BC 2009 11 02 Work Session - Laserfiche WebLink

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November 2, 2009 (Work Session) Page 1672 Jonathan Marshall, Commerce Director, reported additional right-of-way was purchased on Abilene Road leading to the A. T. Allen replacement school which necessitated the removal of one home's septic field. As a result, the home needs an alternative waste water treatment system. The Interlocal Agreement with Concord (part of the Central Area Plan) allows connection to the public sewer under certain circumstances (failure of private on-site treatment systems) and only in certain areas. However, in this instance, he advised the failure is caused by construction of public roads. As such, Concord will be asked to grant an exception and allow the home to be connected to the public sewer that is part of the elementary school construction site. UPON MOTION of Commissioner Carruth, seconded by Commissioner Privette and unanimously carried, the Board voted to place the Request to Permit Connection to Public Sewer on the November 16, 2009 Agenda as a Consent item. Commerce - Request for Revision of Consent Agreement for Waterford on the Rocky River Subdivision Susie Morris, Planning and Zoning Manager, presented a request for revision to an existing Consent Agreement and announced William Niblock, President of Niblock Development Corporation, is present to address the Board. Mr. Niblock presented the following information: Niblock Homes is the developer of the Waterford neighborhood located in the City of Kannapolis, situated between Shiloh Church Road and Jim Johnson Road; the company is currently under a Consent Agreement; the company's sales are a fraction of what they have been in the past; the company is currently building on 90-foot lots and is also developing twenty-two (22) 60-foot lots in another section of the subdivision in order to build more affordable housing; the average home in the Waterford neighborhood is $500,000; the company is trying to scale down and build homes in the $250, 000 range, which are the only homes selling in the market. He requested the County allow the company to pay the fees at the time of building permitting and, expressed a desire that the County require all APFO (Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance) fees be paid at building permitting. He stated it is impossible to get financing for development projects such as this and that the fee is a significant part of the expense of moving forward with the project. He further stated the capacity of fees have not been used up and that the company is not on schedule to build out the project nearly as fast as permitted to do so, which is true of nearly every project in Cabarrus County. He noted the build-out times are extremely optimistic, probably by a factor of 500 percent and that homes are not being built at the rate anticipated over the last couple of years when things were approved. He reiterated the company requests to pay fees at building permitting with the understanding that the County has granted this request to others and the company would like to take advantage of the same consideration. In response to questions from the Board, Mr. Niblock estimated that $200,000 in APFO fees have been paid to date. He advised the company as a whole has paid about $450,000 and that a total of fifteen (15) permits have been pulled. He acknowledged fees for the first phase have been paid and that the company has "put in 50-some lots." Chairman White questioned if the aforementioned APFO fees ($200,000) are part of the lawsuit wherein Niblock Homes is suing the County for return of the fees. Mr. Niblock answered in the affirmative. In response to questions from the Board whether the lawsuit is still pending, Richard Koch, County Attorney, responded in the affirmative and advised the lawsuit was just recently filed. Due to the pending lawsuit, Chairman White recommended tabling the item until the Board has an opportunity to seek counsel with the County Attorney regarding the Waterford on the Rocky River subdivision. Chairman White asked if anything else needed to be discussed in open session. Mr. Koch advised it would be appropriate to discuss the matter in closed session. UPON MOTION of Commissioner Carruth, seconded by Commissioner Privette and unanimously carried, the Board voted to table the Request for Revision of Consent Agreement for Waterford on the Rocky River Subdivision until the December 7, 2009 Work Session.