BC 2006 09 05 RECESSED - Laserfiche WebLink

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September 5, 2006 (Recessed Meeting) Page 90 one to stand up and be recognized. The following property owners were recognized: Lavon Benton, Boyce Morrison, Bill Morrison and Fred Wally. He asked the aforementioned property owners to indicate their unwillingness to sell right-of-ways by a show of hands. He said Mr. Wayne will have to abandon a portion of this proj ect or ask a governmental body to condemn property on his behalf. Four of the properties, he said are in farmland production and two of these properties are in the Cabarrus County Voluntary Agriculture District. He said part of these properties could be condemned because of this proj ect and asked is it right for property owners to have their land condemned so a developer can make a few more dollars. He reported this proj ect will also require a sanitary sewer right-of-way and said Mr. Day's memorandum addresses all the growth problems that will arise if the Board allows a sanitary sewer line to be installed to this site. He said he agrees with Mr. Day's comments and suggested other properties should be rezoned first and then rezone the subj ect property. To date, he said Mr. Wayne has been unsuccessful in obtaining the 7,000 9,000 linear feet of sanitary sewer right-of-way and reiterated this land is in farmland production and would require condemnation to obtain a right-of-way. In summary, he thanked Board members for their attention on a matter that is so important to the community. He said there are many more items that could be discussed including potential damage to nearby homes if blasting is used to prepare the site. He reported the soil study indicates blasting may be used. He said the school system wants to place a high school in western Cabarrus County in 2010 and this site is being considered. If this property is rezoned tonight, he said that opportunity is lost. In closing, he read the following excerpts from the North Carolina General Statute 153A-341 regarding zoning authority: (1) "prevent the overcrowding of the land; (2) avoid undue concentration of population; and (3) lesson congestion on the streets". He said this rezoning will cause all these problems to occur, not to go away. He said the General Statutes also states "The regulations shall be made with reasonable consideration to among other things, the character of the district and its peculiar suitability for particular uses, and with a view to conserving the value of buildings and encouraging the most appropriate use of land throughout the county". If the Board desires to follow these regulations, he said then the Board will have to deny this rezoning petition. Finally, he thanked the Board members for their time. Colin Nowlin of 5391 Davidson Road in Davidson reported he lives across the street from the proposed proj ect and is against the rezoning request. Although you cannot see the site, he said truck noise will be heard 24 hours, 7 days a week. He said Davidson Road is being used as a maj or thoroughfare and has a posted speed limit of 55 miles per hour (mph) which is too high. If you do get up to the posted speed limit, he said you will realize Davidson Road cannot be used as a major thoroughfare at thoroughfare speeds. He said Davidson Road is already a "race track and let's not make the situation worse". He said the project is not in alignment with the land use plan, does not provide an adequate transitional buffer for his property and is not conducive to this area. A good land use plan, he said would have the infrastructure already in place and have funding for it. This project, he said does not fit well into the overall big picture for this area. He said Odell School Road is classified as a major thoroughfare, out of desperation and drivers will naturally take the path of least resistance. Because NC Highway 73 is already inundated with heavy traffic, he said all the overflow weaves its way onto the minor collector roads and "maj or thoroughfare" is just a name. He said Jim Johnson Road, Odell School Road, Shiloh Church Road and Davidson Road are already dumping onto NC Highway 3, making it unsafe and that cannot be helped. When a project like this one applies for rezoning or for subdivision approval, he said public safety should be heavily considered. If a sensible person were to review the definition of roads, he said they would come to the conclusion that the word "major thoroughfare" is an urban term used to define city streets and not rural roads. He said it is more appropriate to designate NC Highway 3 as a major collector road rather than a major thoroughfare because the dynamics are different between these two road classifications. The speed limit, he said is 55 mph on NC Highway 3, but that rate of speed is uncommon on the city streets where there are many traffic lights and intersections. He said a traffic light at the intersection of NC Highway 3 and Davidson Road and one at NC Highway 3 and Odell School Road would disrupt the traffic flow of the 55 mph thoroughfare and cause a daily traffic jam in all directions. With these added disruptions and additional vehicles, he asked how much efficiency has been gained. A reasonable person, he said would say the gain is zero. Next, he reviewed road cross sections of the NCDOT 2000-2025 Long Range Transportation Plan. He reported NCDOT has a minimum allowable lane width preference of 12 feet for driver convenience, ease of operation and safety. Knowing that funding is not keeping pace with the overwhelming growth rate, he said upgrading roads to obtain this safe lane width is unobtainable and