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HomeMy Public PortalAbout9.13.2002 Joint Public Hearing Minutes OnlyMINUTES JOINT PUBLIC HEARING September 19, 2002 PRESENT: Mayor Joe Phelps, Ken Chavious, Frances Dancy, Mike Gering, Evelyn Lloyd, Mark Sheridan, David Daniel (PB Chair), Jim Boericke, Joel Brinkley, Matthew Farrelly, Paul Newton, Bryant Warren PUBLIC: Bernell Dickinson, Mary Jo Sheridan, Sergio Rabinovich, Holly Reid, Jo Soulier, Jennifer Miller, Mark Westhafer, Martin Brown, John Delconte, Tom Oxholm, Jack Smyre, Scott Radway, Jay Zaragoza, Heather MacDonald STAFF: Eric Peterson, Demetric Potts, Bob Hornik, and Margaret Hauth ITEM #1: Mayor Phelps called the hearing to order. He polled the members to ensure they wanted to seriously consider the proposal. The members agreed to proceed with the hearing and Mayor Phelps passed the gavel to Planning Board Chair Daniel. Daniel welcomed everyone and briefly described the hearing process. Daniel swore in Hauth. She said the members are reviewing an annexation request, zoning, and master plan. She said because the master plan portion is quasi-judicial or a fact -based decision, all the speakers needed to be sworn in before speaking. Daniel swore in Jack Smyre, representing the applicants. He highlighted the changes to the plan. He noted the additional detail to the circulation plan to include pedestrian and bikeways. He said the residential portion of the development has been reduced one third. He said the tax base is now two to one weighted toward non-residential development ($150 million versus $80 million). Smyre detailed the street cross- sections and conceptual plans for the single-family area and mixed-use area. He noted that the buildings in the mixed-use area are planned to be two -stories. Warren asked about the potential uses on Lot 6. Smyre said the area could be used for flex space or something other than retail of class A office. Commissioner Sheridan asked about the traffic impact. Smyre said the firm of Martin Alexiou Bryson has been retained to prepare a study they hope to submit at the next hearing. Commissioner Sheridan asked about the topography of the park areas and lighting issues. Smyre said the park has a benign topography and should be able to accommodate 3 full soccer fields and parking. He said this is second growth or part of the old farm fields and can be expanded. Smyre said he does not share Orange County's concern about lighting because the impacts can be mitigated through siting and landscaping. Commissioner Sheridan asked about the status of the large retail and whether an exact tenant had been identified. Smyre confirmed that no one has been identified. He said the applicant would be patient. He said the market would be changing in the Triangle now that the population has hit the one million mark. Smyre also noted that the large retail is intended to be single story with the square footage noted on the spreadsheet. Commissioner Sheridan asked about contact with Durham Tech. Smyre said that they believe the site is a leading candidate site and there have been a few conversations. Daniel asked Radway to affirm his statements. Radway said he has had personal conversations with 3 Durham Tech representatives. He said it is a good and desirable site; it has advantages that other sites don't have, and has an acceptable time frame. Joint Public Hearing 9/19/2002, page 2 Commissioner Gering asked about accommodating a day care. Smyre said it is fully anticipated and welcomed, although.not shown specifically. Commissioner Gering asked about impact to the school systems. Radway said a study of the impact is easy to do and they will produce an impact statement. Commissioner Gering expressed concern about the access aligned with Lafayette Drive. Smyre noted that water quality rules limit the number of creek crossings allocated to a single development. He said that location for access was also based on direction from staff and the Planning Board as well as providing good access to Cornwallis Hills residents. Smyre added that the traffic study will address that access point and indicate that it will meet warrants for installing a signal. Commissioner Gering asked about the perimeter buffer. Smyre said it is located outside the individual lots and will be owned by the homeowners association. Smyre added that the buffer will remain undisturbed. Commissioner Lloyd asked about the single-family house Smyre referred to as "executive" and whether the executives might work within Waterstone. Smyre said some may. He added that he does not expect the house values to exceed the values in Beckett's Ridge. Commissioner Lloyd said she wants local college graduates to be able to stay and live and work in Hillsborough. Commissioner Chavious noted that the previous plans indicate an.assisted living center, retirement village and day care. He asked where those uses went. Smyre said they are looking for guidance from the board; those uses are residential in nature. Commissioner Chavious noted his preference for those uses as an alternative to an office pod. Commissioner Chavious asked about transit service. Smyre said they have met with TTA and are willing and anxious to make transit accommodations in their plans. Commissioner Chavious asked if the transit accommodations would reduce parking and asphalt use. Smyre said it might, but they are looking at ways to reduce the visual impact of the parking areas. Commissioner Dancy noted that regional transit is just beginning and could Waterstone still accommodate it later, closer to build out. Smyre noted that Waterstone has a long build -out horizon and they were interested in having transit service to the site. Commissioner Dancy asked how long build out would take. Smyre said the current demand is for residential uses and some speculative built office. He said they are working with a builder and hope to provide his credentials at the next hearing so the project becomes more of a joint venture. Mayor Phelps asked whether there is a right of way planned between parcels 12 and 13 to access the adj acent site. Smyre said no, they are trying to acquire that site. He added that they expect to provide access through lot 22. Mayor Phelps asked whether parcel 11 would have driveway access to Old 86. Smyre said, depending on the use, it might have right in, right out access, but primary access would be internal. Daniel noted that the street cross-sections don't show an urban edge, or building fagade edge which he would expect in the mixed use area. Smyre noted that the area was still under design. Daniel expressed his preference for connections to be via streets rather than parking lots. He also suggested showing as many cross connections as possible to distribute the traffic load. Daniel asked for any further questions from members. There being none, he opened the floor for public comment and thanked the public for their patience. Daniel swore in Bernell Dickinson. He said he lives in Stagecoach Run. He said the concerns of himself and his neighbors are water quality (the development's impact on their wells and the aquifer), security and Joint Public Hearing 9/19/2002, page 3 privacy, and economics and the potential loss of property values. He said the neighborhood is interested in personal contact with the applicant to discuss their concerns. Daniel swore in Mary Jo Sheridan. She said she appreciates the emphasis on walkability in the development. She said she is opposed to the annexation for a number of reasons. Hillsborough does not have sufficient water supply to serve this project. This project will generate too much traffic in town. The request is poorly timed, because the town is considering a strategic growth plan to address many of these issues. Sheridan suggested a moratorium until the plan was adopted. She added that the commercial core is not village -like enough; there is too much separation of uses cause by the big box area. Daniel swore in Sergio Rabinovich. He said he is representing the Beckett's Ridge Homeowners Association. He said their concern is the buffer at the shared edge. He said the buffer needs to be 100 feet wide and undisturbed. He said if the board decided to have a moratorium until there is a new plan, he asked that there is a moratorium on tax increases during the period as well. Daniel swore in Holly Reid. She said she is representing Walkable Hillsborough Coalition. She submitted her comments in writing. She noted the organization's mission. She said she appreciated the open dialog on the project. She said the community college, greenways and buffers are desirable. She added that the bike and walkways help people live and work in the development as does the mixture of land uses. She said they are concerned with the costs. The large size of the development can increase car trips, which increases congestion and air pollution. She expressed concern that the project is transitional sprawl and she needs assurance that it will be walkable. She expressed concern that the project had no affordable housing or senior housing. She said the Coalition's vision is for a premiere pedestrian community. She suggested a comprehensive transit plant o connect to the rest of town. She said spoke in favor of additional improvements to both 86s for bikes and pedestrians. She suggested more public spaces, a local grocery closer to the residential area, more mixing of uses, preservation of the old road bed and mature trees and the use of native vegetation. Reid said Hillsborough needs a Strategic Growth Plan to help establish a strict urban -rural edge. Daniel swore in Jo Soulier. She said she represents the Cornwallis Hills property owners association. She said she came prepared to kill the project, but the changes were better than expected. She suggested a balance to the order of growth so all the residential is not built first. She said she liked the longer build out period. She suggested taking land for the daycare center from the multi -family area rather than office. She suggested requiring an on-site school and requiring parking in decks. She also suggested retaining the existing landscaping rather than allowing new, smaller plants to be planted. Daniel swore in Jennifer Miller. She said she is a member of the Hillsborough Arts Council. She said she shares the water capacity concerns others have mentioned. Daniel swore in Mark Westhafer. He said he is a resident of Stagecoach Run. He expressed concern about water and the impact to the wells during construction. He asked the members to require consistent housing density Daniel swore in Martin Brown. He said he lives in Stagecoach Run as well. He expressed concern about the stub road connection to Fargo Road. Smyre noted that the connection is more likely to be a walkway than f .. Joint Public Hearing 9/19/2002, page 4 for vehicles, unless the residents of Stagecoach Run wanted vehicular access. Brown asked why the buffer transition from 100 feet to 50 feet. He expressed concern about stress to the town infrastructure. He asked the members to make sure the business comes first. Daniel swore in John Delconte. He said he is excited to hear about the board's support for the strategic growth plan. He supported the suggestion that the moratorium should be called until the plan is completed. Daniel swore in Tom Oxholm. Oxhohn said he represents Wake Stone, one of the property owners. He said a decision on the proposal is appreciated. He said the town is dealing with a very responsive applicant. He noted that it is his understanding that the approval of the annexation does not give approval to build anything. Daniel swore in Jay Zaragoza. He said he was involved in a proposed subdivision on the Davis tract in 1995. He said the applicant was told an elevated water tank would be needed to increase water pressure. He said as an observer, he does not think a big box was in the EDD plan. Hauth noted that a water tank was built in Cornwallis Hills to address water pressure issues in the area. Daniel swore in Heather MacDonald. She said she is a resident of Stagecoach Run. She said the proposal has improved since the last public hearing. She asked that the members not forget the concerns of the neighborhood if the development is approved. She noted Stagecoach Run may need public utilities. She asked the developer not to rule out a plan like Cameron Village idea for the retail areas. Smyre offer to meet with the residents of Stagecoach Run to discuss their concerns. Peterson provided an update on the annexation financial analysis. He stressed the importance of determining the land use mix and intensities. He said all the forecasts are based on that information, so it is important to determine the mixes before finalizing the analysis. Chair Daniel noted there were no additional speakers and returned the gavel to Mayor Phelps. Mayor Phelps asked for discussion of future hearing dates. The members agreed to continue the public hearing until October 24; same place and time. Mayor Phelps adjourned the meeting. Respectfully submitted, ar aret. auto. ec�ary