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10 <br /> 1 Beth Trahos began a summary of the proposal. She recognized the members of the team who <br /> 2 have worked on this proposal: <br /> 3 • Laura Haywood and Donna Crowder with Forestar Group <br /> 4 • Don Sever and Danielle Cabral with Bowman Civil Engineers <br /> 5 • Josh Reinke, traffic engineer, with Bolton & Menk <br /> 6 • David Barcal, Civil Engineer, with McConnell and Associates <br /> 7 <br /> 8 Beth Trahos said Ward Marotti, Environment Consultant, with Spangler Environmental, was <br /> 9 unable to attend tonight, but his colleague Cal Rider is here to answer any questions. She said <br /> 10 the applicant has taken this process very seriously and has involved experts to ensure all of the <br /> 11 standards and requirements of the ordinance are met. She recognized Wayne Honeycutt, Realtor, <br /> 12 who was present on behalf of the property owner. She reiterated that this property is owned by <br /> 13 heirs who don't live in the area and have been working diligently to find an appropriate use for the <br /> 14 land. She said the availability of housing is not what it needs to be to accommodate everyone <br /> 15 who wants to live in Orange County. She said, with that in mind, the applicant proposed a <br /> 16 conservation cluster subdivision with a gentle density in an effort to address the housing need. <br /> 17 She said this proposal is very similar to the Rigsby rezoning in White Cross that was recently <br /> 18 approved by the Board. This design allows for a denser configuration of lots, which allows for the <br /> 19 greater preservation and common ownership of open space and environmentally sensitive areas. <br /> 20 She said this proposal includes 49 homes on 79.76 acres in total with a minimum lot size of 20,000 <br /> 21 square feet of that property. This nets out to be one home per 1.6 acres of property. Of that 79.76 <br /> 22 acres, 42.25 acres is open space, which is 53.9% of the site. The project proposes individual <br /> 23 septic on each lot and a community well. Beth Trahos pointed out that there are a few wells in this <br /> 24 area because there is public water available to many surrounding properties. <br /> 25 Commissioner McKee asked how that is relevant since the Town of Hillsborough denied <br /> 26 the applicant's request to connect to Town water. <br /> 27 Beth Trahos explained that while it is true the Town denied the applicant's request to <br /> 28 connect to Town water, there are few adjacent wells to the property here because many neighbors <br /> 29 are on Town of Hillsborough water. She said therefore, there will be fewer potential properties that <br /> 30 would be impacted by the community well. She said it is the applicant's view is that this proposal <br /> 31 complies with the comprehensive plan that is in place today. She said this is a rural industrial <br /> 32 activity node and includes the agricultural residential district. She said the residential conditional <br /> 33 district is recommended in both of those land use categories. She said it is also designated by <br /> 34 Hillsborough as a mixed residential neighborhood. She concluded that the homes are harmonious <br /> 35 with the surrounding area and are reasonable and in the public interest at this location. She said <br /> 36 the team has worked hard really since January to put together a thoughtful and thorough proposal <br /> 37 for consideration, and is hopeful that the Board will join the Orange County Planning Board, which <br /> 38 unanimously recommended approval, in supporting this project. <br /> 39 Commissioner Portie-Ascott said the Board has heard a lot of concerns about traffic on <br /> 40 Highway 86. She said there was information on a driveway permit in the packet, and asked how <br /> 41 that would help mitigate the traffic concerns. <br /> 42 Josh Reinke, traffic engineer with Bolton & Menk answered that the driveway will place <br /> 43 any requirements that will be incorporated into the design. He explained that NCDOT determined <br /> 44 that turn lanes aren't required but the fire chief has expressed concerns. He said the applicant is <br /> 45 willing to recommend turn lanes, but that can't be part of the document until it's part of the NCDOT <br /> 46 driveway permit. <br /> 47 Donna Crowder with Forestar Group reiterated that the driveway permit is how NCDOT <br /> 48 approves improvements along the whole road frontage, not just the driveway. She said the team <br /> 49 has been in discussions with NCDOT and said they would like to put in a center turn lane. In <br /> 50 response, Donna Crowder explained that NCDOT asked for sight distances so that they could <br />