Minutes 04-20-2021 Virtual Business Meeting

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30 As you know, Medline is nearing completion. At full capacity, there will be up to 600 employees and potentially hundreds of daily truck trips. The Neyer project, not yet started, is approximately '/4 mile away. It will put another 500,000-800,000 square foot warehouse with potentially 250+ employees and another 50-100 daily truck trips. Medline owns the property across the road from their current build and that has been re-zoned M-2. They have not decided on type of development or if they will sell the property to a supporting industry. There has been no traffic impact study that includes the projected Medline activity. There has been no real estate impact study to determine the effect that this development will have on the surrounding homes. There has been no study of the impact that this tremendous amount of impervious surface and storm water re-direction will have on adjacent residential wells. It is unfair for certain people and certain lands to bear such a heavy burden. There is a middle school, a soccer field, another proposed ball park, 2 places of worship and multiple residences on West Ten Road. Enough is enough. I'm not opposed to development--there can be development without a solid row of warehouses down the entire length of West Ten Road. Please put some thought and imagination into this plan before our home values plummet. Thank you for hearing my concerns. Tim Spruill read the following statement: Hello-I am Tim Spruill, a hydrologist, and a concerned citizen of Orange County. I would like to relate my concerns about the Buckhorn Area Plan. Land-use limitations are established by states and counties to minimize environmental damage by preventing pollution of water sources for drinking, preventing erosion and loss of soil, and minimizing major habitat destruction for a variety of animals and plants. One of the main reasons that urban development causes damage to the environment is because of the concrete and other impervious materials used to replace the pervious soil. Impervious surfaces cause changes in rainfall runoff volume, flow frequency, and runoff chemistry and typically reduce baseflow to the receiving stream. Habitat for thousands of invertebrate and vertebrate animals are simply removed from the area initially because of buildout, and later, from streamflow changes caused by the impervious surface. When does impervious surface area begin to cause change? Based on numerous studies, streams begin to degrade in biological quality when only about 10-12% of the watershed is impervious. At 15% impervious surface and above, streamflow, baseflow, and chemical quality all degrade as well. A major contributor to Hillsborough's water supply is Sevenmile Creek which is located within the Buckhorn Area Plan (BAP). The stream constitutes about 23% of the drainage area of the Eno River at Hillsborough and contributes about this much to Hillsborough's water supply. With the BAP, the Orange County Planning Department has ignored the impervious surface limits with the Buckhorn Area Plan, by allowing up to 70% impervious surface in the area. This amount of development violates State established maximum limit of 12-30% for a protected watershed (which the County is supposed to enforce!). If developed as planned, water quality and biological quality in Sevenmile Creek will degrade to become a severely impacted urban stream with poor biological diversity and water quality. Additionally, water availability will be far less because of blockage of recharge to the shallow aquifer that feeds Sevenmile Creek. The people of Orange County expect the Planning Department to provide opportunities for businesses that are sustainable and are appropriate for the setting. A land-use plan that places a few huge moneymaking industries at the top of a watershed that will degrade drinking water for thousands of people and diminish recreational and tourism opportunities, and violate the