Laserfiche WebLink
<br />September 5, 2006 (Recessed Meeting) <br /> <br />Page 84 <br /> <br />that restricts Keith Wayne from expanding also keeps the floodgates for <br />commercial development from opening. There is a lot of pent-up demand in <br />Davidson and he said shoppers will cross county lines to shop. Finally, he <br />said this location is a superior site for a grocery anchored neighborhood <br />center and has all qualities necessary to serve the current residents as a <br />thri ving retail center, be an amenity to the neighborhood and a gathering <br />place for current and future residents. <br /> <br />Bill Monroe of 916 West 5th Street in Charlotte and President of WGM <br />Design, Inc., stated he was hired by Keith Wayne to complete the land <br />planning and architecture for the proposed project. He reported WGM is based <br />out of Charlotte and has done a lot of work in Cabarrus County and throughout <br />the Southeastern United States. He also briefly commented on WGM's <br />experience in preparing master plans. Utilizing a map, he identified the new <br />Interstate Exits No. 32 and 30 which he said will connect to NC Highway 3 and <br />feed into Kannapolis. He said this is a historical trade route for Northwest <br />Cabarrus County and the fact that a convenience store has been there for at <br />least 50 years and possibly longer, shows that this location is a crossroads <br />for retail trade going back 100 - 200 years much like downtown Charlotte was <br />where the Indians traded several hundred years ago. Based on the documents <br />the Board has adopted in the past, he said the Cabarrus County Zoning <br />Ordinance shows the site as the only commercial oriented site available in <br />Northwest Cabarrus County which is what attracted Mr. Wayne to the site <br />ini tially. Based on the Northwest area plan which further defines the site <br />as a mixed use area, he said he thought it was the most appropriate site. He <br />said there is nothing else the Board has previously designated in this region <br />for this type of development; therefore, WGM focused on the site based on the <br />history of this Commission. He said Mr. Wayne directed his company do a high <br />quality project and the conditional district process is one of the most <br />restricti ve WGM has seen. He said this process ensures what will happen on <br />the land and neither the plan nor the uses can be changed without coming back <br />before the Board. Based on the spirit and intent of the Ordinance, he said a <br />master plan was developed with help from County staff to meet the guidelines <br />that required the plan to have the three following income producing projects: <br />corporate office, residential and retail. He reported a road will go through <br />the site and the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has set <br />the standard for the traffic study. He said Mr. Wayne's business is centered <br />in the heart of the property and the reason General Commercial (GC) is <br />requested is because the current zoning, Office/Institutional (OI) does not <br />permit an outdoor contractor storage yard, which Mr. Wayne needs to service <br />and repair his equipment. He said GC does allow this use which is why this <br />classification was selected. He said WGM hid Mr. Wayne's business from <br />everyone around the site. The site is bordered by two streams which are <br />buffered to protect the environment and he said all run-offs from the site <br />will go through a series of detention and retention basins and will use <br />aquatic plants to preserve water quality. With the buffers around the <br />streams, he said you will never see Mr. Wayne's headquarters or his outdoor <br />storage yard. He reported the residential component was included because the <br />project needed a medium density residential area next to the single family <br />area based on how the code is written and the proj ect contains a retail <br />component based on logical historical trade routes. He reported the existing <br />residential and office/institutional areas are buffered and the existing road <br />right-of-way will be used to buffer the adj acent properties. He reported <br />County staff has mandated this project be a high quality development and the <br />architectural guidelines illustrate what the center will look like. He said <br />only what is planned will be built and it will only be built in phases the <br />traffic and/or utili ties will allow. He stated this is a good plan; it <br />protects the environment; the proj ect blends in with the existing <br />neighborhood; provides services the residents of Northwest Cabarrus County <br />need; and allows Wayne Brothers to stay where they are now and to grow their <br />business in a careful manner for many years. <br /> <br />Next, Mr. <br />regarding stream <br />Wayne's existing <br />utility costs. <br /> <br />Monroe responded to a variety of questions from the Board <br />buffers, property elevations, the amount of acreage at Mr. <br />facili ty, availability of public utili ties to the site and <br /> <br />Steve Blakley with Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. located at 4651 <br />Charlotte Park Drive in Charlotte stated a traffic impact study was prepared <br />in accordance with the Cabarrus County Zoning Ordinance and current North <br />Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) standards. He reported Phase 1 <br />includes 30,000 square feet of office and warehouse space; Phase 2 includes <br />the residential element; Phase 3 includes the remainder of the office space <br />and a day care facility; and Phase 4 includes the retail component. He said <br />NCDOT has reviewed the plan and concurs with the improvements. However, he <br />said even though a 2017 condition was evaluated, some of these improvements <br />