S-629 Staff SummaryS-629 (4/16) Page 1 of 7
SPECIAL USE PERMIT REQUEST
Planning Board Meeting
April 14, 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)
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.
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
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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
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
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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”.
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.
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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
as Employment Center on the Future Land Use Map, while the area across Holly Shelter Road is
classified as Commerce Zone place type.
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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 Planning Board, 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 Planning Board should recommend to the Board of Commissioners to approve the
application. If that burden is not met, the Planning Board should recommend denial of the application,
provided that if the Planning Board 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 recommend approval 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.
The Planning Board 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.
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A motion to recommend 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 Planning Board members present is necessary to pass such a motion. A
motion to recommend 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 Planning Board members present is necessary to pass such a motion.
Upon receiving the recommendations of the Planning Board and holding a public hearing, the Board of
Commissioners may grant or deny the special use permit request.
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 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 April 14, 2016 Planning Board
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.
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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 to recommend Approval (with or without conditions)
2. Motion to table the item in order to receive additional information or documentation
(Specify).
3. Motion to recommend 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.