BC 2001 09 17 - Laserfiche WebLink

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179 Stallings Road near Harrisburg. The Board had deferred this matter at its meeting on August 20, 2001, and requested the following information: (1) the percentage of water that Harrisburg obtains from Concord and Mecklenburg County; (2) water restrictions; (3) anticipated cost of homes; and (4) updated school seat inventory. Mr. Lentz provided the following responses: 1) As explained by Town of Harrisburg officials, a majority of their water is supplied by the water line on Highway 29 that connects Concord's regional water system with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utility Department's (CMUD) water system. Since Concord performs all wholesale billing and serves as agent for that line, percentages cannot be calculated. 2) Harrisburg is participating in water restrictions. According to Doug Honeycutt, the town typically uses 550,000 gallons per day and is currently running around 450,000 gallons of water per day. 3) Mr. Darrell Tarrant, the applicant, has said he expects home prices to be from $180,000.00 and up. 4) The School Seat Inventory using the l0th day count for 2001-2002 was included in the Agenda. With over 9,000 approved units and using .6 students per single family homes, there is a shortage of seatS, especially in the elementary schools. However, the build-out of homes will be over a period of time. Mr. Carl Parmer, Harrisburg Town Administrator, reported the Town had water restrictions similar to the City of Concord with the exception that the Town had not ceased granting water and sewer commitment letters for new developments. However, on September 4, 2001, the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources issued a letter prohibiting the Town from issuing additional commitment letters until such time the Town has an agreement with the City of Concord guaranteeing a certain amount of water to the Town. Without that agreement, the City of Concord as the Town's wholesale water supplier must sign off on any new developments before the State will review and approve those plans. Stating this restriction by the State was no~ in place when the Town issued its commitment letter to LPT Investments, Mr. ?armer asked the Board to approve the proposed subdivision. Finally, he stated the Town has significantly reduced its water usage, has drilled wells to irrigate athletic fields and is investigating the possibility of drilling other wells to provide an additional water supply for the Town. Mr. Lentz reported that the developer had submitted a new plat that removed the townhomes and reduced the total number of units from 277 to 175 single-family units. He explained that the developer has a back up plan to provide community water service to the subdivision in the event public water is not available. Mr. Jeff Guernier, representative of Parker, Lancaster and Orleans (a homebuilding company) and speaking on behalf of LPT Investments, reviewed changes that had been made to the proposed subdivision. These included the reduction in the number of residential units and reconfiguration of the site to eliminate townhomes and lots less than 10,000 square feet. He stated the cost of homes would start around $180,000.00 and go up to $300,000.00 and above. Mr. Guernier outlined the developer's proposal to contribute $500.00 per lot to help with school facilities in that area. He discussed concerns about water restrictions and estimated a total project of five years from start-up to completion of sales. Mr. Hal Miller, next door resident to the proposed subdivision, spoke in support of the development. He stated in his opinion the subdivision would add a great deal of security to the community and would be far superior to the value of the community than some other developments in the area. There was discussion regarding the proposed subdivision, including the following: (1) Harrisburg's purchase of water from the City of Concord; (2) the developer's plan to provide a private water system if public water 'is not available; (3) school capacity concerns, including the subdivision inventory of over 9,000 approved lots, the timetable for constructing new schools and the County's policy for building schools as they are needed; (4) the importance of the building industry in Cabarrus County; and (5) the need for a consolidated water plan for Cabarrus County. UPON MOTION of Chairman Fennel, seconded by Commissioner Privette with Chairman Fennel and Commissioners Privette, Freeman and Suggs voting for and Vice Chairman Carruth voting against, the Board approved Case C01-02(S), the preliminary plat for the LPT Investments, LLC, subdivision with the following conditions: That the developer enters into a consent agreement with the County to meet the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance requirements for