INC NEWS - Clarification on Epcon Development (A07-13 and Z07-26): Jan. 28 BOCC Agenda
Melissa Rooney
mmr121570 at yahoo.com
Sun Jan 27 22:18:34 EST 2008
Sorry for the confusion. I am having a hard time
learning to be BOTH brief AND clear :)
The Epcon development is not seeking to be mixed
residential-commercial, but is seeking to have the
portion that is currently zoned as low density to be
zoned as low-medum density (INCREASING the density).
They are also seeking to rezone from RS-20 (0.33 -
0.75 Units/acre) to PDR 4.5 (4.5 units/acre, which can
certainly contain non-residential components).
(The agenda portion of my previous email seems to have
a typo indicating that the reverse is the case.) The
developers pitched it as a senior citizen development
(w/ over 80% of housing requiring residents 55 years
of age or more), and I'm told that there is no
language in the plans committing this to be the case.
So that is problem #1.
Problem number 2 is that Durham expended a lot of time
and resources (including those of citizens AND
developers) to come up with a comprehensive plan, only
a couple of years ago. The integrity of all this work
is in question if it is simply to be
abandoned/ammended whenever citizens don't speak up
against it. I thought the comprehensive plan was
developed so we citizens wouldn't have to go through
this time and time again.
The mixed commercial-residential development I
referred to is on 751, and they just submitted their
comprehensive plan amendment case. It has not been
reviewed by the planning commission yet. But it is
already highly controversial. More on that later...
The following webpages have all the background on the
Epcon application (considered back in November and
December).
WRT the rezoning:
http://www.durhamnc.gov/departments/planning/zoning_committee/items/Z07-26.pdf
WRT the comprehensive plan ammendment:
http://www.durhamnc.gov/departments/planning/zoning_committee/items/A07-13.pdf
Thanks again!
Melissa
--- [] wrote:
> Melissa,
> I was drafting a letter to the County Commissioners
> but realized upon
> reading your email one last time that I'm not clear
> on what is to be
> voted on tomorrow night. Is the request the one you
> speak of below, to
> change the Rural zoning to Mixed Density commercial,
> or the one further
> down, which seems to request a change from
> Low-Medium density to Low
> density.
> Can you straighten me out before I send my letter?
>
> Thanks!
>
> p.s. Thanks for all your hard work this past year
> or 2 keeping on top
> of S. Durham development and passing on information
> to us concerned
> neighbors!
>
>
> On Jan 27, 2008, at 7:40 PM, Melissa Rooney wrote:
>
> > Please see the attached and immediately email the
> > Board of County Commissioners to ensure the
> integrity
> > of the Comprehensive Plan. The property tax
> valuation
> > of our homes lasts for 8 years...but Durham's
> > comprehensive plan (which was devised by citizens,
> > developers, planning staff, etc., as the long term
> > development plan for Durham) can be changed to
> > accommodate development after only having been
> > implemented two years ago? There's something very
> > wrong with that.
> >
> > There are other Comprehensive Plan ammendment
> > applications in the pipeline, most notably one to
> > convert the Rural residential zoning (1 lot/ 2
> acres)
> > of 500,000 - 600,000 sq ft parcel (~ 144 acres) on
> 751
> > (near the intsxn with Fayetteville) to Mixed
> density
> > Commercial (as many as 8 residential lots/acre,
> > totalling 1200 - 1300 residential units with
> retail).
> > This is VERY close to home for most of us and will
> > affect Jordan Lake Wetlands and Water quality.
> >
> > Let's not let the current Epcon development set a
> bad
> > precedent for the future, especially since BOTH
> the PC
> > and the Planning Dept recommend denial, while the
> > county manager recommends approval if supported by
> > public comments Monday (that's TOMORROW) night.
> >
> > BOCC email addresses: ereckhow at aol.com,
> > bmheron at co.durham.nc.us, lcheek at co.durham.nc.us,
> > prcousin at earthlink.net, mpage at co.durham.nc.us
> >
> >
> > Please read the correspondence below for more
> details.
> > Thanks!
> > Melissa
> >
> >
> >
> > Note: forwarded message attached.
> >
> >
> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> > Melissa Rooney, Ph.D.
> > Fairfield Community Awareness,
> > Communications and INC representative
> >
> > Durham, NC 27713
> > mmr121570 at yahoo.com
> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
_______________________________________________________________________
>
> > _____________
> > Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page.
> > http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs
> > From: Reeves Young <rcyoung4 at verizon.net>
> > Date: January 27, 2008 3:16:08 PM EST
> > To: Steve Bocckino <ncbocck at mindspring.com>,
> Melissa Rooney
> > <mmr121570 at yahoo.com>, randal haithcock
> <res03imk at verizon.net>, Judy
> > Bailes <judy.bailes at bcbsnc.com>, Judy Thomson
> > <thomsonranch at verizon.net>, Nancy Herndon
> <nancy_herndon at yahoo.com>
> > Subject: Fwd: Epcon Jan. 28 BOCC Agenda
> >
> >
> > Hi all,
> >
> > This project is going before the County
> Commissioners Monday night.
> > Early on this project was pitched as a senior
> housing development.
> > There is nothing to indicate that this will be
> such a project. The
> > applicant is asking for both a land use amendment
> as well as a
> > rezoning Monday. The Planning Dept. recommended
> denial as did the
> > Planning Commission. As you see below, the county
> manager has advised
> > the elected body to vote based on public comment.
> >
> > While this project isn't nearly as bad as the
> original one put forth
> > one year ago which also received a recommendation
> for denial from both
> > the Planning Dept. and the Planning Commission,
> now seems to be a
> > good time to let the commissioners know that they
> need to stick to the
> > Comp. Plan and uphold the recommendation for
> denial from the Planning
> > Dept. and the Planning Commission.
> >
> > Please send the commissioners a short email
> requesting denial....it
> > may help down the road.
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Carol
> >
> > Reeves Young <rcyoung4 at verizon.net> wrote:
> >> Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2008 17:36:12 -0800 (PST)
> >> From: Reeves Young <rcyoung4 at verizon.net>
> >> Subject: Epcon Jan. 28 BOCC Agenda
> >> To: pullmans at aol.com
> >> CC: "Edward C. Harrison"
> <ed.harrison at mindspring.com>
> >>
> >> No mention of this being an active senior
> community.
> >>
> >>
> >> Public Hearing—Plan Amendment, Epcon Neighborhood
> (A07-13)
> >>
>
>
> >>
>
>
> >> 20 min.
> >> To conduct a public hearing on a plan amendment
> for Epcon
> >> Neighborhood (A07-13); and to approve the
> requested change to the
> >> land use designation on the Future Land Use Map
> of the Durham
> >> Comprehensive Plan from Low-Medium Density
> Residential (4-8 DU/Ac.)
> >> to Low Density Residential (4 DU/Ac. or Less).
> >>
> >> City-County Planning Department Recommendation:
> Denial, based on the
> >> request not being justified and not meeting one
> of the four criteria
> >> for plan amendments.
> >>
> >> Planning Commission Recommendation: Denial, 5-6,
> November 13, 2007,
> >> based on information provided in the staff
> report, the request not
> >> being justified and not meeting one of the four
> criteria for plan
> >> amendments.
> >>
> >> Resource Person(s): Steven L. Medlin, AICP,
> Interim City-County
> >> Planning Director
> >>
> >> County Manager’s Recommendation: The
> Manager recommends that
> >> the Board conduct a public hearing and, if
> appropriate based on the
> >> comments received, approve Plan Amendment A07-13.
> >>
> >> 12. Public Hearing—Zoning Map Change—Epcon
> Neighborhood (Z07-26)
> >>
>
>
> >>
>
=== message truncated ===
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