Agenda 11-18-2025; 5-a - Application for Zoning Atlas Amendment – 1039-UT NC 86 N, Hillsborough, Hillsborough Township

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181 Approved 10.1.25 715 716 Chris Johnston: Wonderful. I think that was my last question. I mean, it sounds a lot like the town of Hillsborough 717 had a few recommendations in regard to the NCDOT and in regard to other things, and I think 718 those have been addressed as best as possible. 719 720 Lamar Proctor: All right. Statler? 721 722 Statler Gilfillen: In the reports, and I have listened to questions from the school. There was an email sent to the 723 Board from a Rebecca Gallegly, who is not able to be here tonight. I don't know if you've seen 724 that. 725 726 Beth Trahos: No sir, I have not. 727 728 Statler Gilfillen: It goes, our small neighborhood and our children's school Eno River Academy both share the 729 property line. The proposed new big development on Highway 86. We were at the initial property 730 meeting, and just received notice of the application to rezone 78 acres, I will be out of town and 731 unable to attend the meeting but wanted to voice my concern regarding this development. The 732 proposed property runs next to Stroud's Creek, a major tributary to the Eno River and protected 733 watershed.The creek is used by Eno River Academy students as a significant learning tool,the 734 students do creek studies and hike trails they created year-round.There is an outdoor classroom 735 that is utilized almost daily.We would be heartbroken to have sewage from the proposed 50 736 septic fields to each home or runoff from the building process leaking into this creek causing 737 contamination. Thank you for your consideration in not rezoning for a large housing development. 738 Now, my question is two-fold. I think it has also been established that 86 as a highway is 739 potentially dangerous to access to. Your development is putting two new entrances on 86, not 740 one,which raises questions to me as an architect and planner about the safety during the peak 741 hours. Two exits instead of backup coming onto the property. The Eno and this raises the other 742 point. The Eno Academy is right behind your property, have any discussions been done with 743 them about the possibility of bringing access through their property and better coordinating with 744 them of things that what you develop on your property could actually benefit the academy more, 745 and the students could use, particularly natural trails and other things, might be really useful in a 746 public setting to your neighbors. Have any discussions in this direction begun to be thought or 747 taken? 748 749 Beth Trahos: So,you have asked two things.The first was with regard to access, and Josh,you jump in, but I'll 750 just say,the layout was designed with Josh's input and shown to NCDOT, but obviously it is 751 NCDOT that will permit any access points. If they determine that an access cannot function 752 safely, they will not issue a driveway permit for that access. So,we have to do what NCDOT tells 753 us to do to make the accesses function safely. And we will do those things. 754 755 Statler Gilfillen: Well, let's put it this way. Why have you designed it, I'll continue this, as two accesses when you 756 have the option to make one of them a dead end and let the entrance to the site only come 757 through one. 758 759 Josh Reinke: I won't say the why the team has designed that, but I would say more often than not, I actually 760 hear the flip side of that in these meetings, and it's,what happens if something happens at that 761 one driveway, and you don't have a secondary access for somebody to respond to a house that's 762 further back,say there was a car crash at a driveway, but a fire happens at a house in the back, 763 and now how does the fire department access.That additional access, and once again, exactly 764 what Beth said, is if they say there's an issue with site distance, they could restrict it to a right in or 765 right out,they could do any one of a number of things. DOT could say we want turn lanes at both 766 driveways to make sure we have that. But I'd say having the additional driveway, as long as the 767 design is safe,where we're saying we're not concerned about the site distance because they've 768 mitigated those concerns, then I think the additional access actually is a safety precaution, saying 769 now you have two ways to access that in case there was an emergency.