TITLE
Vote on a request by Dan Sears, P.L.A. on behalf of Fitch Creations, Inc. for subdivision First Plat review and approval of Granville, consisting of 43 lots on 51.76 acres, located off Mil1croft (SR-1817)., parcel 95264.
ABSTRACT
Action Requested:
Vote on a request by Dan Sears, P.L.A. on behalf of Fitch Creations, Inc. to approve for subdivision First Plat review and approval of Granville, consisting of 43 lots on 51.76 acres, located off Mil1croft (SR-1817)., parcel 95264.
Introduction & Background:
Zoning: R-1
Water System: Public Water
Sewer System: Private Wastewater Treatment Plant
Subject to 100-year flood: No special flood hazard area within the development.
General Information:
The subdivision process is a four (4) step process: Concept Plan, First Plat, Construction Plan, and Final Plat. The applicant has completed the community meeting and the Concept Plan review. The minimum lot size requirement for the project is 40,000 square feet of useable area. The Planning Board has two (2) meetings in which to act on the proposal.
Discussion & Analysis:
The request is for First Plat review and recommendation of Granville, consisting of 43 lots on 51.76 acres, off Millcroft, SR-1700 and Seaforth Road SR-1817, parcel number 95264. A vicinity map showing the property location, is included in the agenda packet. Per the Subdivision Regulations, Section 5.2C(4), a Public Hearing shall be held at the first Planning Board meeting to receive comments on the proposed subdivision. Item (b) states that following the Public Hearing, the Planning Board shall review the proposal, staff recommendation, and public comments and indicate their recommendation for approval, disapproval or approval subject to modifications. As stated above the Planning Board has two (2) meeting to act on the proposal.
Roadways: Granville and Cabarrus are proposed to be built with a 20-foot-wide travel way and a 50-foot-wide public right-of-way and is to be state maintained
Historical: The applicant contacted Sy Robbins and Bev Wiggins, Chatham County Historical Association (CCHA), on March 18, 2022 via email correspondence. CCHA completed research on the parcel, the research was dated back to the 1700s (Email correspondence and research link <https://www.chathamcountync.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/62503/638091120233030000> ).
Schools: Notification of the proposed development was provided to the Chatham County School System.
General Environmental Documentation: The developer submitted the General Environmental Documentation and a letter dated April 2, 2022, from North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources Natural Heritage Program to Chatham County Land & Water Resources Division for review. The letter states “A query of the NCNHP database, indicates that there are no records for rare species, important natural communities, natural areas, and/or conservation/managed areas within the proposed project boundary. Please note that although there may be no documentation of natural heritage elements within the project boundary, it does not imply or confirm their absence; the area may not have been surveyed.”
Drew Blake, Watershed Protection Asst. Director, reviewed the information submitted. Mr. Blake replied in a letter dated June17, 2022 that the requirement has been met. Additional comments included any Allowable uses and Allowable with Mitigation uses in the protected riparian buffer will require a Buffer Authorization from Chatham County, all permits with wetland and stream impacts from NC Division of Water Resources and the US Army Corps of Engineers will need to be obtained prior to receiving approval from Chatham County for a Grading Permit and Land Disturbing Permit. GED approval letter can be viewed online <https://www.chathamcountync.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/62493/638091113141570000>
Community Meeting: A community meeting was held on June 28, 2022 at Fearrington Village Center Barn, 2000 Fearrington Village Ctr., Pittsboro. Approximately ninety-nine (99) people attended the meeting. Items/issues discussed included:
• Capacity of Fearrington Village wastewater treatment plant (WWTP)?
• Increase in traffic.
• Any plans for properties south of Granville?
• Will there be connection to or expansion to Big Hole Road?
• Construction traffic through Fearrington.
• Funding for maintenance of common areas and stormwater ponds
• Impacts to Bush Creek.
• Construction timeline.
• Extension of Millcroft and impact on the pastures, cows, and plans
• Will the open space trail be connected to Fearrington?
• Will there be public open space?
• If Granville neighborhood would pay into Fearrington HOA?
As a result of the community meeting the proposed pedestrian trail connecting to Fearrington Village amenities will begin at the intersection of proposed Granville and Cabarrus and extend north to connect to Millcroft trail. Granville will be part of the Fearrington HOA as the master association and a new HOA sub-association will be created to manage the community’s open space and stormwater ponds. Community meeting report can be viewed online <https://www.chathamcountync.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/62507/638091124164370000>
Technical Review Committee: The TRC met virtually January 18, 2023 to review the First Plat submittal. Robb Harrison, PLA, Alan Keith, P.E., and Dan Sears, PLA were present representing the applicant. Items discussed included:
• Width of public right-of-way
• Will there be street lighting?
• Will there be a separate subdivision sign?
• Lot numbers needs to be consecutive.
Septic: Mr. Alan Keith, P.E. provided a letter dated December 14, 2022 stating that the Fearrington WWTP has capacity to serve Granville Subdivision. The sewer collection mains for Granville will discharge into Fearrington mains on Tyrell. Letter may be viewed online <https://www.chathamcountync.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/62511/638091149106800000>
Water: County water will serve the project. Water Dept. has reviewed the utility plan and had the following comments, please note some comments are directed to Construction Plan submittal and not for First Plat submittal.
1. On the overall view, the meter box symbol is very small and hard to find, as is the fire hydrant symbol.
2. We want the waterline to be 5’ from the right-of-way and dimensions listed on the plans. (5’ offset)
3. In the plan profile view, can you show the ditch profile? We want to ensure there is 3’ of cover over the waterline. The ditch appears to be located very close to the waterlines.
4. We would like to see a copy of the road cross-section details for this project.
5. Please label all fire hydrants with symbol and gate valve symbol; also, please spell out that it is a fire hydrant with valve. We want this gate valve to stand out, so we can show this in our GIS system.
6. We would ask that all storm drain crossings tried to be mitigated with the waterline going above the storm drain. The waterline should have 3’ minimum cover, but not to exceed 5’. In most of the cases I saw, you should be able to put the waterline over top of the storm drain. We are okay with the waterline going under the storm drain at P-1 but want to ensure that there is 18” of separation between storm and water.
7. For the waterline on Granville, we ask that the Fire hydrant assembly be before the bubble of the cul-de-sac.
8. There is a small extension located on Granville between lots 31 and 32. Could you move the fire hydrant just North of this closer to this intersection? Also, the reducer where it goes from 8” to 6”- could you put this reducer after this fire hydrant. Putting reducers at intersections sometimes becomes complicated for us and putting it at the fire hydrant seems to the most logical place to find this in the field if a repair is needed.
9. We would like to have gate valves every 1000’ next to the fire hydrants on the main line.
10. For the small extension on Granville south of 4632 Halifax, we ask that you put the fire hydrant on the mainline that goes down Granville instead of on the extension to the South. Also, if there is ever a road put here, this hydrant will be in the turning radius for traffic, so if you could move this to the East 10’, this should mitigate possible damage from vehicles.
11. For the fire hydrant at the entrance onto Granville, please move this East a little, to get out of the turning radius of vehicles to avoid being damaged. This could be moved 10’ to the East and accomplish this goal.
12. There is a gate valve symbol shown just East of the intersection of Cabarrus and Granville. I understand this is probably for the different phases, but we would rather this valve not be here, and a plug be put in place for Phase 1 and remove it for Phase 2.
13. Please include pictures of Chatham County’s specs with the submission, as to ensure that during construction, the contractor is aware of what our specs are.
14. We will need a copy of the fire flow analysis for review here.
15. I got an application for a fire flow test for this, but on the fire flow application, it was listed that the required flow was 500 GPM at 20psi. This required flow should be what NFPA standards refer to and I am not sure that 500 GPM will achieve this minimum flow.
16. The last comment that I have is that we would like an air relief valve installed between stations 1600 and 1700 at the high point. This should be installed inside of a manhole to our specifications.
Road Name: The road names Granville and Cabarrus have been approved by Chatham County Emergency Operations Office as acceptable for submittal to the Board of Commissioners for approval. <https://www.chathamcountync.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/62499/638091117147430000>
Open Space: Usable area .51 acres and 9.03 acres of natural open space.
Water Features: Steven Ball with Soil & Environmental Consultants, PA (S&EC), submitted the Riparian Buffer Review Application along with a riparian buffer map, to Drew Blake, Asst. Director Watershed Protection Dept. for review. Mr. Blake and a staff member of S&EC completed an on-site riparian buffer review on March 28, 2022, to verify the consultant’s findings. Mr. James Lastinger with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers visited the site, May 5, 2022, and provided the Notification of Jurisdictional Determination on May 5, 2022. Mr. Blake issued a report of his findings dated April 18, 2022, confirming three (3) ephemeral streams, two (2) intermittent streams, one (1) perennial stream, and two (2) potential wetlands were identified. The one ephemeral stream requires 30- ft buffers, three (3) intermittent streams require 50-ft buffers, the three (3) perennial streams require 100-ft buffers, and the nine (9) wetlands require 50-ft buffers from all sides landward. Riparian buffer report <https://www.chathamcountync.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/62491/638091111830400000> and Notification of Jurisdictional Determination <https://www.chathamcountync.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/62495/638091113986730000>
Stormwater and Erosion Control: The original layout submitted with the First Plan application indicated seven stormwater devices, but that has been reduced to four. During the site visit, staff and the applicant discussed the number of stormwater devices. The applicant drafted the original layout to collect stormwater runoff from the roads and lots, which is not required by the county’s regulations. The change to the plan reduces the amount of land disturbance by removing the diversion ditches on the rear of the lots. The four stormwater devices are proposed and will be placed in open space. The stormwater device #1 is located between Lots 9 and 10, stormwater device # 2 located by Lot 16, stormwater device #3 is located by Lot 22 and stormwater device # 4 is located behind Lots 29 & 30. As part of the stormwater permitting process additional information will be provided to the Watershed Protection Department. A Stormwater Permit and Sedimentation & Erosion Control Permit will be obtained from the Chatham County Watershed Protection Department prior to Construction Plan submittal. No land disturbing activity can commence on the property prior to obtaining Construction Plan approval.
Development Schedule:
Phase One: Final Plat submittal June 30, 2027
Phase Two: Final Plat submittal December 31, 2029
Phase Three: Final Plat submittal December 31, 2031
Site Visit: Site visits were scheduled for January 23, 2023 and January 24, 2023. Pictures of the site visit may be viewed on the Planning Department webpage at www.chathamcountync.gov/planning <http://www.chathamcountync.gov/planning>, Rezoning and Subdivision Cases, 2023.
Planning Board Discussion:
The Planning Board reviewed the application during their regular meeting on February 7, 2023. The development team including Robb Harrison, Dan Sears, Alan Keith, T.C. Morphis, and Greg Finch were present. Planning board members discussed traffic concerns and the existing clubhouse and some amenities are not being adequate fpr residents, both of which were concerns brought up during the First Plat public hearing. Mr. Morphis stated that a Traffic Impact Analysis was conducted, and it was determined that there were not enough trips to require any adjustments. Mr. Finch commented that there have been discussions about amenities but have encountered some zoning issues, and a site that is level enough for amenities. The Board stated there is more open space area than required and they did a nice job on the proposed plans.
How does this relate to the Comprehensive Plan:
Plan Chatham was adopted by the Board of Commissioners in November 2017 and is a comprehensive plan that provides strategic direction to address the most pressing needs in the county. These properties are in an area of the county identified as Conservation on the Future Land Use and Conservation Plan Map. The description for conservation includes single family detached lots, low density development, tourism related uses are allowed, passive recreation areas, greenway trails, and variety of valuable natural resource areas.
The proposed subdivision meets the adopted riparian buffer and stormwater control standards of the county. The developer also contacted the NC Natural Heritage Program to review their database for any rare species, important natural communities, natural areas, or conservation/managed areas within the project boundary and no rare species were identified in their records. It should be noted that Plan Chatham is not intended to be used as a regulatory tool but is a policy document. When reviewing subdivision applications, the boards can use the plan as a tool to identify future regulatory changes.
Recommendation:
The Planning Department and Planning Board, by unanimous vote (9-0), recommends granting approval of the road names Granville and Cabarrus granting approval of subdivision First Plat for Granville with the following conditions:
1. The county attorney shall review and approve the contract and performance guarantee prior to final plat recordation.
2. Final Plat shall provide consecutive lot numbers.
3. Development Schedule: Phase One: Final Plat submittal June 30, 2027; Phase Two: Final Plat submittal December 31, 2029; Phase Three: Final Plat submittal December 31, 2031