Approved March 30, 2022 Meeting Minutes

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to immediately stop all activities disturbing or encroaching on the Waterbody Buffer Zone on your property until this matter is resolved. You should also ensure that your activities comply with applicable state and federal laws surrounding the protection of waterbodies and wetlands. House Construction May Encroach on Waterbody Buffer Zone We were also concerned when you told us that you plan to begin construction on a house on the property in the coming days. On June 12, 2020, you submitted a Zoning Permit Application for the “Arstark Custom Home” project. The application asked you to submit a “Site/Plot Plan” that, in part, indicated the “location and dimensions of any bodies of water or water channels (ponds, streams, swales, etc.).” Your application did not indicate the Lick Branch stream or any other waterbody. The County approved this permit application based on your representations. Subsequent site visits and surveys you submitted suggested that the planned house would encroach in the “Minimum Building Setback”, also known as the “No Building Buffer Area”. This area extends at least 20 feet from the waterbody buffer zone described above. See CCDO § 4-10(14). Property owners may not construct any buildings or other structures within this area. Further, only “minimal land disturbance” is permitted within this area. Id. “No development, including soil disturbing activities or grading, shall occur within the established buffer area.” § 4-10(6). Since the King Engineering survey you sent did not indicate the Waterbody Buffer Zone, county staff performed a GIS-based estimate of the zone and overlayed it over the survey. The analysis showed that most of the steel structure and parts of the planned house construction encroached on the buffer. County Attorney Rich Koch notified your attorney at the time, Jim Scarbrough, of our findings on March 19, 2021. In the email, Mr. Koch stated “the County strongly urges your client to hold off on further construction on that property that could violate the buffer and no build zone.” I have attached the email string for your reference. You explained to Jay and I today that you intend to start construction of the house in the coming days despite the county’s concerns regarding compliance with the Waterbody Buffer Zone. As we explained, the county has cause to believe that this construction will violate the buffer and beginning construction could be a costly mistake. The best way to ensure compliance with the buffer is by obtaining a stamped survey defining the Waterbody Buffer Zone and No Building Buffer Area and showing that the planned construction is outside of these areas. Such survey is required under CCDO § 4-10(3), which states: The applicant must provide a detailed survey that field verifies the location of all perennial streams, lakes, ponds, impoundments and wetlands on the subject property and within 100 feet of the boundary of the subject property for all proposed plats and site plans. This survey will then allow you to mark the limits of the buffer on the site in compliance with CCDO § 4-10(6). It will also allow you to comply with CCDO § 4-10(7), which requires that the buffer “be shown on all site plans or subdivision plats related to the project submitted for review.” To prevent construction in the buffer prior to obtaining this survey, Cabarrus County plans to formally revoke the zoning permit for the house next week and issue a Stop Work Order if also