Town of Cary, North Carolina
Development Plan Staff Report
03-SP-230-B Thomas Brooks Park, Phase Two; Revised Site Plan
(Proposed Site Plan Revisions to the Thoroughfare Corridor Buffer)
Town Council Meeting
August 25, 2011

The Town of Cary Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department requests approval of revisions to the Thomas Brooks Park, Phase Two, Site Plan to reflect existing conditions. The proposed revisions are made necessary by a slight change in the alignment of the Western Wake Expressway right-of-way discovered after the original site plan was approved in June 2004 and by a shift in the location of the Progress Energy utility easement. The revised site plan shows the following changes as compared to the approved site plan:

1. an approximate 10-foot shift in the Western Wake Expressway right-of-way line westward toward the park;

2. an approximate 10-foot westward shift in the Thoroughfare Corridor Buffer location to correspond with a resulting shift in the Expressway right-of-way;

3. a 70-foot increase in the Thoroughfare Corridor Buffer creating a 170-foot-wide buffer along the northern and the southern undeveloped areas of the park which is designed to mitigate the placement of a 70-foot-wide utility easement and associated land clearing in the initial 100-foot-wide buffer;

4. a westward shift in the 70-foot-wide utility easement so that the entire utility easement lies within the buffer (previously, based on information from Progress Energy, an approximately 15-foot-wide portion of that 70-foot-wide utility easement had been shown as lying in the Western Wake Expressway right-of-way);

5. a 30-foot reduction in the buffer at the two easternmost ball field locations (which was originally approved with a reduction of 20 feet); and

6. the installation of new landscape screening material in the buffer to restore the native opaque quality of the buffer.

NOTES:
Alterations to the Thoroughfare Corridor Buffer District, including the placement of utilities in the buffer, constitute a modification that must be approved by the Town Council. The Town Council may approve such modifications only if it finds, after conducting a quasi-judicial hearing, that the modification advances the goals and purposes of the LDO and results either in less visual impact or more effective preservation of the environment or open space. The Town Council may require conditions that will substantially secure the objectives of the modified standard and that will substantially mitigate any potential adverse impact on the environment or on adjacent properties including, but not limited to, additional landscaping or buffering.

LIST OF EXHIBITS:

Cover Sheet
Overall Buffer Location Plan
Existing Condition Plan North
Existing Condition Plan South
Overall Buffer Landscape Plan
Buffer Landscape Plan North
Buffer Landscape Plan South

PARCEL AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Property Owner	Wake County Parcel Identification Number (PIN) (10-digit)	Real Estate ID Number	Deeded Acreage
Town of Cary 316 North Academy Street Cary, NC 27512	0734049820	0030959	126.8 acres
Total Area			126.8 acres

Agent & Applicant	Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department Town of Cary 318 North Academy Street Cary, NC 27512-8005
Acreage	126.8 acres
General Location	100 Brooks Park Lane
Town Limits	The Park is within Cary’s town limits.
Land Use Plan Designation	Park, Open Space, and Greenways
Zoning District(s)	Resource/Recreation District (RR)
Existing Use	Municipal Park
Associated Document	03-SP-230-B, Thomas Brooks Park, Phase; Two Site Plan
Staff Contact	Bob Benfield, Principal Planner Town of Cary Planning Department 318 North Academy Street Cary, NC 27512-8005

Meeting	Date	Action
Town Council	August 25, 2011

Thomas Brooks Park is located on 126.8 acres east of Green Level Church Road, south of Green Hope School Road, and west of the Western Wake Expressway. Thomas Brooks Park, Phase One, was approved on November 10, 1999, and utilized the westernmost 50 acres adjacent to Green Level Church Road. Thomas Brooks Park, Phase Two, was approved on June 10, 2004, and utilized the easternmost 70 acres adjacent to the proposed Western Wake Expressway. The Phase Two area of the park is the USA Baseball National Training Center, and the site consists of: three regulation-lighted baseball fields; one lighted-signature baseball field; a future team clubhouse location; a Town maintenance facility; patron amenities; and 600 parking spaces.

In 2004, the approved plan for Thomas Brooks Park, Phase Two, included a 20-foot encroachment of the area containing the two easternmost ball fields into the 100-foot Thoroughfare Corridor Buffer, thereby reducing the buffer width at the two ball fields. The plan also compensated for the reduction by providing additional buffer area at other locations along the eastern side of the park, thereby providing a buffer that averaged at least 100 feet in width. The actual area of buffer reduction was 5,194 square feet, which was replaced with 6,223 square feet of additional buffer area. The approved Phase Two plan also permitted a Progress Energy 70-foot-wide utility easement, straddling and running generally parallel with the Western Wake Expressway right-of-way line, to extend 55 feet into the buffer with the remaining 15 feet of utility easement extending into the Western Wake Expressway right-of-way. As a result, the westernmost 45 feet of the buffer was to remain free of utility easements and available for existing tree preservation and buffer supplementation. The Phase Two area of the park was developed in accordance with the approved plan.

Since June 2004, the Western Wake Expressway has been cleared and graded and is nearing completion. In August 2005, Progress Energy acquired the 70-foot-wide utility easement from the town. Recently, the utility easement was cleared of existing vegetation, and an overhead electrical transmission line is tentatively scheduled to be installed in the easement during the last quarter of 2011. Some of the previously approved landscaping installed in the buffer was removed by Progress Energy to accommodate the location of the utility easement.

In developing a plan to revegetate the buffer this year, staff relied on recorded documentation to accurately locate both the Western Wake Expressway right-of-way and the utility easement. This documentation revealed that the Expressway right-of-way was located approximately 10 feet further west than originally shown on the approved site plan for Thomas Brooks Park, Phase Two, and also revealed that the 70-foot-wide utility easement was located entirely within the buffer, rather than straddling the Expressway right-of way line. However, this was only discovered recently once the easement area was cleared of existing vegetation.

The Thoroughfare Corridor buffer revegetation plan proposes to shift the buffer 10 feet further west to generally maintain the required 100-foot-wide buffer. Based on the actual location of the Expressway right-of-way and the utility easement, the previously approved 20-foot reduction of the buffer at the easternmost two ball fields became a 30-foot reduction of the buffer. Section 4.4.4(D)(5) of the LDO only permits consideration of utilities and streets encroaching into the buffer. Therefore, the buffer is proposed to be reduced 30 feet in width at the two easternmost ball fields. The actual area of reduction is 14,936 square feet; however, staff proposes to add 16,856 square feet to the buffer to compensate for the 30-foot reduction in buffer width. The buffer modifications originally approved provided for a 20-foot reduction in buffer width (a 5,194 square foot reduction) and a 5,223 square foot addition.

The 100-foot Thoroughfare Corridor Buffer and the 70-foot-wide utility easement extend the full length of the Expressway right-of-way along the eastern side of the park. In undeveloped areas of the park north and south of the existing developed park, the plan proposes to increase the 100-foot-wide buffer to a 170-foot-wide buffer as mitigation for the placement of a 70-foot wide-utility easement and the associated land clearing in the initial 100-foot-wide buffer. The extra 70 feet of buffer contains undisturbed native forest area and is in addition to the new buffer areas established to offset the buffer reduction at the two easternmost ball fields.

Thoroughfare Corridor Buffer Landscape Revisions
The previously approved Thomas Brooks Park, Phase Two, site plan included approximately 650 new tree installations both within and near the buffer. The clearing of the Western Wake Expressway and the utility easement removed 64 previously installed trees, 57 of which were Pines. The proposed buffer revegetation plan documents the relocation of seven existing trees to be moved out of the utility easement area to other safer locations in the buffer. The plan also proposes to install a total of approximately 280 additional trees and shrubs along both the ball field and the Expressway sides of the buffer. Staff has shared the proposed plan with Progress Energy representatives and they have accepted the proposed plan. It is the staffs’ understanding that the NC Turnpike Authority plans to implement a revegetation plan along the Expressway right-of-way which would include some plantings along Thomas Brooks Park.

The plan also includes the following provisions for soil supplementation, plant installation, landscape inspection, and plant replacement.

1. All trees shall be installed following both Town of Cary landscape planting requirements and accepted landscape industry planting practices;

2. Random soil tests shall be performed and an amended fertilizer mix appropriate for the planting conditions and for proposed plant selection shall be utilized;

3. All plantings shall be installed between October 15, 2011, and March 15, 2012, with time extensions considered by the Town of Cary staff in the best interest of success for new plantings;

4. Within thirty (30) days following completion of the tree installations, the landscape contractor installing the plantings shall submit a statement to the Town attesting that all trees and all shrubs were installed in accordance with the approved Landscape Plan; and

5. The Town of Cary shall perform an inspection twelve (12) months after plant installation to determine the health of the plantings installed and to identify any plantings that have died and/or need replacing. The Town of Cary shall replace any dead or any other vegetation deemed to need replacing for the first three (3) years following approval of the plan.

The Thomas Brooks Park, Phase Two, Site Plan has been revised by Cary’s Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department to address several issues necessitated by both the recent installation of the Western Wake Expressway and by the Progress Energy Utility Easement paralleling the western side of Western Wake Expressway. As a result, consideration of approval of a revised site plan showing the following revisions is requested:

1. an approximate 10-foot shift in the Western Wake Expressway right-of-way line westward toward the park;

2. an approximate 10-foot westward shift in the buffer location to maintain the required 100-foot width;

3. a 70-foot increase in the Thoroughfare Corridor Buffer creating a 170-foot-wide buffer along the northern and the southern undeveloped areas of the park;

4. a shift in the 70-foot-wide utility easement to locate the easement entirely within the buffer;

5. a 30-foot reduction in the buffer at the two easternmost ball field locations which was originally approved with a reduction of 20 feet); and

6. the installation of new landscape screening material in the buffer to restore the native opaque quality of the buffer.

The Town Council is asked to consider proposed site plan revisions to the Thoroughfare Corridor Buffer area of Thomas Brooks Park. According to Section 4.4.4(D)(5) of the LDO, no development shall be allowed within the required buffer strip. In approving the site plan revisions for the property, however, the Town Council may permit the construction of streets and utility easements through the buffer strip upon finding that such construction is necessary for safe ingress and egress or for providing utility service to the site. The Town Council made such a determination in June 2004 when it approved the location of the Progress Energy utility easement partially within the buffer. The Town Council may approve such modifications to the buffer only if it finds, after conducting a quasi-judicial hearing, that the modifications also advance the goals and purposes of the LDO and result either in less visual impact or more effective preservation of the environment or the open space. Other relevant sections of the LDO are referenced at the end of this report.

CARY TOWN COUNCIL

WORKSHEET AND SUGGESTED MOTIONS

Land Development Ordinance Section 3.9.2(I), Approval Criteria, requires that the following five (5) criteria (in bold text below) be met in order for the Town Council to grant approval of the proposed site plan revisions:

(1) The plan complies with all applicable requirements of this Ordinance, including the development and design standards of Chapters 7 and 8 as well as the dedication and improvements provisions of Chapter 8 as well as all applicable Town specifications.

Staff Comments:
Land Development Ordinance (LDO) Section 4.4.4(D)(5) requires that any construction of streets and/or utilities through the buffer may be allowed by the Town Council upon finding that such construction is necessary either for safe ingress and egress or for providing utility service. The overhead transmission line located in the buffer is necessary to ensure that an adequate future power supply would be available both to existing and to future residents of western Wake County. LDO Section 4.4.4(D) requires buffer areas cleared of existing vegetation to be revegetated to an opaque type “A” buffer standard in accordance with LDO Section 7.2.3(D)(1)(a).

The area of buffer reduction at the ball fields would be compensated for by incorporating additional park area into the buffer that exceeds the area of buffer reduction. Excluding the utility easement located in the buffer, all other buffer area would be revegetated and/or supplemented to recreate an opaque buffer, as required. No other improvements or dedications are proposed.

TEST SATISFIED? __ YES __ NO

(2) The plan adequately protects other property, or residential uses located on the same property, from the potential adverse effects of the proposed development.

Staff Comments:
The area of buffer in question is isolated from other properties due both to the location of the buffer in the park and to the physical separation from other properties in the area created by the Western Wake Expressway. Moreover, the nearest residential dwelling is located approximately 850 feet east of the buffer and of the Western Wake Expressway. Also, existing-native forest area averagining approximately 200 feet in width along the eastern side of the Expressway would adequately address any impacts relative to visibility.  Additionally, revegetation of the buffer adjacent to the park would further minimize the effects of noise and light originating from the park onto adjacent properties.

TEST SATISFIED? __ YES __ NO

(3) The plan provides harmony and unity with the development of nearby properties.

Staff Comments:
The Thoroughfare Corridor Buffer provides for orderly development along controlled access highways by maintaining visibility of the natural scenic beauty of the area visible from the controlled access highway and from lands adjacent to the highway. The Thoroughfare Corridor Buffer provides an open space and a natural buffer for sound and promotes both the safe and the efficient movement of traffic. The Thoroughfare Corridor Buffer also aides in establishing an image of the quality of life in the Town both for visitors and for residents alike.

With the proposed landscape supplementation and with new buffer area added that would exceed the area impacted by the ball fields, the overall intent and beneficial value of the buffer is retained.

TEST SATISFIED? __ YES __ NO

(4) The plan provides safe conditions for pedestrians or for motorists and prevents a dangerous arrangement of pedestrian and vehicular ways.

Staff Comments:
No pedestrian and/or vehicular use areas associated with the park would be adversely impacted by the proposed modifications to the buffer.

TEST SATISFIED? __ YES __ NO

(5) The plan provides safe ingress and egress for emergency services to the site.

Staff Comments:
Neither the relocation of the buffer nor the existence of a utility easement in the buffer would have an adverse affect on existing points of access into the park, nor would they inhibit overall park access by emergency service responders.

TEST SATISFIED? __ YES __ NO

 

Two separate motions are needed: (1) Consideration of Minor Modifications; and (2) Consideration of Site Plan revisions. Suggested motions are as follows:

Minor Modification:

I move that we approve the minor modifications to the Thoroughfare Corridor Buffer width standard, because the modifications advance the goals and purposes of the LDO and results in more effective environmental or open space preservation.

OR

I move that we deny the minor modifications to the Thoroughfare Corridor Buffer width standard because the modifications: [choose at least one of the following]

1. Does not advance the goals and purposes of the LDO, or

2. Does not result in less visual impact, or

3. Does not result in more effective environmental or open space preservation, or

4. Does not relieve practical difficulties in developing the site.

Site Plan:

MOTION TO APPROVE THE APPLICATION WITHOUT CONDITIONS
Upon conducting a duly-advertised public hearing and considering the application materials, the testimony, and the evidence presented at the hearing or otherwise appearing in the record and upon considering the approval criteria of Section 3.9.2(I), I move that we APPROVE the request and adopt the proposed REVISED SITE PLAN including the staff comments shown on the worksheet [ALT: with the following changes to the staff comments____] as findings to support the determination that the proposed use meets all of the approval criteria set forth in Section 3.9.2(I).

OR

MOTION TO DENY THE APPLICATION
Upon conducting a duly-advertised public hearing and upon considering the application materials, the testimony, and the evidence presented at the hearing or otherwise appearing in the record and upon considering the approval criteria of Section 3.9.2(I), I move that we DENY the request and adopt the following RESOLUTION, finding that the proposed use does not meet all of the approval criteria set forth in Section 3.9.2(I) based on the following findings, which shall be set forth in the RESOLUTION. Specifically, the application does not meet the following criteria: [choose the criteria below that have not been met and state the reason why it is not met.] 

·         The plan (does not) complies with all applicable requirements of this Ordinance, including the development and the design standards of Chapters 7 and 8, as well as the dedication and the improvement provisions of Chapter 8, and as well as all applicable Town specifications. (Note: Plans within Planned Developments may be subject to different requirements based on the approval) ___________;

 

·         The plan (does not) adequately protects other property either residential uses located on the same property from the potential adverse effects of the proposed development, because the ______________;

 

·         The plan (does not) provides both harmony and unity with the development of nearby properties, because the ____________;

 

·         The plan (does not) provides safe conditions for pedestrians or motorists and prevents a dangerous arrangement of both pedestrian and vehicular ways, because the ______________;

 

·         The plan (does not) provides both safe ingress and safe egress for emergency services to the site, because the ____________;

3.9.2 Common Procedures for Review and Approval of Subdivisions and Site Plans

(I) Approval Criteria

A subdivision plan or site plan may be approved by the Town Council only if it meets the criteria set forth below:

(1) The plan complies with all applicable requirements of this Ordinance, including the development and design standards of Chapters 7 and 8 as well as the dedication and improvements provisions of Chapter 8 as well as all applicable Town specifications. (Note: Plans within Planned Developments may be subject to different requirements based on the approval).

(2) The plan adequately protects other property, or residential uses located on the same property, from the potential adverse effects of the proposed development;

(3) The plan provides harmony and unity with the development of nearby properties;

(4) The plan provides safe conditions for pedestrians or motorists and prevents a dangerous arrangement of pedestrian and vehicular ways; and

(5) The plan provides safe ingress and egress for emergency services to the site.

4.4.4 Thoroughfare Overlay

(A) Purpose and Intent

The purpose of the Thoroughfare Overlay is to provide orderly development along controlled/limited access highways, to encourage the most appropriate use of adjacent lands, to maintain the scenic natural beauty of the area, and to promote the safe and efficient movement of traffic. These thoroughfares commonly establish an image of the quality of life in the Town for visitors and for residents. Preservation of this natural beauty is required to enhance trade, to enhance capital investment, to enhance tourism, and to enhance the general welfare. All development within this overlay district shall comply with the regulations of this Section.

(B) Location of District

The Thoroughfare Overlay is established along both sides of the existing and the planned controlled/limited access highways within the Town's jurisdiction and the Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Area, as indicated on the Zoning Map and/or the Comprehensive Transportation Plan Maps. Such highways include, but are not limited to: US-1; US-64; I-40; Cary Town Boulevard (between I-40 and NE Maynard Road); and the Western Wake Expressway. The Thoroughfare Overlay covers all lands within one hundred (100) feet of the right-of-way along both sides of each controlled-access highway, except at interchanges where the overlay district shall extend back to the established point of the intersecting roadway where the controlled access ends or begins [see Section 4.4.4(D) below].

(C) Plan Approval Required

All development within the Thoroughfare Overlay shall require submission of a subdivision plan or a site plan in accordance with Section 3.9 of this Ordinance and shall require approval of such plan by the appropriate decision-making body.

(D) Buffer Requirement

(1) General Requirement

A buffer strip with a width extending one hundred (100) feet from and parallel to the right-of-way boundary of the controlled-access highway shall be maintained on all property within the Thoroughfare Overlay.

(2) Interchange Requirements

A buffer strip width extending fifty (50) feet from and parallel to the right-of-way for interchange ramps shall be maintained on all property within the Thoroughfare Overlay.

(3) Reductions

The Town Council may reduce the required width of this buffer strip as part of its approval of the site and/or subdivision plan, taking into consideration: the topography of the area; the area surrounding land uses, and particularly residential uses; the actual location of the corridor; the size and shape of land parcels affected by the buffer; and whether the buffer requirement would render the entire property unusable. In reducing the width of the buffer strip, the Town Council shall ensure that the applicant will provide appropriate landscaping to meet the requirements of Section 4.4.4(D)(4) as stated below. In no event, however, shall the Town Council reduce the required width of the buffer strip to less than thirty (30) feet. (See Section 3.19, Minor Modifications).

(4) Maintenance of Existing Vegetation

Within the required buffer strip, all existing vegetation shall be maintained in a natural, undisturbed state and, unless the existing natural vegetation provides such a buffer, the applicant shall install and maintain a Type A opaque buffer that meets the requirements of Section 7.2.3 of this Ordinance. The owners of the property are responsible for maintenance of the buffer and the consequences resulting from damage to the buffer in accordance with Section 7.2.13, Maintenance Responsibility, Replacement of Damaged Vegetation, and Associated Fines.

(5) Development within Buffer

No development shall be allowed within the required buffer strip. However, the decision-making body may, in approving the site and/or subdivision plan for the property, permit the construction of streets or of easements through the buffer strip upon finding that such construction is necessary for safe ingress and egress or for utility service to the site. The nature and limits of such construction shall be designated on the approved site and/or subdivision plan.

(6) Enforcement

Disturbance of buffers required under this section shall constitute a violation of this Ordinance and shall be subject to the appropriate penalties and the appropriate remedies set forth in Chapter 11. For purposes of this section, "disturbance" shall be defined as any action that results in either injury or harm to required trees, to shrubbery, or to other vegetation.

(E) Variances

No variance shall be granted that modifies the width of the buffer or the amount or type of the vegetation required under this Section, but the Town Council may grant modifications to these requirements in some circumstances [see paragraph (D)(2) above].

7.2.3 Requirements for Perimeter Buffers and Landscape Areas

(D) Types of Buffers and Landscaped Areas

(1) The three (3) types of landscaped buffers that appear in Table 7.2-1 are as follows: (Detailed illustrations and supplemental information on buffer configurations are available in the Community Appearance Manual.)

(a) Type A, Opaque

This perimeter buffer functions as an opaque screen from the ground to a height of at least eighteen (18) feet. This type of buffer prevents visual contact between uses and creates a strong impression of total separation. Vegetative material within this buffer should meet the following criteria:

1. Existing vegetation or planted upper-story deciduous and evergreen trees shall attain a height at maturity of no less than sixty (60) feet.

2. At least fifty (50) percent of the required upper-story trees and all of the required under-story trees and shrubs shall be evergreen species that are locally adapted to the area.

4. Upper-story trees shall be spaced no wider than twenty (20) feet, and evergreen shrubs shall attain a height at maturity of no less than six (6) feet and shall be spaced no wider than five (5) feet between plants.

5. The buffer may include a wall, a fence, a landscaped earthen berm, planted vegetation, existing vegetation, or any appropriate combination of these elements.

6. Streetscapes are required to be planted and to meet the planting standard for a Type A opaque buffer and also required to incorporate ornamental trees spaced no wider than twenty (20) feet.

(2) Buffer plantings shall conform to the following standards:

(a) The new plantings comprising the buffer shall be spread across the entire span of the buffer and shall not always be planted in a row or in rows. In some cases, planting in a row in or rows is necessary to achieve the desired performance objective. Specifically, planting the width of the entire buffer may not be needed to achieve the desired performance objective of the buffer type; however, the remainder of the required buffer area should have a minimum spacing of trees as required by the associated buffer type.

(b) The buffer performance requirements must be achieved in the quickest time possible, preferably no more than three to five years.

(c) The additional trees and of shrubs may be required to supplement existing vegetation to meet buffer requirements.

(d) The consistency with the types of buffers required may be achieved by following the requirements set forth below or by another alternative that meets the performance requirements.

7.2.12 Implementation of Landscape Plan; Inspections

(B) Inspections After First Year

The Planning Department shall inspect the site one (1) year after the issuance of a permanent Certificate of Occupancy to ensure compliance with the approved site and/or with the subdivision plan and to ensure that the landscaping is properly maintained. Failure to maintain required landscape areas (trees and shrubs) shall result in fines in accordance with Chapter 11 of this Ordinance.