March 14, 2005 - 7:00 PM - County Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes

10 74 Meeting of the Johnston County Board of Commissioners March 14 , 2005 The Johnston County Board of Commissioners met in regular session Monday , March 14 , 2005 at 7 00 pm in the Commissioners ’ Meeting Room , Johnston County Courthouse Annex , Smithfield , North Carolina The following members were present Present Cookie Pope , Chairman , Wade M Stewart , Vice Chairman , Allen L Mims , Jr , Jeffrey P Carver , W Ray Woodall , DeVan Barbour , and Tony Braswell Absent None Also Present Rick J Hester , County Manager , April N Byrd , Clerk to the Board , J Mark Payne , County Attorney , and Della H Knight , Deputy Clerk The Chairman called the meeting to order and the following business was transacted 1 Public Comments A Request for Waiver of Tipping Fees at County Landfill Jimmy Starling , Starling Homes , Pine Level , requested the Board consider waiving the tipping fees at the County landfill for disposal of materials from dilapidated manufactured homes Chris Hollis , NC Manufactured Housing Institute , applauded the Board for the steps they have already taken by establishing a fund for the clean up of dilapidated homes a small percentage of mobile home permitting fees is set aside annually for the fund He stated that continuing the County’s efforts by waiving the tipping fees at the County landfill would be of very little cost to the County Both Nash and Harnett Counties have already waived the tipping fees for disposal of materials from dilapidated manufactured homes at their landfills After discussion by the Board , Chairman Pope asked the County Manager to study the matter further and report back to the Board 2 Public Hearings - Rezoning Cases and Special Use Permit Requests Advertised - In the Smithfield Herald - March 1 , March 8 , 2005 Certified letters were mailed to adjoining property owners on Thursday , March 3 , 2005 and notices posted at the locations on February 25 , 2005 The Chairman opened the Public Hearing for Case 03 - 43 Case 03 - 43 Petition to rezone approximately 103 acres of a sixty - two acre parcel of land located on Bizzell Grove Church Road SR 2141 in Micro Township from Agricultural - Residential AR to Industrial 1 - Special Use District I1 - SUD Tax ID 10O07075D Petitioners Owners Albert J and Patricia McDaniels Since the applicant was not present , Commissioner Allen L Mims , Jr suggested the Board table the case until later in the meeting to see if the applicant arrives , and if the applicant does not arrive , the case would be tabled until the April 11 , 2005 meeting The Chair agreed There being no further comments , the Chairman closed the public hearing The Chairman opened the Special Use Hearing for Case 580 Case 580 Application to modify an existing Special Use Permit to allow for the storage of salvaged vehicles , operable and non - operable , in correlation with a towing service on approximately 142 acres on Church Road in Pleasant Grove Township Owner Richard A Jones Applicant Jay Zanini The applicant was not present for Case 580 Chairman Pope stated the Board would also table the case until later in the meeting to see if the applicant arrives , and if the applicant does not arrive , the case would be tabled until the April 11 , 2005 meeting There being no further comments , the Chairman closed the public hearing 3 Revised Residential Sewer Policy Approved County Manager Rick Hester stated that during the Board retreat on February 18 , 2005 , staff put forthPage75 Meeting of the Johnston County Board of Commissioners th recommendations for a revised residential sewer policy On Friday , March 4 , staff held a stakeholder’s meeting with the development community to discuss the recommendations He noted that representatives from the towns were invited to tonight’s meeting to offer their opinions also Jody McLeod , Mayor of Clayton , addressed the Board in support of the proposed revised residential sewer policy He stated that he believes it is a great concept to have growth sustained in and around municipalities , versus uncontrollable sprawl that does not benefit municipal interest and causes the redundant provision of services from the municipalities and the County Bob Ahlert , Clayton Council Member , applauded the Board’s efforts to contain sprawl He noted the revised sewer policy would limit several rising costs to the County , including the need for some additional schools and related infrastructure , recreational programs , public safety , and sewer distribution and collection system Steve Matthews , President of the Clayton Chamber of Commerce , agreed with Mr McLeod and Mr Ahlert’s comments Lanny Thomas , citizen of the Cleveland Community , stated that he was concerned about the limit on residuals the County is allowed to release into the Neuse He urged the Commissioners to consider limiting residential wastewater allocation , and reserve some additional capacity for commercial use over the next ten years In response to a question from Commissioner Allen L Mims , Jr , Tim Broome , Public Utilities Director , informed the Board that staff had anticipated the current wastewater treatment plant expansion to last for 10 years , and initially allocated 700,000 gallons per day for residential use Current residential requests are for over 1,000,000 gallons per day , and the expansion will probably only cover needs for 3 - 5 years , with the County having to deny some further residential requests Commissioner Tony Braswell asked how many units of 100 or more did the County approve in 2004 Planning Director Steven Finn responded that 12 subdivisions with 100 or more lots were approved , a disproportionately higher number than the previous three years In response to questions from Commissioner Mims , Steve Biggs , Clayton Town Manager , explained that the Council recently implemented a policy requiring special use zoning for subdivisions in the town The policy allows more front - end work with the applicant , and supplies the council with stronger information to base their decisions on He noted that the town council looks at infrastructure needs , demands on sewer capacity , street planning , etc Commissioner Braswell questioned if any of the stakeholders present at the meeting had alternative suggestions to offer Tim Broome , Public Utilities Director , stated that most of the major developers from the western part of the County were present , and did not offer any alternatives to the proposed policy Commissioner Wade M Stewart commented , in his opinion , the issue is capacity , and the need to reserve some future capacity for industries and schools He suggested the Board encourage growth around existing municipalities , although he pointed out that it may be even more difficult to find land to build new schools around the municipalities Commissioner Jeffrey P Carver agreed with Commissioner Stewart about the need to reserve capacity for industries , and noted the proposed policy recognizes the importance of maintaining the rural character of the County Motion Commissioner Allen L Mims , Jr moved the Board adopt the following Residential Sewer Policy with the effective date of May 1 , 2005 Discussion Commissioner Stewart noted that his concern was whether the wording is concise enough in the description of the amenities required for a Planned Unit Developments PUDs Commissioner Mims suggested that staff may need to look at this issue , and an ordinance change may be needed to allow only PUDs with amenities in the future Page76 Meeting of the Johnston County Board of Commissioners Vote Commissioner Braswell seconded the motion , which carried by unanimous vote Residential Sewer Policy As Adopted 3 14 05 Sewer service for residential developments shall be limited to developments within Municipal Transition Districts MTDs ; Interstate Highway Interchange Districts IHIDs ; Outlying Residential Sewer Service Areas ORSSAs ; developments on land zoned R - 10 , PUD , or PDM prior to the date of adoption of this policy ; and existing residences with failed or failing septic systems Residential development is defined as a group of owner or renter occupied dwellings consisting of single units or multiple units including subdivisions , patio homes , apartments , condominiums , and town homes To qualify for residential sewer service in ORSSAs , developments must be zoned PUD or PDM Availability of wastewater allocation for qualifying residential developments shall be subject to surplus wastewater treatment capacity plant Three years capacity shall be continuously reserved in the wastewater treatment plant to serve the projected annual growth of the current bulk municipal customers and projected commercial , industrial and institutional development Requests will be processed on a first - come , first - served basis The official date of acceptance for a residential development project shall be the date of Planning Board approval of the preliminary plat or date of approval of Board of Commissioners approval of a PUD or PDM At the time of submittal of preliminary plans to the Department of Planning for initial Planning Board approval , a development phasing plan shall be included which specifies the schedule of development phases , the number and type of residential units , and the requested wastewater flow allocation required for each phase of development Wastewater capacity shall be allocated for residential projects on a development phase - by - development phase basis Capacity shall be reserved by payment of a cash deposit in the amount of 10 of the assessment fees for all phases for which capacity is available Payment of the deposit may be made following approval of the project preliminary plat by the Planning Board for subdivisions and approval of the PUD or PDM by the Board of Commissioners Payment for the balance of capacity allocations ie wastewater assessment fees may be made after approval of utility construction plans and specifications and receipt of the DWQ Non - Discharge Permit for a given development phase Payment of the balance of capacity fees wastewater assessment fees shall be made prior to recording of the final plat for a development phase The 10 deposit will be credited on a pro - rata basis against the assessment fees for later development phases Payment of the balance of assessment fees will not be accepted for any development phase until plans and specifications are approved and the DWQ Non - Discharge Permit is issued The Department of Utilities will maintain records of wastewater capacity required for each project on a phase - by - phase basis Running totals and a progressive schedule of purchased and planned wastewater allocations will be maintained Provided developments are constructed within the proposed and approved phasing plan , wastewater capacity will be allocated in order of priority on the basis of the date of payment of initial assessment fee s Subsequently submitted projects will not have priority for allocation over a previously submitted project , provided the approved phasing plan is followed and the 10 assessment fee deposit is paid immediately after approval The phasing plan for a development may be adjusted extended by up to one 1 year for any development phase upon prior written request to the Department of Utilities Only one extension per project will be granted If later development phases are cancelled or delayed beyond the approved schedule , the 10 deposit will be forfeited Priority for service will not be confirmed unless the deposit is paid Wastewater capacity allocations are subject to availability Johnston County Department of Utilities will endeavor to permit and construct wastewater transmission and treatment capacity expansions to meet demands Wastewater allocations expressly are for a defined project on a given parcel Allocations may be transferred with land ownership Allocations may not be transferred from one parcel to another or from one project to another For residential development proposed outside MTDs , IHIDs , and ORSSAs , on - site treatment and disposal systems may be employed , provided all regulatory permits are obtained For projects with 100 or more units , upon request at the time of submittal of construction documents , the County will assume ownership and operationPage77 March 14 , 2005 Continued and maintenance responsibility for on - site wastewater disposal systems provided the facilities are constructed to County standards MTDs , IHIDs , and ORSSAs shall be as shown on the attached map and may be modified , changed , or amended by the Board of Commissioners 4 Growth Management & Land Use Planning Options to be Discussed Further Steven Finn , Planning Director , gave a brief update of the stakeholder’s meeting held on Friday , March 4 , 2005 He stated there was no interest from the development community to have subdivisions as special uses Those present did feel that the proffer system might be a good idea , although they were weary of too much staff authority Mr Finn noted that staff is prepared to move forward since the sewer question had been answered at tonight’s meeting After discussion , the Board agreed to schedule a joint meeting with the Planning Board to further discuss growth management and land use planning options The Board set a tentative date of April 11 , 2005 at 6 00 pm in the Emergency Operations Center , prior to the regularly scheduled 7 pm Board meeting in the Commissioners ’ Meeting Room 5 Board Reports and Comments A Special Meetings Scheduled The Board scheduled 3 special meetings for the purpose of hearing brief updates by County department heads The meetings will be held in the Human Resources conference room April 12 , 18 , 26 from 6 00 pm to 8 30 pm B Citizen Concerns Regarding Highway Needs The Board asked Commissioner Tony Braswell , who serves on the Regional Transportation Committee , to provide them with a list of citizen concerns regarding highway needs in the County There being no further business , Commissioner Wade M Stewart moved the Board adjourn Commissioner Jeffrey P Carver seconded the motion , which carried by unanimous vote _________________________________ Cookie Pope , Chairman ____________________________ April N Byrd , Clerk to the BoardPage