Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutSeptember_4_2012_Regular_MinutesIREDELL COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MINUTES SEPTEMBER 4, 2012 The Iredell County Board of Commissioners met on Tuesday, September 4, 2012, at 7:00 P.M., in the Iredell County Government Center (Commissioners' Meeting Room), 200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC. Board Members Present Chairman Steve Johnson Vice Chairman Marvin Norman Frank Mitchell Ken Robertson Staff present: County Manager Ron Smith, County Attorney Bill Pope, Deputy County Manager Tracy Jackson, Planning/Development/Transportation Director Joey Raczkowski, Purchasing Agent Dean Lail, Executive Assistant Retha Gaither, and Clerk to the Board Jean Moore. CALL TO ORDER by Chairman Johnson INVOCATION by Chairman Johnson PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ADJUSTMENTS OF THE AGENDA: OTIO by Chairman Johnson to approve the agenda with the following adjustments. Deletions: • Request for Approval of a Lease Agreement for Office Space Between Iredell County and Partners Behavioral Health Management • Closed Session Pursuant to Attorney-Client/G.S. 143-318.11 (a) (3) Addition: • Closed Session Pursuant to Personnel/G.S. 143-318.11 (a) (6) P Also, Chairman Johnson noted that several people had asked to speak in Reference to the Request from Brian Smith to Utilize the High Density Option on Property Owned by Richard Howard and being Proposed for a Charter School. Mr. Johnson said this was an administrative matter, but the public would be allowed to speak. VOTING: Ayes — 4; Nays — 0. PUBLIC HEARINGS Chairman Johnson declared the meeting to be in a public hearing. Consideration of an Economic Development Incentive of $2,169,696.00 for NGK Ceramics, Inc., Based on an Investment of $93.2 Million: Mooresville -South Iredell Economic Developer Jessica Rivers said NGK was planning its 13th expansion. She then provided the following information about the company and the expansion plans. • NGK manufactures catalytic converters for the automobile industry and has existed in Mooresville since 1988. • The company's 430,000 sq. ft. facility is located in the South Iredell Industrial Park, and currently employs 650 full-time workers with wages above the county average. • Plans are to add two new lines and an additional 150,000 sq. ft. to the facility. • 86 full-time positions will be created. • The new tax investment will be $93.2 million. • Expected expansion completion date is March 2014. • The expansion will require the relocation of the Mazeppa Road/Hwy. 115 intersection. Rivers requested an incentive based on 80% of the increased investment with a payout over a six-year period which will equal $361,616 per year for a total of $2,169,696.00. No one else desired to speak, and Chairman Johnson adjourned the hearing. OTION by Commissioner Robertson to approve the $2,169,696 incentive, over a six- year period, based on NGK's investment of $93.2 million and contingent upon a contract being executed within 180 days. VOTING: Ayes — 4; Nays — 0. Chairman Johnson declared the meeting to be in a public hearing. Consideration of the Intent for Iredell County to Apply for Grant Funds from the North Carolina Department of Commerce, Division of Community Investment Scattered Site Housing: Planning, Development and Transportation Director Joey Raczkowski said $225,000 was available through this grant. He said the purpose of the hearing was to receive public comments on the community's needs, or what should be pursued from the grant. Raczkowski said no action was needed at this meeting. No one else desired to speak, and Chairman Johnson closed the hearing. Chairman Johnson declared the meeting to be in a public hearing. Request from Brad R. Howard to rezone 13.48 acres, owned by Fred T. Lowrance, located on Alcove Road in Mooresville from RA to HB: Planning, Development and Transportation Director Joey Raczkowski said this request was to rezone 13.48 acres on Alcove Road in Mooresville from RA, Residential Agricultural District to HB, Highway Business District. He said the property was currently vacant, and no conditions were proposed. Raczkowski then reviewed the staff report as follows: EXPLANATION OF THE REQUEST This is a request to rezone 13.48 acres on Alcove Road in Mooresville from RA, Residential Agricultural District to HB, Highway Business District. The property is currently vacant and no conditions are proposed in the request. OWNER/APPLICANT OWNER: Fred T. Lowrance APPLICANT: Brad R. Howard 1410 Scotland Avenue 229 Medical Park Road Charlotte, N.C. 28207 Suite 201 Mooresville, N.C. 28117 PROPERTY INFORMATION LOCATION: On Alcove Road in Mooresville; more specifically identified as PIN # 4645-67-3406. DIRECTIONS: 1-77 south to exit 33; continue straight onto Alcove Road, the property is on the right past Templeton Road SURROUNDING LAND USE: This property is surrounded by residential uses, vacant land, and I- 77. SIZE: The property is 13.48 acres. Case # 1208-1 RAto HB Current Zoning R-20 LEGEND ® Property to be Rezoned Rn 2 EXISTING LAND USE: The property is currently vacant ZONING HISTORY: This property has been zoned RA since county -wide zoning in 1990. The property to the east has been zoned R-20 since county -wide zoning also. The property to the north and across 1-77 is in the Town of Mooresville's ETJ. OTHER JURISDICTIONAL INFORMATION: This property is located inside of the Town of Mooresville's short-term USA boundary. The property to the north is zoned R-2 (Single -Family Residential) and is designated as Corridor Mixed Use in their 2030 Land Use Plan. The property across 1-77 is zoned CMX (Corridor Mixed -Use) and CUPC (Conditional Use Planned Campus) and is designated as Employment Center -Office in their 2030 Land Use Plan. The Town would prefer to see a conditional zoning request or an annexation petition since there is the chance that future development could request to be annexed for water and sewer usage. OTHER SITE CHARACTERISTICS: This property is located in the Catawba/Lake Norman WSIV-CA Water Supply Watershed. Development cannot exceed 24 percent impervious surface using the low-density option. With the high-density option which requires Board of Commissioners approval, development would be allowed up to a maximum of 50 percent impervious surface. IMPACTS ON LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND/OR FACILITES TRAFFIC: The nearest location for NC DOT traffic counts is on Templeton Road, just north of this site. In 2009, the average number of vehicles per day on this section of Templeton Road was 2300. The capacity for this section of Alcove Road is 11,000 vehicles per day. SCHOOLS: Because this is a commercial rezoning, there should be no implications on local schools. FIRE MARSHAL: This proposal has been reviewed by the Iredell County Fire Marshal's Office. The Fire Marshal's Office has no issues with the proposal. EMS: This proposal has been reviewed by the EMS Department. They have no issues with the proposal. REQUIRED REVIEWS BY OTHER AGENCIES LOCAL: The applicant will have to provide a site plan to the Planning & Development Department for review to change the use or develop the property. Zoning requirements such as parking, landscaping and screening will be reviewed at such time. Plans will be reviewed by the Planning & Development Department for compliance with Erosion & Sedimentation Control standards if more than half an acre is disturbed. STATE: Other than building code, there should be no formal state agency review at this time FEDERAL: None at this time. STAFF AND BOARD COMMENTS STAFF COMMENTS: The 2030 Horizon Plan calls for this area to be Corridor Commercial. The HB district fits into that designation. Although the Town of Mooresville would prefer to see a conditional zoning request, the applicant only has one potential user for the property at this time and they can operate without water and sewer from the Town. The traffic counts in this area are not close to the road capacity. Future development could require a traffic impact analysis either by the County or by NCDOT, which would be undertaken during the permitting process. The Planning staff can support the proposed rezoning request based on the following: The 2030 Horizon Plan calls for this area to be commercial. The proposed district fits into the Corridor Commercial designation. SITE REVIEW COMMITTEE: Kristie Pfeufer and Jackie Grigg visited this site with the staff on July 17, 2012. PLANNING BOARD ACTION: On August 1, 2012, the Planning Board held a public meeting to hear this request. Four people spoke at the meeting, two of which were in favor of the request. The others who spoke were concerned because of the uncertainty with regards to uses of the property because the request was not conditional. Although some of the Board members had concerns about rezoning a 13 acre tract without conditions and had issues with potential access on Edgeway Road, the Planning Board voted 5-2 to recommend approval of this request based on the consistency with the 2030 Horizon Plan. Commissioner Robertson asked the names of the two planning board members who voted against the request. Raczkowski said Eric Fields and Thomas Stephens. He said their concerns were access, along with the fact that there were no conditions attached. Robertson asked if the owners were at liberty to share what type of development would result with the new rezoning. Raczkowski said this could be stated, however, it couldn't be taken into consideration. He said it was known that Schumacher Homes planned to build one or two display model homes. Commissioner Mitchell asked the buffering type for the northern and western areas. Raczkowski said a 30 foot planted landscaped berm, but there were several options that could be used. He said that if any parking lots occurred, there were landscaping requirements for them as well. Chairman Johnson mentioned that if nothing developed on the property, but the surrounding property was used for a commercial use, the buffering requirement might be eliminated or diminished. Raczkowski said the land use plan did not suggest for this particular property to be commercial. He said buffering would still be needed along the northern part. Robertson said by definition Alcove Road was a service road. He asked about the capability of the roads in the area to handle additional traffic. Raczkowski said the area was on the Department of Transportation's (DOT) radar as well as being studied by the county and Mooresville. He said the average daily traffic volume that Alcove could handle was around 11,000 vehicle trips a day according to DOT standards. Raczkowski said Templeton Road had about 3,000 cars a day. He said according to the DOT there was still capacity for more vehicles, plus the Town of Mooresville and the DOT had researched the area and came up with nine options for east/west flyover transportation. Raczkowski said long range plans were to improve traffic congestion in that general area. Robertson said nothing was planned now. Raczkowski said not to his knowledge. Robertson asked if the Langtree development would have an impact. Johnson said development at both ends of Alcove would affect the traffic more so than what actually occurred on it due to being a cut -through road. Raczkowski said that in the short term, this could have an impact on the residents. Cathy Austin (opponent) said she lived off of the road. Austin requested that the board either deny the request or delay it for a couple of years. She mentioned that at the planning board meeting no "good" reason was given for the rezoning. Austin said there were better places, especially for visibility, for the model homes, and about three acres were for sale near Mountain State University. She said Highway 21 actually had a model home at one time with "good" visibility. Austin said Mr. Howard did not provide any details on the use for the other ten acres, plus nothing was shared with the planning board about the proposed charter school. She said the neighborhood had many elderly people who were concerned about the K-12 school that would educate approximately 2,200 students when finished. Austin said charter schools did not have buses, and the traffic would be significant with parents dropping off and picking up students. She added that Langtree at the Lake would further impact the area, especially the traffic. 4 John Ona said he was an attorney who often times represented developers, so he in no way was opposed to development. Ong said, however, there was opposition to this specific rezoning due to (1) it did not represent good planning and (2) there were public safety issues. He said the 2030 Horizon Plan called for the area to be zoned for corridor commercial, and there seemed to be a move to equate this with "all things commercial." Ong said the Horizon Plan did not have specific zoning classifications that matched the county's zoning. He said it was important to understand the differences in the classes of commercial development. Ong said it could be office/institutional, or neighborhood, but the applicant had asked for Highway Business. He said Highway Business allowed for many uses that people might find objectionable, especially due to the site being located between two major development centers (Exit 33 and Langtree at Exit 31). Ong said good planning would dictate that another center would not be added between the two, particularly because of the traffic. He said Highway Business would allow for used car lots, building supply centers, equipment rentals and leasing, mobile home sales/services, motorcycle sales, pawn shops, and so forth. Ong said that from a planning perspective, it would appear that a "step down" or transitional zoning would be encouraged so that high density business wasn't placed near a residential setting. He mentioned that the Mooresville town officials had indicated the request (highway/commercial) was contrary to the Mt. Mourne Area Plan, and they preferred conditions and a site plan on anything approved. Ong said if approval occurred that a "blank check" would be given for any type of use, and the county's control would be gone. He suggested rejection of the rezoning request. Commissioner Robertson said Mr. Ong had mentioned that the zoning classification was inconsistent with the 2030 plan. He asked Mr. Raczkowski's interpretation. Raczkowski said it had been stated the rezoning was inconsistent with the Mt. Mourne Plan. He said a discussion had occurred with Mooresville, and the officials there had requested that conditions be placed on the rezoning. He said the rezoning was consistent with the county's 2030 plan. Robertson said the Town of Mooresville did not have jurisdiction over the property. Raczkowski said this was correct. Commissioner Mitchell asked the status of Alcove Road in regards to the state obtaining future right-of-ways. Raczkowski said a study was being done with a third party contractor in regards to the widening of I-77. He said, however, nothing was known about the possibility of widening Alcove Road. Mitchell asked if Alcove could be widened. Raczkowski said there was enough width to install a turn lane for the proposed charter school. He said there was a limiting development factor, however, due to the impervious surface. Robertson asked Mr. Ong the types of uses that should be available to the property owner. Ong said these were numerous. He said rural agricultural had a wide spectrum of uses, as well as office institutional and neighborhood business. Ong said the local population needed to be served rather than the traveling public, because there were already major interchanges for these types of amenities. He said small offices, music stores, and local stores might be appropriate, over time, if the roads were appropriately planned. Ong said Alcove had visual frontage to I-77, but there was no ability to get from the roadway to the interstate unless one traveled to a major intersection that was already zoned for a commercial use. Chairman Johnson asked if Mr. Ong felt that no HB development should be allowed along the corridor. k, Ong said that if highway business were to be considered anywhere in the corridor between Exit 31 and 33, it should be in close proximity to Exit 31 or 33. He said, for example, there was a parcel adjacent to the Langtree at the Lake project where fast food drive through restaurants were requested. Ong said this was a highway type use for the traveling public. He said that for the middle of the corridor, he would contend that the appropriate zoning would be a "step down" and not Highway Business. Johnson asked if conditions would make the request more acceptable. Ong said yes, and this was the Town of Mooresville's position. He said this would not be anti -development. Warren Weeks (opponent) said he resided in the Perrin Drive area. He said it was previously stated that only 24% of the land would be used. Raczkowski said this was correct. Weeks asked what happened to the other 76%n. Raczkowski said many things added up to make an impervious area. He said it could be building footprints, asphalt, parking or anything that would house a commercial business. Raczkowski said the remainder would probably be open space. Weeks said this would be green space. Raczkowski said yes, or where water could filter through the earth and recharge the aquifers. Weeks asked where the septic would be for highway business. Raczkowski said it would depend upon the size of the business and the number of employees. He said the health department would permit the septic system. Betty Adams (opponent), a resident of Edgeway Road, asked the board to deny the request due to the disruption to the neighborhood. She said the residents lived between two interstate exits and many times their roadways became "nightmares" because of wrecks and congestion on I-77. Adams said not enough information had been obtained regarding the rezoning's impact on the neighborhood. She asked what would happen to the wildlife in the area. She also asked why the charter school could not exit onto Templeton Road. Tim Reese with Schumacher Homes said only minimal traffic would occur with the model homes. He said the company had 20 other locations in North and South Carolina. Commissioner Robertson asked if Schumacher would own the property. Reese said yes, and the tract would be one to two acres. Robertson asked how much road frontage there would be on I-77. Reese said around 200 feet. Mitchell asked if the models would be for stick -built homes. Reese said yes. He said the company was a scattered lot builder and not a developer. Chairman Johnson said it wasn't envisioned that a model -home site would have that much traffic impact; however, he had concerns about the use on the remainder of the property. Brad Howard, the rezoning applicant, offered to answer any questions. Commissioner Robertson asked if Mr. Howard would like to address some of the speakers' concerns. 6 Howard said that in reference to the traffic, I-77 had a lane added in each direction to pull the traffic off of Alcove for people traveling from Langtree to Exit 31. He said that in reference to the development on the remainder of the property, a request would have to be made to Mooresville for utility service. Robertson asked if Howard was saying that a request would be made for annexation. Howard said a contract had not been obtained on the remainder of the property. He said it might be used for a day care or child development center. -----------------------Chairman Johnson at this time declared a five-minute recess. Rick Howard (father of Brad Howard) said several millions of dollars of vertical development was happening, and the community would be proud of the site in years to come. He said due to nondisclosures, an effort had to be made to limit what was said at the meeting. Howard said there was no intent to place a pawn shop in the area, but a charter school was being proposed. He said "big jobs" and the right type of tax base would occur along with development done in the right way. Howard said only around four to six acres would actually be developed, and the impact on Alcove would be minimal. Commissioner Robertson asked if the area along the western border would be left in a natural state. Howard said the intent would be to leave a buffer around the property. John Ong said a parking area would not be counted towards the 24 or 50% development, but it would affect the parcel's use. He said zoning was a broad use and the 11 acres were totally without restriction, if the request were granted. Ong said this concern had not been addressed. Chairman Johnson then adjourned the public hearing. MOTIO by Commissioner Mitchell to rezone the 13.48 acres from RA, Residential Agricultural to HB, Highway Business District. Chairman Johnson asked Raczkowski if a smaller portion could be rezoned. Raczkowski said this could be an option as long as it was agreeable with the applicant. Chairman Johnson asked about subsequent property owners who might purchase some of the acreage. Johnson said it would be assumed the HB zoning would go with the land without any conditions. correct. Raczkowski said that if the entire acreage (13.48 acres) were rezoned, this would be Johnson asked about an annexation into the Town of Mooresville. Raczkowski said the impervious surface requirement would still apply, plus the Town preferred to place conditions on most development. He said the allowed uses should be similar. Robertson asked Raczkowski if he was aware that the parking did not count. Raczkowski said yes. He said there were different types of pavement on the market now that were porous enough, especially for trail surfaces, and these allowed water to drain through them. Raczkowski said there would still be limitations. Robertson said the entire process would have to start over if the board chose to place conditions on the rezoning. Raczkowski said yes --if a conditional zoning process were used. He said the request would have to be re -submitted to the planning board. VA Chairman Johnson said he assumed the property purchase was contingent upon the rezoning. homes. Brad Howard said without the rezoning, that Schumacher could not build the model Johnson asked if Schumacher would assume ownership of the property. Richard Howard said yes --Schumacher would have an outparcel. He said that in reference to the pavement application, it was expensive. Mr. Howard said the application was widely used in the eastern part of the state, but not so much here due to the red clay soil. Howard said the cost outweighed the benefit on a site this small. Chairman Johnson said that if approved, the Highway Business designation would apply to all of the 13 acres and there was no limitation on the usage. He shared apprehension about rezoning the entire parcel. Johnson expressed a desire to respect the property owners' rights along with respecting the rights of the others in the area, especially when it was unknown how future uses of the site might impact them. Johnson asked Attorney Pope how a motion might be phrased to rezone a portion of the property. Attorney Pope said something such as, "Two hundred or one hundred feet fronting on Alcove Road starting at the northeast corner running along Alcove for 100 feet and aligned parallel to the back property line." He said it could also be extended 400 feet or whatever was adequate. Pope said this wouldn't be exact due to not knowing the needs of the model home company. He said that if two acres were used, this would be easy by taking 200 feet of frontage and running it back the requisite depth. Commissioner Robertson said the topography suggested that most of the water would flow south. Johnson said to mitigate the watershed concern the natural place to construct a detention pond would be on the southern part of the property. Robertson said somewhere along Edgeway Road. Johnson asked Pope if a motion could be made that Schumacher could use two acres and at a future meeting there could be reconciliation on the actual portion. Attorney Pope said he would be more inclined to recommend a delay or postponement until there was a more concrete description of the rezoned area. Johnson said it would be difficult to amend Commissioner Mitchell's motion in a manner to alleviate his (Johnson's) concerns. He said that due to Mr. Pope's suggestion, it was preferred to delay action until the area needed by Schumacher could be clearly defined. Commissioner Mitchell withdrew his MOTION. MOTIO by Chairman Johnson to postpone action on this rezoning request until the first meeting in October. Commissioner Robertson asked if there were any other concerns that needed to be addressed by the applicants. Richard Howard said the charter school high density option affected this particular request due to this site being an adjoining piece of property. Howard said the projects had timelines and would be in jeopardy if the timing changed. 8 Brad Howard asked if there couldn't be an insertion in the minutes indicating the property owners would refrain from doing this, or that, or other, to allay the concerns of the people speaking in opposition. Raczkowski said this would be a conditional zoning process. He said this couldn't be done, but the rezoned area could be reduced. Richard Howard asked someone to state what could actually be placed on the site. Raczkowski said that with the current zoning (RA) a number of uses including single- family homes, and apartment complexes, but limitations would be imposed due to the watershed. County Manager Smith said this was a "straight" rezoning case, and the only action that could be taken was to either vote it up or down, or shrink the area. He said, too, that if the area were reduced, there would have to be a defined area. OTION by Chairman Johnson to (1) postpone the decision to the first meeting in October in regards to reducing the size of the application to accommodate Schumacher homes along with also recognizing that this will not preclude the Howard family from developing the rest of the property, (2) recognize that there are concerns from nearby property owners about rezoning a piece of property without knowing what will be placed on it and (3) that Schumacher Homes will not impact the amount of traffic on Alcove Road. Commissioner Robertson asked the project's timeline. He asked if the applicants wanted the rezoning on the board's agenda in two weeks or four weeks. Chairman Johnson asked if everyone would be ready in two weeks. Raczkowski said the board had already held the public hearing, and the only needed action was a decision. Richard Howard said if the wrong people had the property and developed it, that by right, the site could be developed into residential units. AMENDMENT TO THE MOTION: Chairman Johnson postponed the rezoning decision until the September 18, 2012, meeting of the board. (This date replaces the October 2, 2012 meeting date.) VOTING: Ayes — 4; Nays — 0. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS Request for Approval of a Resolution to Declare Surplus the Badge, Helmet, Nameplate, and Dress Blue Uniform of Retiree Ronny Thompson and to Authorize the Sale of the Items: Deputy County Manager Tracy Jackson said former Fire Marshal Ronny Thompson retired on August 31. He said due to sentimental reasons, Thompson desired to purchase his badge, helmet, nameplate, and dress blue uniform. Jackson said the items would have minimal resale value, and for this reason, there was a recommendation to allow Thompson to purchase the items for a nominal fee of $1.00. OTIO by Vice Chairman Norman to adopt a resolution declaring the badge, helmet nameplate, and dress uniform as surplus and to authorize the sale of the items as requested. VOTING: Ayes — 4; Nays — 0. 9 Resolution Regarding the Badge, Nameplate, Helmet and Dress Uniform 4 Former Fire Marshal Ronne Thompson Whereas, Ronny Thompson has served honorably in the Iredell County Fire Marshal's Office and has successfully met the requirements for retirement and does, upon the occasion of his retirement, request to be permitted to retain his badge, nameplate, helmet, and dress uniform. Now, Therefore Be It Resolved, by the Board of Commissioners of Iredell County, that said badge, helmet, nameplate, and dress uniform be declared surplus to the needs of the County and sold to former Fire Marshal Ronny Thompson for the sum of One Dollar ($1.00), as provided by G.S. 160A - 266(c). Request to Consider a Request from Brian Smith to Utilize the High Density Option on Property Owned by Richard W. Howard for a Charter School: Planning, Development and Transportation Director Joey Raczkowski said Brian Smith from Ryan Companies US Inc, representing owner Rick W. Howard, was requesting approval to develop under the high-density guidelines in the WS -IV Critical Area Water Supply Watershed. He said that under Section 8.10.2 of the Iredell County Land Development Code, applicants were allowed to request to exceed the standard allowance of 24% impervious with a maximum of 50% impervious area per project. Raczkowski said the applicant desired to develop the property with up to 40.45% impervious surfaces. He said the applicants were proposing a wet detention pond on the property that would be capable of removing 85% of the total suspended solids from the first one -inch of a rainfall. Mr. Raczkowski said the proposed use for the property was a charter school (1,145 students and 70 staff), and the property was located on Edgeway Road (off Alcove Road) in Mooresville. Raczkowski continued his presentation, and a copy of the staff report is as follows: EXPLANATION OF THE REQUEST We have a request from Brian Smith from Ryan Companies US Inc, who is representing the owner Rick W. Howard, for approval to develop under the high-density guidelines in the WS -IV Critical Area Water Supply Watershed. Under Section 8.10.2 of the Iredell County Land Development Code, any applicant is allowed to request up to exceed the standard allowance of 24% impervious with a maximum of 50% impervious area per project. The applicant would like to develop the property with up to 40.45% impervious surfaces. The applicants are proposing a wet detention pond on the property that would be capable of removing 85% of the total suspended solids from the first one -inch of a rainfall. The proposed use of the property is a charter school. The property is located on Edgeway Road (off Alcove Road) in Mooresville. OWNER/APPLICANT OWNER: Rick W. Howard 229 Medical Park Road, Suite 201 Mooresville, N.C. 28117 APPLICANT: Brian Smith Ryan Companies US, Inc 101 E. Kennedy Blvd., Suite 2450 Tampa, FI 33602 PROPERTY INFORMATION LOCATION: At the end of Edgeway Road (off Alcove Road) in Mooresville; more specifically identified as a portion PIN It 4645-57-1104. DIRECTIONS: 1-77 south to exit 33; continue straight onto Alcove Road, turn right onto Edgeway Road, the property is on the right just before the curve. SIZE: The property is 12.233 acres. HIGH DENSITY OPTION REQUEST ZONING & LAND USE INFORMATION: The property is zoned RA (Residential Agricultural) and is currently vacant. This property is surrounded by vacant land to the east (currently proposed for commercial uses in a rezoning request), and residential uses to the south and west, and north. This property is located in the Catawba/Lake Norman Water Supply Critical Area Watershed. OTHER JURISDICTIONAL INFORMATION: This property is located within the USA boundary around the Town of Mooresville. At this time, the applicant is also working with the Town to acquire utilities for the school. There is a chance that the Town will require the applicant to be annexed into the Town as a condition of utility provision. The Town Board is meeting on September 4, 2012, to hear the request for utilities. If the Town requires annexation (which will not occur until June 2013), the applicant will need to request a release of zoning and subdivision jurisdiction before the project can continue. They are going through with this process with the County so that if the Town does not require them to annex, they are still meeting their time frame for getting the project underway. IMPACTS ON LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE TRAFFIC: The nearest location for NC DOT traffic counts is on Templeton Road, just north of this site. In 2009, the average number of vehicles per day on this section of Templeton Road was 2300. The capacity for this section of Alcove Road is 11,000 vehicles per day. The access road, Edgeway Road, is currently just a paved one -lane driveway. The Owner of the property also owns the actual road and has been working with NC DOT and the Department of Planning, Development, & Transportation Services to record and dedicate the road for public use. They are also in discussions with NC DOT concerning a Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) for the project, which will dictate the location and length of turns lanes and which could include a second entrance for the school. This possible second entrance is not currently shown on the site plan and could result in an increase in impervious area. However, they would not be allowed to exceed the maximum of 50%. STAFF AND BOARD COMMENTS STAFF COMMENTS: Although there are still some aspects of this project that still need to be ironed out concerning access and utilities, the proposed plan meets the required criteria at this time for application for the use of the High Density Option (per Section 8.10.2 of the Iredell County Land Development Code). Provided the application stays within the County's purview, a more detailed site plan, stormwater plan, and erosion control plan will need to be submitted and approved by the Department of Planning, Development, and Transportation Services before any permits can be issued. The Town of Mooresville Planning Department has also been reviewing the proposed project and is not opposed to the use. In the Iredell County Land Development Code, schools are allowed by right in the RA zoning district. NC DOT has been working with the applicant concerning potential road improvements and will base their final determinations on the TIA that will be completed later this year. The Planning staff supports the request to allow the applicant to utilize the High Density Option for a proposed charter school based on the following. The requested impervious area in the WSIV-CA Water Supply Watershed is less than the maximum of 50% allowed. The use is permitted in the district in which it is located. The applicant has met the initial requirements to make the request. The applicant is currently working with staff from the Town of Mooresville, Iredell County, and NC DOT to make sure that all the requirements are met. Mr. Raczkowski said a revised site plan had been developed and a copy was shared with the board members. Commissioner Robertson noted that the septic with a 100% repair area accommodating 1,000 students would be impossible on 12 acres. He said the developers would request assistance from the Town of Mooresville. Raczkowski said this was correct, and sanitary sewer from the Town would probably be requested. He said the revised site plan had more input from the Department of Transportation on what would, or would not, be approved in regards to traffic flow. Mr. Raczkowski said the new site plan revealed that the front of the school would be located towards the back of the property and facing the parking area which was adjacent to the Edgeway subdivision area. He said a secondary school access had been added. Raczkowski said it was understood there would be an access point on Edgeway Road, and this roadway would be upgraded to a state maintained standard. Raczkowski said a traffic impact analysis was not required at this point, but it was almost accomplished. He said it was predicted there would be 1,700 plus or minus vehicle trips a day to serve the school. Raczkowski said it was understood that improvements would occur to widen Alcove Road which would be the main entry point and traffic would flow and queue into the school with the exit through Perrin Drive. Raczkowski said the staff had to review the technical merits of the request, for instance, the high density option. He said the request met the requirements of the land development code, and the applicant had met all of the initial stipulations. Continuing, he said the school was already permitted, by right, in the RA district and could be developed to the 24% impervious standards. Raczkowski said the applicant was working with the county staff, the Town of Mooresville, and the Department of Transportation on the project. Commissioner Mitchell asked for a definition of "by right." Raczkowski said that in the county ordinance, there was a table of permitted uses and a school was allowed in multiple districts by right. He said this meant that certain standards had to be met, but it was a decision and permit that the staff could decide and issue. Raczkowski said the property was currently zoned RA, and the request fully met the requirements of the ordinance. He said that if it wasn't for the fact that the applicant was asking for the impervious increase, the permit could be issued in house as soon as the other criteria had been met. Commissioner Robertson said Lake Norman Elementary was located on a two-lane road with large subdivisions nearby. He mentioned road conditions for several other schools in the southern end, and indicated there were no good locations in that area for educational facilities. Robertson said there were concerns about the proposed school; however, due to the potential for traffic backup onto Alcove. He asked how this might be mitigated. Brian Smith, with Ryan Companies, the developer for the project, said these same issues had been addressed in Florida and other states where schools had been built. He said the site plan had stacking with four lanes going around the loop road with no vehicles backing up on Alcove or Edgeway Roads. Robertson asked the capacity for the loop road. Brian Smith said 200 cars. Robertson asked if there would be a bus or van service. Smith said this had not been determined. He said the most conservative approach had been taken. Smith said the Department of Transportation had a data base and there was an estimate of 500 trips in the morning and 300 in the afternoon. Robertson asked if there would be staggered start times. Brian Smith said this would be an operational issue. He said the facility would be a school of choice, and every year the student population and their modes of arrival would be evaluated. Jim Stow said he understood Edgeway would become a state road. He asked if there would be one way or two-way traffic. Brian Smith said the Department of Transportation had indicated it would be a two-way road with most of the inbound school traffic on Edgeway, and then an exit off of Perrin Drive. Stow asked how it would be determined who would go which way. Brian Smith said parents would sign a petition on how to drop off/pick up the students. Stow asked why the residents in the area had not been told about the proposed school. 12 Brian Smith said the company had only looked at the site during the last two months, and a community meeting had been suggested. Stow said Mr. Rick Howard had advised that a community meeting would be set up, and this was a month ago. John Ong said the issue was a matter of planning. He said the proposal was in flux because it had not been vetted in the normal course for appropriate planning. Ong said this request dovetailed with the previous rezoning. He said Schumacher Homes could sell the two acres, and the new owner could place anything on the site allowed in the Highway Business District. He said that in the charter school request there was a major lack of planning, and there was no room for a turning lane on Alcove Road. Ong said there should be some consideration of sidewalks since the school would not have buses but none were included. He said the high density option shouldn't be approved until it was properly vetted. Ong said that if the developer planned to seek assistance from the Town of Mooresville, then the rezoning should be requested from that entity, especially for the high density. Warren Weeks asked questions about the site plan and clarified where the detention pond would be located. He asked the logic for the detention pond's location and about recreational areas since only a soccer field was seen on the plan. Smith said there was an indoor gymnasium. He said there wouldn't be a football field. Weeks said the school would not be able to expand, and the roads in the area were of poor quality. He asked what happened if the detention pond failed. Paul Taylor, a resident of Perrin Drive, mentioned the difficulty of accommodating the proposed traffic. Taylor said he was "on call" due to working in the medical field, and it might be difficult to respond due to the traffic. He said that even with car pooling, Perrin Drive would not be able to handle the volume of traffic, and it would be backed up. Taylor said stacking was a good idea, but the entry/exit areas would not have this capability. He said the north bound traffic would back up. Reta Shumake, a resident of Edgeway Road mentioned a recent wreck on I-77, and the inability of the residents to even get out of their driveways. She said everyday, during her commute to Charlotte, the southbound traffic was stopped. Shumake mentioned the problem that 1,100 students would bring. She also mentioned concern about not knowing about the proposed school until the last few days, and how fast the project was developing, especially with a projected school opening date of July 2013. Shumake said a schedule of events might help, especially when water sewer might occur. She said it had been rumored that some front yards might be taken up by the new road, or the water sewer lines. Shumake asked: 1. Who will pay for the road? 2. Why can't Templeton Road be used as the school access roadway? and 3. What is stacking? Brian Smith said stacking was cars just pulling up behind each other in four lanes on the school property. Chairman Johnson asked Mr. Raczkowski to address the question about detention ponds. Raczkowski said the ponds were designed to hold a ten-year storm. Dick Brolin, with Piedmont Design Associates, said the detention pond was designed using Mooresville's water and stormwater standards which were "head and shoulders" above the county's requirements. Brolin said the pond was two to three times larger than what would be designed under the county's rules. He said the pond would hold/treat the first one inch of rain that fell on impervious area. Brolin said no water that fell on a hard surface would get away from the pond. In addition, he said the two and ten year 24 -hoar storm would also be channeled through the pond for containment. He said every year the county staff would inspect the pond and every five to ten years there was a drain feature where the permit pool was drawn down and the containment portion was examined. Robertson asked what would be placed on the 4.16 acres. 13 Brian Smith said this was a separate parcel. He said at this point in time only a high density option was being requested on the 12.23 acres. Commissioner Robertson said the question was on the high density option and not on whether the developer was allowed to build the school. He said it had already been mentioned that under the current zoning the school could be allowed "by right." Robertson said previously, the high density option had been approved for the Iredell-Statesville School System. MOTION by Commissioner Robertson to allow the applicant to utilize the high density option for the proposed charter school. VOTING: Ayes — 4; Nays — 0. Request for Approval and Signature on a Three -Year Contract with Windstream to Upgrade an Internet Circuit Between the Statesville and Mooresville Health Department Buildings: Purchasing Agent Dean Lail said that due to slow transmission of shared digital documents between the two health department locations, an upgrade to a 100MBps Virtual LAN Service was recommended. He said future expansion would be an option with the Windstream three-year contract costing $1,800 per month. Chairman Johnson said it was understood the cost was included in the budget. OTION by Commissioner Mitchell to approve the Windstream contract as presented. VOTING: Ayes — 4; Nays — 0. Request for Approval of a Three (3) Year Contract for UtilityTrac Plus (FacilityDude) Software: County Manager Smith said this request was for a multi-year contract for utility tracking software. (A memo from the Code Enforcement Office advised that the software had been approved under the Americans Recovery & Reinvestment Act grant with the Department of Energy, and the product provided excellent energy usage tracking.) OTION by Vice Chairman Norman to approve the three-year contract for the software. VOTING: Ayes — 4; Nays — 0. Request for a Decision Regarding the Possible Cancellation of the Tuesday, November 6, 2012, Meeting due to Election Day: MOTION by Chairman Johnson to cancel the Tuesday, November 6, 2012 meeting. VOTING: Ayes — 4; Nays — 0. (This will mean that only one meeting will be held in November 2012, and this will occur on Tuesday, the 20`h.) Request for Approval of August 21, 2012, Minutes: MOTION by Chairman Johnson to approve the minutes as presented. VOTING: Ayes — 4; Nays — 0. ANNOUNCEMENT OF VACANCIES OCCURRING ON BOARDS & COMMISSIONS (none) APPOINTMENTS TO BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS Statesville Plannin! Board (ET.1 - 1 aupointment): Commissioner Mitchell nominated Bo Walker OTION by Chairman Johnson to close the nominations and to appoint Walker by acclamation. VOTING: Ayes — 4; Nays — 0. 14 UNFINISHED BUSINESS: At the August 21, 2012 meeting, the board postponed action on a request from the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners for the submittal of legislative goals. The board then approved the following two submissions. 1. Scrap Tire Disposal Fee: Commissioner Mitchell said the legislature had approved this tire disposal fee with the intent that a specific portion of the generated revenues be returned to the counties. He said it was recently discovered that the Governor had been utilizing some of the funding for purposes not in agreement with the legislation. Mitchell said one goal could be for the disposal fees to be used for their intended purposes. 2. Mental Health Board Governance: Chairman Johnson said Senate Bill 191 of Session Law 2012-151 had new requirements for local management entity boards. He said the changes were due by October 1, 2013, but a one year delay would be helpful, especially since mental health entities were trying to comply with other recently passed legislation. COUNTY MANAGER'S REPORT: Mr. Smith distributed copies of the following: • 2012 County Map Book prepared by the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners • Iredell County Facilities Study Update CLOSED SESSION: MOTIO by Chairman Johnson at 9:30 P.M., to enter into Closed Session pursuant to Personnel - G.S. 143-318.11 (a) (6). VOTING: Ayes — 4; Nays — 0. ADJOURNMENT: MOTION by Chairman Johnson to adjourn the meeting at 10:05 P.M. (Next meeting: Tuesday, September 18, 2012 at 7:00 P.M., in the Iredell County Government Center, 200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC 28677.) VOTING: Ayes — 4; Nays — 0. Approval: 15 ,dean C. �Woore Clerk to the Board