4.19.23 PB Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Approved & T23 275 10 and Lawrence Road was completely ignored in that analysis . It' s a very dangerous intersection currently and they are 276 looking at adding 15 , 000 cars in this general vicinity and are saying that hardly any of them will be coming from the south 277 and that is ridiculous . That says that all the people here who are supporting tennis and the baseball fields , and the STEM 278 schools are not going to be coming from Beckett's Ridge and Waterstone or Joppa Oaks . None of them are going to be 279 coming up Old NC 10 and going up Lawrence Road to the site , that' s ludicrous . It' s a direct route to get there from the 280 south of the site . I don ' t understand how that could be so neglected in the traffic impact analysis and I am really 281 concerned about that intersection . My husband , who spoke earlier, who only has one arm , he lost his arm on Old NC 10 . 282 This is not a conceptual danger for us . This is reality . It' s a dangerous road now and you are going to add a lot of traffic 283 to it . I am here to say, I support baseball fields , I support tennis , I support STEM schools but not on this site , not on this 284 road . It is the wrong place for it . I ask for you to vote no on this . 285 286 Scott Czecklewski : I am CEO of the Hillsborough Chamber of Commerce and I am speaking tonight on behalf of our 287 Board of Directors . The Chamber' s mission is to promote both economic development and quality of life , so we carefully 288 consider all sides of an issue before we take a position . The applicant created the plans for this site based on needs 289 expressed by the public and for the Hillsborough Youth Athletic Association and the Orange Tennis Club . Even more 290 importantly, the applicant studied the established . . . . development ordinance and created a project that fits within the 291 scope of the development deemed appropriate for this site . The applicant then determined and carried out everything 292 required to have the school approved according to state and municipal regulations . This zoning change and proposed 293 uses are consistent with the Orange County Comprehensive Plan . The plan identifies this parcel in a twenty-year 294 transition area which means that the county intended for it to evolve in this manner on this land . As the Chamber Board 295 studied this proposal , it was easy to identify the need for the infrastructure that this rezoning will open the door to build . 296 There is a significant lack of baseball , softball fields and tennis and pickleball courts in the area as you have heard from 297 many people tonight . That' s why this project has such strong support from the Hillsborough Youth Athletic Association 298 and the Orange Tennis Club . Youth participating in HYAA play at 3 fields , one , Collin ' s Field , will no longer be available 299 once the development of that site begins . Local tennis and pickleball players have expressed concerns about the courts 300 in the area . They are limited to just three courts . Tennis players must travel to Durham and Chapel Hill when they play, 301 supporting businesses elsewhere . While there will always be traffic fears with any new development, the developers plan 302 improvements in the intersections and with the construction of turn lanes at both entrances to the school and the 303 school ' s bussing plan will help alleviate those concerns . Something Mayor Weaver said at the last meeting struck me , 304 she noted that many proposals for this property had been made over the past 15 years , and all had been denied . Our 305 area youth will be served in many positive , life-changing ways for decades to come by these proposed charter schools 306 and athletic fields . It' s time that a project that meets the guidelines of the UDO and the comprehensive plan is approved . 307 The Chamber Board of Directors hopes the plan will be approved . 308 309 Steve Kirby : I am the boy' s and girl ' s high school tennis coach at Eno River Academy and a parent of kids who like to 310 play tennis . I am speaking in favor of the proposed rezoning request because the kids need more accessible tennis 311 courts , as we ' ve heard . Our tennis teams are young having just started playing in the fall if 2021 but interest in them has 312 been growing . We don ' t have enough places to play tennis . We have difficulty renting a space to have practices and to 313 play our matches . The only ones in the area are rented by a middle school in Durham because they lack courts as well . 314 Our athletic director has been able to rent courts at Moreene Road Park but we are only able to do so before school gets 315 out . It is interesting to note that when we have home tennis matches , the kids miss their entire last class , which makes it 316 difficult for us to get parental approval and the kids end up leaving school earlier for home matches than they do for 317 away matches . Matches regularly go for two and a half to three hours so we bump up against the 6 o ' clock deadline , 318 even with the three o ' clock start . Three weeks ago , when we had a tennis match it bumped right up against it and we 319 had to beg the tennis leagues to let us finish playing our high school tennis matches . They kicked us off and we had to 320 beg them to let us play a match point. The earlier afternoon matches aren ' t accessible to us . Some schools such as 321 Orange High , Cedar Ridge and Graham , won 't play us at our courts because it means their kids get out of school too 322 early, so we have to play at their courts . The problem with that is the distance of travel . It' s a tough call for parents to 323 make to say twenty minutes each direction is what we will have to travel to practices every day and for matches . With 324 other sports , it' s right there at school . It also impacts our ability to have a thriving middle school program because they 325 involve courts too . So , we are facing competition not just from other Durham schools but from our own middle schools 326 and we can ' t get middle schools to have tennis programs because they don ' t have a place to put them . Tennis is a great 327 sport; we love it and we want a place to play and that is why you should vote for this proposal . 328