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Home My Public Portal About11.28.2000 Joint Public Hearing�1 Town of AGENDA JOINT PUBLIC HEARING HILLSBOROUGH TOWN BOARD and PLANNING BOARD Tuesday, November 28, 2000 7:00 PM, Town Barn ITEM #1: Call public hearing to order. ITEM #2: Request from Shelco, Inc. to Rezone 24.72 acres in the southeast quadrant on NC86 and US70a from Limited Office to Entranceway Special Use Permit. The parcel is known as Tax Map 4.40.A.9d. The application is submitted on behalf of A Southern Season and Craig Davis Properties. The submitted Master Plan/Special Use Permit shows a 96,000 square foot warehouse building with related parking on a 12.04 acre parcel in Phase 1. Year round, 75-80 employees are expected working 7:30 AM — 8:00 PM. Seasonal (September — January) 250 employees are expected operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Two additional buildings are shown schematically on a 3.84 acre and 6.14 acre site in Phase 2 and 3 respectively. Only one access point is planned on NC 86, aligning with Cornerstone Court. ITEM #3: Adjourn Please call the Clerk or Planning Department if you cannot attend 732-2104 ext. 224 or 228 Both lines are connected to voice mail 101 East Orange Street • P.O. Box 429 • Hillsborough, North Carolina 27278 919_7.?9_91n4 • F,,,. 919-R44-9.?9n MINUTES JOINT PUBLIC HEARING November 28, 2000 PRESENT: Mayor Horace Johnson, Frances Dancy, Evelyn Lloyd, Brian Lowen, Mark Sheridan, Ed Gill (PB Chair), Pam Blue -Thompson, Joel Brinkley, Cathy Carroll, David Daniel, Brian Ketchem, Bryant Warren PUBLIC: Craig Davis, Jim Lepley, Parker Sniffen, Jim Parker, Briggs Wesche, Allen Knight, Robin Jacobs, Ray Sparrow, Todd Chavious, Eric Peterson, and Margaret Hauth ITEM #2: Mayor Johnson called the hearing to order at 7:10 PM and passed the gavel to Planning Board Chair Gill. Hauth asked the board to allow the applicant to present the basic information about his proposal, them allow her to go through her report, allow the applicant to answer any concerns raised in the report and open the floor for public comment. She added that some direction from the members following the public comment to the applicant would help them prepare any further plans or modifications that might be desirable. The members agreed to follow this process. Craig Davis of Craig Davis properties provided some background on the project and his company. He said that the Phase 1 building would be 70% occupied by a Southern Season upon its completion and that they would grow into that building and phases 2 and 3. He noted that due to the seasonal nature of A Southern Season, they need to occupy the building in June or July, which creates a significant time issue for the entire project. Davis said that his company has built over 4 million square feet of office and light industrial space over its history. He said the proposed building is not a warehouse, but an office and assembly facility that includes 10,000 square feet of office space. Parker Sniffen described the site features. He said the road is based on the one reviewed and approved in the Owl's Wood proposal for subdivision of this site. He noted the development is laid out in three phases to build three buildings, but they are only seeking building permission for phase one. Sniffen said that one of the client requirements was sufficient parking to for their employees so the site contains 287 spaces. He noted the additional information that was provided in the form of section drawings through the site to help interpret the grading plan and elevation renderings from 5 different locations around the site. Hauth briefly described the process, reminding everyone that the application is for both a rezoning and master plardspecial use permit. She noted that many of the requirements for a master plan submittal are not well suited to drawings; they are suited to verbal argument indicating how the site meets the ordinance intent and similar questions. Hauth said that the requirements for the special use permit were about half and half in terms of information provided and not provided. She moved to her specific comments and recommended conditions for the members to consider placing on the special use permit. Her report is attached. Sniffen spoke to address some of the concerns noted in the report. He said that crosswalks in the parking area could be added. He expressed concern about the viability of a pedestrian connection to the Meadowlands due to the topography and distance. He said there is a 74 -foot elevation change and the distance is 2,200 feet. Davis spoke to the building materials and design. He said the building would be of tilt concrete panels which could have some design and tint added to provide some interest to the fagade. He stressed his company's interest in building a quality development, both in terms of building design and site landscaping. He said that this facility would JPH 11/28/2000, page 2 be in the 95 percentile of all similar. facilities constructed nationwide and the client will pay a premium of 20% to locate in Hillsborough. He offered to provide photographs and video of other similar sites constructed by his company to assist in finding an acceptable design for this site. Sniffen noted that the truck court area is likely fixed and cannot be reduced if it is to accommodate the expected vehicles. Allen Knight spoke as a neighboring property owner. He said that he is in favor of the application and excited about A Southern Season being his neighbor. Robin Jacobs read a statement from husband Barry Jacobs who could not attend the meeting. A written copy of his comments is attached. Ray Sparrow another neighboring property owner in Cornerstone. He is also in favor of the application but expressed concern about the traffic it will generate. He expressed concern that the town does not appear to be actively working to improve the current problems. Gill noted his concern about the site already exceeding impervious surface and setback limitations. He noted that is the parking was reduced; those two issues would likely be resolved. He noted that if you make some assumptions about employment, it appears that only about 60 employees would be on-site at any time. Briggs Wesche, general manager for A Southern Season, provided additional information. She noted that the 250 employees is a full time equivalent number, which means there are many more employees than 250 working a variety of shifts and part-time arrangements. She noted that their current facility in Alamance County is 30,000 square feet and there were 200 vehicles in the parking lot at 2:30 this afternoon. If you triple the square footage, it is reasonable to triple the parking. Mayor Johnson noted his concern about the building and landscaping; reiterating that this is the town's entranceway and only the highest quality is acceptable. Daniel noted that this might be the right tenant for the wrong site, echoing concerns about the tightness of the site. He listed his concerns of parking and traffic; building design; visibility of the roof from the NC 86/Cornerstone intersection; the need for a turn lane on NC 86, the front setback encroachment worsened by the additional right-of-way needed; stormwater in excess of the design year storm; and the need for the connection to the Meadowlands (preferably a road). Jim Parker said they will look carefully at the stormwater issues and will only propose something that is safe and workable. Davis asked the members to work with him to find funding options to speed up road construction or bring additional resources to the table from the state. He added that the Town Board's support would be critical to argue for economic development funds. He asked the members to be more specific with what they want to see the building look like. The members indicated concerns about the character and materials in the building. Gill returned the gavel to Mayor Johnson, who closed the public hearing. Mayor Johnson adjourned the meeting at 9:00 PM. Respectfully submitted, M garet A. Hauth, Secretary