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S-629 Staff Summary BOCS-629 (4/16) Page 1 of 7 SPECIAL USE PERMIT REQUEST Board of Commissioners Meeting May 2, 2016 CASE: S-629 PETITIONER: Design Solutions on behalf of FSS Properties, LLC REQUEST: Special Use Permit to operate an intensive manufacturing use (asphalt mixing plant) in an I-2 Heavy Industrial zoning district. ACREAGE: 10.01 acres LOCATION: 5600 Holly Shelter Road PID: R01200-002-001-001 LAND CLASS: Resource Protection (Aquifer Resource Protection/Wetland Resource Protection) PLANNING BOARD ACTION: A public hearing for this special use permit request was held at the April 14, 2016 Planning Board meeting. No one spoke from the public spoke in support or opposition to the request. The Planning Board voted 7-0 to recommend approval of the special use permit request with no conditions, citing the preliminary findings of fact prepared by Staff based on the information provided by the Petitioner and presented at the public hearing. EXISTING CONDITIONS: Existing Zoning and Land Uses The applicant, Design Solutions, on behalf of the property owner, FSS Properties, LLC, is requesting a Special Use Permit to operate an intensive manufacturing use at 5600 Holly Shelter Road. The site is zoned I-2, Heavy Industrial, and is located within a large I-2 zoning district in a northern area of the county that has remained relatively unchanged since zoning was applied to that area of the county on July 7, 1972. S-629 (4/16) Page 2 of 7 Vacant land predominates the area, along with some industrial uses along Holly Shelter Road in the vicinity of the subject site, including mining and quarrying, and cement mixing and processing facilities. Immediately adjacent to the north of the subject site is a heavy truck servicing facility. To the east is a Duke Energy Progress complex including offices, fleet services, and equipment storage yards. Northeast of the site on Holly Shelter Road is a cement mixing facility that appears to be vacated. Adjacent to the south of the site is a shooting range surrounded by a large vacant and undeveloped parcel. Across Holly Shelter Road from the subject site is Diamond Shamrock Road, which leads to Elementis Chromium, and Adams Products on Holly Shelter Road, a brick and masonry products supplier. About ½ a mile to the west of the site on Holly Shelter Road is a cement mixing facility, and to the south of that facility lies the nearest residentially-zoned land with nearly 60 single family dettached residential uses. Other nearby residential uses include 4-5 single family uses off of Lula Nixon Road. Existing Site Conditions The subject property is currently not utilized, but has been used for equipment storage and offices for various contractors and businesses in the past. The site is cleared of trees and vegetation, and development on the site is currently limited to a small office building that would be used as part of the current proposal. Conservation, Historic, and Archaeological Resources The subject property does not host any known conservation, historic, or archaeological resources. PETITIONER’S REQUEST: The specific use proposed is an asphalt mixing facility (NAICS 324121) and classified as Intensive Manufacturing by the definition in the Zoning Ordinance, which specifically mentions petroleum products: Intensive Manufacturing - Manufacturing and processing of products and chemicals including but not limited to: acetylene, lime, gypsum or plaster-of-Paris, stone, clay, glass, cement, concrete, chlorine, corrosive acid or fertilizer, insecticides, disinfectants, poisons, explosives, paint, lacquer, varnish, petroleum products, coal, plastic and synthetic resins, and radioactive materials. This group also includes smelting, animal slaughtering, paper manufacturing, oil S-629 (4/16) Page 3 of 7 refining, fuel bulk storage facilities, and electricity generating facilities, as well as any manufacturing or processing facility which has a high potential for significant negative external impacts on surrounding properties, water resources, air quality and/or public health. The operation is described in the narrative accompanying the application, and can be summarized as a facility that mixes existing materials, aggregate, sand, and a binder under heated conditions to produce the final mixed asphalt product which is then loaded onto trucks and shipped to a final destination for use. Information in the application materials also speaks to potential impacts such as noise, dust, odor, stormwater runoff, and air emissions. Noise is described as minimal and limited to the site due to the central location of the machinery, and dust resulting from the operation will be controlled through filtration. The existing pond on site is proposed to be improved for use as stormwater runoff mitigation. Finally, the impacts to air quality would be minimized through a state-issued permit for air emissions that would impose conditions on hourly and annual production. The use of natural gas for the heat source, bagfilters for particulate control, and recycled asphalt also all contribute to low impacts to air quality. STAFF POSITION: Zoning and Subdivision Ordinance Considerations The purpose of the of the I-2 zoning district is to set aside areas of the county for a variety of manufacturing and other heavy industrial uses for sites served by key transportation infrastructure including rail, waterway, and highway networks. As with the county’s other zoning districts, certain uses are permitted in the I-2 zoning district by special use permit through high standards of planning and design, as well as the potential for conditions, in order to minimize any negative effects that a particular use may have on the surrounding area. Four conclusions must be met supported by findings of fact as part of the approval process for a special use permit. A conceptual site plan is included as part of the application. If this application is approved, the property must be developed in accordance with the site plan. Further, the proposed development must also go through the County’s site plan/building permit review process. The process includes the review of the technical standards of the County’s development regulations, including landscaping, fire services delivery, stormwater, and sediment and erosion control. Traffic Trip generation from the proposed use will be primarily heavy trucks bringing materials to the site and leaving the site with the mixed asphalt en route to the final destination. The narrative accompanying the application indicates that during the 6AM to 6PM hours of operation, the truck traffic per day will be 20-50 trucks. Additionally, peak traffic would be in the morning with potentially 6 trucks per hour leaving the site with the mixed asphalt. A Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) is not required for the development due to the low trip generation realized from the proposal. Holly Shelter Road is classified as a Minor Arterial by NC DOT, and is functioning at a high level of service based on its design capacity and existing volume. Traffic counts were conducted in the 5,600 block of Holly Shelter Road in September 2015, showing an average daily trip count of 5,943 trips with a capacity of 29,300 and yielding a volume-to-capacity ratio of 0.26 and a Level of Service of “A”. S-629 (4/16) Page 4 of 7 The new use would require a driveway permit from NC DOT. A cursory review by WMPO staff encouraged a 24’ wide travelway to accommodate two-way travel for the large trucks entering and exiting the site; the petitioner has noted it will be incorporated into the design. Environmental The property does not contain any Special Flood Hazard Areas or Significant Natural Heritage Areas. Based on the Soil Survey of New Hanover County, the soils on site are Stallings fine sand and Murville fine sand, which pose moderate to severe limitations for septic use. The topography of the site is relatively flat and drains to the south, feeding into a large Cypress pond that drains to the Cape Fear River approximately 1/3 of a mile to the west of the subject site. Stormwater management regulations will require management practices for retaining stormwater on the site. 2006 CAMA Land Use Plan Considerations The site is split between two subclasses of the Resource Protection land use class in the 2006 CAMA Land Use Plan: Aquifer Resource Protection Area and Wetland Resource Protection Area. The Aquifer Resource Protection subclass occurs in the Northwest part of the County North of Smith Creek, and is the area where the Castle Hayne and Pee Dee Aquifers secondary recharge occurs. The impacts that the resource is being protected from is diminished recharge of the aquifer and contamination of the aquifer by inappropriate land uses. The focus of strategies to protect this Resource Protection subclass is encouraging larger lot development if septic systems are used to prevent cross contamination of wells, extension of water and sewer service to curtail septic system use, prevention of uses that pose risk of spill of hazardous materials, and encouraging development practices that promote sustained recharge. The Wetland Resource Protection subclass is primarily in the northeastern part of the county. The impact from which protection is needed is loss of wetland areas to development. The primary resource protection strategies focus on encouraging preservation of wetlands and wetland functions. Draft Comprehensive Land Use Plan Considerations The County is currently going through a process to create a new comprehensive land use plan. The current draft of the new Comprehensive Plan classifies the area of the property subject to development S-629 (4/16) Page 5 of 7 as Employment Center on the Future Land Use Map, while the area across Holly Shelter Road is classified as Commerce Zone place type. The Employment Center Place Type serves as employment and production hubs, with office and light industrial uses predominating. Commerce Zone areas also serve as employment and production hubs, predominantly composed of light and heavy industrial uses, though office and complementary commercial uses are also allowed. Both Employment Centers and Commerce Zones require arterial or major collector road access connecting them to areas outside their boundaries. GENERAL INFORMATION REGARDING SPECIAL USE PERMITS: Special use permits add flexibility to the Zoning Ordinance. Subject to high standards of planning and design, certain property uses may be allowed in the several districts where these uses would not otherwise be acceptable. By means of controls exercised through the special use permit procedures, property uses which would otherwise be undesirable in certain districts can be developed to minimize any bad effects they might have on surrounding properties. Any use or development designated by applicable zoning district regulations as a special use, or as allowed only pursuant to a special use permit, may be established in that district only after the use or development is authorized by a validly issued special use permit. The applicant bears the burden of presenting sufficient evidence in support of the application to allow the Board of Commissioners, after weighing such evidence against that presented in opposition to the application, to make findings of fact that reasonably support each of the required conclusions. If that burden is met, the Board of Commissioners should approve the application. If that burden is not met, the Board of Commissioners should deny of the application, provided that if the Board of Commissioners determines that specific minor changes or additions to, or restrictions on, the proposed development are necessary and sufficient to overcome impediments to its reaching the required conclusions, it may approve of the application subject to reasonable conditions requiring such changes or additions or imposing such restrictions. Such conditions may include time limits for completion of development or for the start or end of certain uses or activities. S-629 (4/16) Page 6 of 7 The Board of Commissioners may continue the hearing to a later meeting to accommodate additional witnesses or the presentation of additional testimony or evidence. If the time and place of the continued hearing is announced in open session during the hearing, no further notice need be given for the continued hearing. A motion for approval of the application must state the required conclusions and include findings of fact on which the conclusions are based, plus any proposed conditions of approval. The favorable vote of the majority of Board of Commissioners members present is necessary to pass such a motion. A motion for denial of the application must state which of the required conclusions cannot be reached and include findings of fact on which the inability to reach the conclusions is based. The favorable vote of a majority of Board of Commissioners members present is necessary to pass such a motion. STAFF PRELIMINARY CONCLUSIONS AND FINDINGS OF FACTS: Staff has conducted an analysis of the proposed use and the information provided as part of the application package, in addition to supplemental information provided by the applicant and presented at the April 14, 2016 public hearing at the Planning Board, and has created preliminary findings of fact to support each of the conclusions required to be reached to approve the special use permit request. These preliminary findings of fact and conclusions are based solely on the information provided to date, prior to any information or testimony in support or opposition to the request that may be presented at the upcoming public hearing at the May 2, 2016 Board of Commissioners meeting. Finding 1: The Board must find that the use will not materially endanger the public health or safety where proposed and developed according to the plan as submitted and approved. A. The subject property is located in the New Hanover County North Fire Service District. B. The subject site does not host any known cultural or archaeological resources. C. The additional permits and approvals required to develop the proposal, including but not limited to a state-issued air discharge permit, stormwater permit, sediment and erosion control plan approval, zoning compliance, driveway permit, and building code compliance, will allow the development and operation of the proposal while not materially endangering the public health or safety where proposed. Staff Suggestion: Evidence in the record at this time supports a finding that the use will not materially endanger the public health or safety where proposed. Finding 2: The Board must find that the use meets all required conditions and specifications of the Zoning Ordinance. A. Intensive manufacturing uses are allowed by Special Use Permit in the I-2 zoning district. B. Additional review of more detailed plans will be required to ensure compliance with applicable Zoning Ordinance provisions such as parking, and landscaping requirements. Staff Suggestion: Evidence in the record at this time supports a finding that the use meets all of the required conditions and specifications of the Zoning Ordinance. S-629 (4/16) Page 7 of 7 Finding 3: The Board must find that the use will not substantially injure the value of adjoining or abutting property or that the use is a public necessity. A. The location of the proposed intensive manufacturing use is within an area zoned for industrial uses. B. The closest residential property is approximately 2,100 feet away from the proposed intensive manufacturing use. C. Predominate land uses in the vicinity of the subject site are light to heavy industrial uses and vacant or undeveloped land. D. No evidence has been submitted that this project will decrease the property values of adjacent or nearby properties. Staff Suggestion: The evidence in the record at this time supports a finding that the use will not substantially injure the value of adjoining or abutting property. Finding 4: The Board must find that the location and character of the use if developed according to the plan as submitted and approved will be in harmony with the area in which it is to be located and in general conformity with the plan of development for New Hanover County. A. The site is split between two subclasses of the Resource Protection land use class in the 2006 CAMA Land Use Plan: Aquifer Resource Protection Area and Wetland Resource Protection Area. B. The applicable strategy for the Aquifer Resource Protection subclass is to protect the aquifer from contamination of inappropriate land uses that may pose risk of spill of hazardous materials. The proposed use creates a diminutive risk of spill of hazardous materials that would degradate the aquifer. C. The primary resource strategy for the Wetland Resource Protection subclass is to preserve wetlands and wetland functions. No wetlands have been identified on the site, and the proposed development will not impair any wetland functions on or within the vicinity of the site. Staff Suggestion: Evidence in the record at this time supports a finding that the use is in general conformity with the plan of development for New Hanover County. _____________________________________________________________________________________ ACTION NEEDED (Choose one): 1. Motion for approval (with or without conditions) 2. Motion to table the item in order to receive additional information or documentation (Specify). 3. Motion for denial based on specific findings in any of the 4 categories above, such as lack of consistency with adopted plans or determination that the project will pose public hazards or will not adequately meet requirements of the ordinance.