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15 <br /> Commissioner Carter said Commissioners are using 2030 Plan to make their decision, but <br /> she understands there is another plan being developed currently for future planning decisions. <br /> She said as she looks at the current 2050 Comprehensive Plan, there are goals speaking to future <br /> developments that would support businesses and are built in an environmentally conscientious <br /> way. She said as they consider what is on its face, a very worthy project, they must use very <br /> specific goals that will guide the Board in decision making. She highlighted the need for water and <br /> sewer infrastructure in the 2050 plan. <br /> Scott Radway agreed there is a great challenge to provide housing opportunities in a good <br /> fashion that lives up to environmental, social, and other goals. He said the other layer is how to <br /> do that in the current infrastructure or the infrastructure you can reasonably expect to have in the <br /> future. He said the county has had real problems with water and sewer. He said there are things <br /> that really fit together but infrastructure for safe wells and wastewater includes what you are <br /> allowed to do with engineered wastewater systems and how they can reach a higher level of <br /> treatment of that. He said he thinks they have provided that information. He said the question is <br /> whether the Board is willing to let what is allowed happen and with a large amount of safety. He <br /> said the applicant has greatly reviewed the water and soils for wastewater and they feel they have <br /> addressed the need. He said that they will abide by the higher impervious surface standards of <br /> neighboring nodes. He suggested those standards be put into this district and to other nodes as <br /> well. <br /> Vice-Chair Hamilton said there seemed to be back and forth on whether this would be a <br /> 55+ community in earlier stages of the process. <br /> Chair Bedford said the Board received an email on that this afternoon. <br /> LeAnn Brown said the intention is for this to be a 55+ community and meet all the <br /> necessary federal requirements. She said there is question from a county perspective, and it is <br /> up to the Board if they would like to make that a condition. She said that if it becomes enforceable, <br /> it would be enforced by the county zoning administrator. She said whether it is a condition or not, <br /> that is the plan. She said they are in agreement if the Board wants to include the condition. <br /> Commissioner Fowler asked if there is a limit to percentage of land that can be <br /> development. <br /> Cy Stober said the activity nodes have a threshold for non-residential uses, but the zoning <br /> ordinance does not address conditional zoning districts. He said non-residential uses could be <br /> allowed with conditional zoning districts. He said that for conventional zoning districts, there are <br /> different thresholds. He said there is available balance for commercial development in this node <br /> and this would not take away from the ability to put commercial uses in the node. <br /> Commissioner Fowler asked if the applicant would be willing to have a condition about <br /> addressing any remediation for neighboring wells that may be impacted. <br /> LeAnn Brown said the applicant has tried to address this issue, but Orange County has <br /> not dealt with de-watering and there are no standards. She said that their research discovered <br /> that there was a concern about neighboring well issues in Wake County and Wake County <br /> investigated a program in place that has not been used for 15 years. She said they do not know <br /> what a condition like that would look like because a well can run dry for other reasons. She said <br /> they would have to determine if the wells are drawing from the same aquafer. She said the rules <br /> in bringing the well up would include determination of the aquafer it is tapped into and if the use <br /> is affecting other wells. She said if they were to affect someone's well, that would be one thing <br /> but if people had problems with wells otherwise, it is a different situation. She said that Wake <br /> County has 600 community wells, and they have not dealt with a dewatering program. She said <br /> she is unsure how to write the condition. She said the applicant would consider such a condition <br /> if it did not require the applicant to pay to research the cause of the neighboring well issues. <br /> Commissioner McKee said he is more concerned about wastewater treatment systems. <br /> He said that he knows they are relatively safe and reliable. He asked if the applicant be willing to <br />