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05MayPB RANDOLPH COUNTY PLANNING BOARD May 14, 2019, 6:30 p.m. MINUTES The Randolph County Planning Board met on Tuesday, May 14, 2019 in the Commissioners Meeting Room, Randolph County Historic Courthouse at 145-C Worth Street, Asheboro, North Carolina. Chairman Pell called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Planning Director Jay Dale did the roll call of the Board members:  Reid Pell, Chairman, present;  Wayne Joyce, Vice Chairman, present;  Chris McLeod, present;  John Cable, present;  Keith Slusher, present;  Kemp Davis, present;  Ralph Modlin, present; and  Michael Koehler, Alternate, present. County Attorney Ben Morgan was also present for the meeting. Dale informed Pell there was a quorum present for the meeting. Pell called for a motion on the approval of the minutes from the April 2, 2019, Planning Board meeting. Slusher made the motion, seconded by Cable to approve the minutes as presented. The motion passed unanimously. REZONING CASE #2018-000000886 SHABAN USMAN, Ramseur, NC, is requesting that 2.00 acres at 5328 Shady Hollow Rd, Columbia Township, Sandy Creek Watershed, be rezoned from RA – Residential Agricultural District to HI-CD – Heavy Industrial – Conditional District. Tax ID# 8714694805. Rural Growth Area. The proposed Conditional Zoning District would specifically allow a custom meat slaughter facility in a proposed 2,500 sq. ft. building with a maximum of five employees as per site plan. Property owner: Muhammed Usman. Randolph County Planning Board Minutes May 14, 2019 Page 1 of 10 Dale presented the first case for the evening as described in the agenda for Shaban Usman’s request for rezoning. He also explained to the Board that serious zoning violations have been discovered in preparing the case. He said it is not normal procedure to accept applications with current zoning violations. Pell asked if there was anyone present that would like to speak on behalf of the request. Shaban Usman, 5328 Shady Hollow Rd., Staley, NC told the Board that the construction phase of the project would include cleaning up the property, eliminating the zoning violations. Usman said he is requesting to operate a custom slaughter facility with up to five employees, processing beef cows, goats and lamb. Dale asked what “custom” meant. Usman said the meat is packaged to the customers’ request and the facility is state inspected. McLeod asked about the hours of operation and how many days a week. Usman said the hours would be 7 a.m. until 4 p.m., five days a week. Slusher asked if he planned to process animals other than cows, goats and lamb in the future. Usman answered no. Slusher asked how many animals he planned to process each week. Usman said there would be approximately 25 goats or lamb and maybe 5-6 beef cows each week. Davis asked how many animals would be kept on the property and what type of outside facility he planned for the animals. Usman said there would be pole barns on the remaining 98 acres to store the live animals and there may be 50-60 at any given time. Davis asked if they would be holding and feeding the animals on the property. Usman answered yes. Slusher asked if the animals on site would be held for the customers or would the animals be their own. Usman said they would hold animals for the customer until time of processing and they would have additional animals on site for purchase. McLeod asked when the clean-up process for the zoning violations was planned to begin. Usman said they planned to start immediately after approval of their request. Cable asked why the clean up had not taken place prior the request. Usman said he was told it would be a waste of time and money, using unnecessary resources if not approved. He said he plans to start the process and have soil tested if request is approved. Cable asked who told him that cleaning up the property would be a waste of time. Usman said the demolition contractors had told him he should not invest money into the project if it could not move forward. Davis asked how long he had owned the property. Usman said one year. Randolph County Planning Board Minutes May 14, 2019 Page 2 of 10 Joyce asked if he purchased the property in this condition. Usman said the property was actually worse when they purchased it. Joyce asked if he operates a slaughterhouse currently in another location. Usman said he operates a retail store but not a slaughterhouse. Slusher asked how much traffic would be created by the business. Usman said they would be purchasing animals once a week and the animals would be shipped to the facility. Davis asked if it is a lengthy process to become certified. Usman answered yes. Davis asked Usman if he had been in contact with USDA. Usman said the main concern for USDA is the building which seems to be okay. He said they also suggested waiting for zoning approval before moving forward. Davis asked if USDA had inspected the building. Usman answered no. He said USDA has a minimum height requirement for the building, not a minimum size requirement. Morgan asked if there would be an inspector in the building all of the time and would it be federally inspected. Usman said there would be an inspector and he would not start out large enough to be federally inspected. Morgan asked what size operation requires federal inspection. Usman said he did not know. Davis asked if he would be inspected by the State although he would not be federally inspected. Usman answered yes. Cable asked if he had checked on the State requirements. Usman answered no. Modlin asked if the property has road frontage. Usman said they have an easement into the property. Cable asked how long he spent on the plan for this facility. Usman said it has been approximately one year. Koehler asked if there was some type of incinerator for the wastes from the animals or how would it be disposed of. Usman said there is a company that picks the wastes up daily. He said the blood is held in storage tanks and the solid wastes are hauled off daily. Joyce asked if there is approved access for the larger trucks. Usman said there is a 50 ft. easement. Modlin asked if the easement was a dirt road. Usman answered yes. Modlin asked who would maintain the road. Usman said he would be responsible and would like to pave the road in the future. Cable asked if a well would be located near the slaughterhouse and asked who created his Randolph County Planning Board Minutes May 14, 2019 Page 3 of 10 site plan for him. Usman said Thomas Perdue, project engineer, had created the site plan and is present if there are any questions for him. Pell asked if anyone else was present in favor of the request. Hearing none, Pell asked if anyone present was in opposition of the request. Buddy Mabe, 5324 Shady Hollow Rd., said he would like to see the existing zoning violations cleared up before considering the request for a slaughter facility. He also said some of his concerns had already been addressed although he has additional concerns regarding the additional traffic that would be generated by customers bringing their own animals to the facility for processing and whether or not buffers would be required to help with the noise created from the traffic and animals. He also asked if the large trucks would be allowed to travel to and from the facility beyond the normal hours of operation. Davis asked Mabe what distance was between his residence and the proposed facility. Mabe explained the location based on maps provided to the Board as being up the hill from the proposed facility approximately 500-600 ft. Davis asked what his main concerns were for this request. Mabe said he has concerns about noise, waste, hours that trucks will be traveling in and out of the facility and water quality. Modlin asked if their road was a rural two-lane road. Mabe said it is more like a one lane road without markings. He said there is a total of four houses on the road which dead ends into a cul-de-sac. Cable asked if there is enough room on the property for large trucks to turn around. Mabe said he did not think so. Pell asked if there was anyone else present that would like to speak in opposition of the request. Bill Johnson, 5407 Sandy Creek Church Rd., Staley, said his residence is only one-half mile away “as the crow flies.” He said he also owns property on Shady Hollow Rd., some with his siblings and a partner in Shady Hollow Acres Development, LLC, adjoining the property. He said he started a subdivision approximately ten years ago when the market crashed and has not had luck selling the property. He said he feels that having a slaughterhouse adjoining the subdivision will also affect the sale of the properties and property values. Johnson said he has some of the same concerns as Mr. Mabe regarding the traffic and disposal of animal waste. He said if someone were to kill a deer during the night and brought the animal to be processed, what extended hours will be allowed for the traffic and how will the waste be disposed of prior to the facility opening the next morning. Pell asked the Board members if they had any questions for Mr. Johnson. Randolph County Planning Board Minutes May 14, 2019 Page 4 of 10 Hearing none, Pell asked Usman if he would be processing deer as well. Usman answered no. Modlin asked if there was or used to be a hog operation near this location. Slusher said there used to be and it is no longer in operation. Cable said the animal waste issue continues to come up and asked Usman if he already has a plan worked out for the disposal. Usman said he would be contacting Valley Protein to handle the wastes and he would follow the requirements. He said he thought the waste were picked up daily. He said he has not checked into the process in depth at this time. Modlin asked Usman if he was aware of the challenge he is facing regarding the wastes, septic system, if water treatment is required, etc. Usman answered yes. Pell asked Usman if he has an engineer working on the project. Usman answered yes. Pell asked if there was anyone else present that would like to speak regarding the request. Thomas Perdue, 1101 Nowell Rd., Raleigh, NC, engineer there on behalf of Mr. Usman. He said he has designed similar facilities before and will have everything completed as required by the State prior to operation of the facility including proper disposal of waste which would not be an issue for the adjoining neighbors to deal with. Davis asked why an actual plan had not been completed before the meeting to answer all of these questions. Perdue said he felt there would be no need for Usman to spend the money to complete the plan prior to appropriate zoning. He said if the request is approved, he is ready to proceed. Cable said there are too many variables to this request and Usman did not seem to know clear answers to some of the questions that were asked. He asked Perdue if he was a site engineer or operations engineer. Perdue stated he was a site engineer. Cable asked if the easement and the designated area of the property would be enough space for large trucks to access and turn around. Perdue said there would be appropriate turn around areas on the property. Cable asked if there was adequate water on the property. Perdue said a new well would be installed on site. Davis asked who owns the property surrounding the requested 2 acres and if the requested 2 acres would be large enough to maintain the facility and waste? Perdue said the 2 acres would be used for slaughter house, septic and parking. Davis asked if the owner would be willing to install a buffer if required. Perdue said he did not know. Modlin asked how far from the 2 acres is the closest neighbor. Perdue said he was unsure without a scaled drawing in front of him. Randolph County Planning Board Minutes May 14, 2019 Page 5 of 10 Cable asked Perdue how many times he had visited the site to design the property. Perdue said he had been there once to walk over the property and look at everything. Cable asked if he had walked over the entire property or just the approximate 2 acres for the request. Perdue said he walked over the 2 acres but had to walk through some of the property to get to the 2 acres. Cable asked Perdue if he was a certified engineer or just an associate of the company. Perdue stated that he was a certified engineer for the State of North Carolina and works for McConnell & Associates. Pell asked how much debris was located on the 2 acres. Perdue said the owner would be better to answer that question because he had not been there in a while and the owners were in the process of some clean up. Pell said the property is already in violation and the debris is a major concern. Perdue said the cleanup of the property would be part of the construction phase of the facility. Slusher asked if debris was located on more than just the 2 acres as part of the request. Dale answered yes. McLeod asked if the clean up would be required on just the 2 acres or the entire property. Dale said all of the property would have to be cleaned up. Pell asked Dale about the actual violations. Dale said any area on the property in excess of 600 sq. ft. is considered a junk yard. Pell asked if there were any additional questions for Mr. Perdue. Hearing none, Pell asked if there was anyone else present that would like to speak regarding the request. Hearing none, Pell closed the public hearing and asked the Board for discussion or a motion. Slusher said he has many concerns such as the effects this would have on the adjoining properties and their property values, increased traffic and even if there is enough room for large trucks to turn around in an area with a building and holding pens. He said he just doesn’t feel this is a good location for the request. Slusher made the motion, seconded by Cable to deny the request. The motion passed unanimously. Pell asked for a motion that application is contrary to the requirements of the Randolph County Growth Management Plan. Davis made the motion, seconded by Slusher that the application is contrary to the requirements of the Randolph County Growth Management Plan. The motion passed unanimously. Randolph County Planning Board Minutes May 14, 2019 Page 6 of 10 Pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes § 153A-341 and 342, the Randolph County Planning Board finds that the proposed zoning district map amendments to HI-CD – Heavy Industrial – Conditional District as described in the application of Shaban Usman are not consistent with the 2009 Randolph County Growth Management Plan and are not reasonable and in the public interest for the following reasons: 1. Determination of Consistency with the Growth Management Plan. A. Consistency with Growth Management Plan Map The Randolph County Growth Management Plan map for the northeast area shows the parcel to be rezoned in an area designated as Rural Growth Area. Rural Growth Areas are areas where maintaining the rural character and the natural heritage asset resources are important. This request, if approved, would have changed the rural character of the surrounding area. B. Consistency with Growth Policies in the Growth Management Plan Policy 3.1 Industrial development should be on land that is physically suitable and has unique locational advantages for industry. Advances planning for the identification of such land should be encouraged. Consistency Analysis: The location for this request is off of Shady Hollow Rd, but has no road frontage on Shady Hollow Rd. The property also abuts a residential subdivision, Janet Johnson Subdivision. While the acreage of the parcel may be sufficient, 100.00 acres, the site is not physically suitable nor has unique locational advantages for industry. During the Public Hearing, Planning Board members asked specific questions of the applicant and engineer related to the site plan, requirements for Federal and State inspections and other regulations specific to this type of operation and neither the applicant nor this engineer could provide conclusive answers to the questions. Policy 3.2 Heavy industrial sites should be separated from nonindustrial areas by natural features, green belts and/or other suitable means. Consistency Analysis: The site plan as presented included no buffers to protect the surrounding areas. As noted above, Planning Board members asked questions regarding buffers but the applicant nor his engineer were able to provide specific answers to these questions. 2. Statement of Reasonableness and Public Interest Reasonableness and Public Interest Analysis: This request is not reasonable and in the public interests for reasons stated above such as the applicant nor his engineer being able to provide answers to specific questions regarding the building design, Federal and State inspection requirements, and other specific questions regarding the disposal of the remains of animals prepared at the proposed facility. The request is also located within the Sandy Creek Watershed and nothing was presented to the Planning Board to address any potential impacts to the watershed. Randolph County Planning Board Minutes May 14, 2019 Page 7 of 10 Dale announced to Usman that the Randolph County Planning Board denied his request for rezoning. REZONING CASE #2019-00000949 DONALD LANIER, Asheboro, North Carolina, is requesting that 111.61 acres located on Tot Hill Farm Rd, Cedar Grove Township, be rezoned from Residential Agriculture to Conventional Subdivision Overlay Exclusive-Conditional District. Tax ID# 7628791829 and 7629609953. Secondary Growth Area. The proposed Conditional Zoning District would specifically allow the development of a 26 lot residential subdivision for site-built homes only with a minimum house size of 1,800 heated sq. ft. or 1600 heated sq. ft. with 2000 sq. ft. under roof as per site plan. Dale presented the last case of the night for a rezoning request by Donald Lanier, as described in the agenda. Pell asked if there was anyone present to speak on behalf of the request. Donald Lanier, 6048 Sandy Creek Church Rd., Staley, NC, was there on behalf of the property owner. He said that each lot would have its own driveway adjoining Tot Hill Farm Rd and the development would be restricted to site built homes only ranging from 250 to 350 thousand dollars. He also said there would be restrictive covenants recorded that would prevent parked tractor trailers, junk cars, commercial livestock, etc. McLeod asked if this development would be similar to a development he was involved with on Old Lexington Rd. Lanier answered yes. He said it has turned out to be a nice development with several families already living there and starting construction on the last available tract, all within a year and a half. Davis asked how many lots were available in the development off Old Lexington Rd. Lanier said there were ten lots with one additional large acreage tract in the back. Davis asked if the development was full and completed. Lanier said there are five families already living there, five homes under construction with two of those already under contract, leaving only three available and getting started on the eleventh home on the large acreage tract. Pell asked if there was anyone else that would like to speak on behalf of the request. Hearing none, Pell asked if there was any present in opposition of the request. Hearing none, Pell closed the public hearing and called for discussion among the Board members or a motion. McLeod made the motion, seconded by Joyce to approve the request. The motion passed unanimously. Randolph County Planning Board Minutes May 14, 2019 Page 8 of 10 Pell asked for a motion that application meets the requirements of the Randolph County Growth Management Plan. Cable made the motion, seconded by McLeod, that the request meets the requirements of the Randolph County Growth Management Plan. The motion passed unanimously. Pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes § 153A-341 and 342, the Randolph County Planning Board finds that the proposed zoning district map amendments to CVOE-CD – Conventional Subdivision Overlay Exclusive – Conditional District as described in the application of Donald Lanier are consistent with the 2009 Randolph County Growth Management Plan and are reasonable and in the public interest for the following reasons: 1. Determination of Consistency with the Growth Management Plan. A. Consistency with Growth Management Plan Map The Randolph County Growth Management Plan map for the southwest area shows the parcel to be rezoned in an area designated as Secondary Growth Area. Secondary Growth Areas are predominately residential and allow for transitional land uses. This area of the County is predominately residential with the large subdivision closest to this request being Tot Hill Farm Subdivision. B. Consistency with Growth Policies in the Growth Management Plan Policy 6.13 Conventional residential subdivision are anticipated of similar housing characteristics to the community. Consistency Analysis: The predominate development patterns in this area of the County are conventional residential subdivisions. The proposal would be of similar housing characteristics to the community. A Resolution Adopting the 2009 Randolph County Growth Management Plan, number 3, “Ensure the opportunity for landowners to achieve the highest and best uses of their land that are consistent with growth management policies in order to protect the economic viability of the County’s citizens and tax base.” Consistency Analysis: As previously stated, the predominate development patterns in this area is conventional residential subdivisions. The proposal is consistent with the Growth Management Policies of the County as it allows the current property owner to achieve the highest and best use of their property. 2. Statement of Reasonableness and Public Interest Reasonableness and Public Interest Analysis: The parcel in this rezoning request is subject to the Conditions agreed upon between the property owner and the Planning Board. These Conditions will limit the amount and type of development on the property reducing the impact on adjoining parcels. The proposed use will also increase the tax base and increase economic activity within the County. Randolph County Planning Board Minutes May 14, 2019 Page 9 of 10 Dale announced to Lanier that the Randolph County Planning Board approved his request for rezoning. Slusher made the motion, seconded by Cable for the Randolph County Planning Board to adjourn. The motion was unanimous and the meeting adjourned at 7:08 p.m. with 9 citizens present. RANDOLPH COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA _______________________________________ Planning Director _______________________________________ ______________________________________________ Clerk to the Board Date Randolph County Planning Board Minutes May 14, 2019 Page 10 of 10