the trip generating formula. Commissioner Price referred to the environmental assessment, and asked if their staff conferred with local staff in Orange County. She said there is 161 acres of wooded area, and she has to believe that this will have some impact, as it is a heritage area. Chris Bostic said they did confer with County Staff about the Cates Creek property, specifically. He said the majority of that natural area is located completely off of the property in question, and a large portion of this property was clear-cut previously. He said the data on this land was out of date, so his staff biologist went out last week and re-evaluated the land. He said the area of their property is an upland area, and the soils are acidic soils.