TOWN OF CARY, NORTH CAROLINA  

REQUEST FOR REZONING 

Town Council Impact Statement  

Rezoning: 03-REZ-16 (Godwin/ Jones/ Riggsbee Planned Development District Major)

Staff Contact: Randy Guthrie, Principal Planner

                           (919) 462-3942

                           randy.guthrie@townofcary.org

Name: Jerry Turner

Firm: Jerry Turner & Associates, Inc.

Street Address: 905 Jones Franklin Road

City, State, ZIP: Raleigh , NC 27606

Phone: 851-7150

FAX: 851-7547

e-mail: address jturner@jerryturnerassoc.com  

Name: Glenda Toppe

Firm: Jerry Turner & Associates, Inc.

Street Address: 905 Jones Franklin Road

City, State, ZIP: Raleigh , NC 27606

Phone:851-7150

FAX 851-7547

e-mail: address gtoppe@jerryturnerassoc.com  

Area

(Acres)  

N. Virgil Riggsbee

PO Box 342

Apex, NC 27502-0342

Needham V. & Susan K. Riggsbee

PO Box 342

Apex, NC 27502-0342  

Needham V. & Susan K. Riggsbee

PO Box 342

Apex, NC 27502-0342  

Kevin T. Godwin

491 Wayland Hills Dr.

Cary, NC 27519  

Gus Travis & Marie R. Godwin

6606 Barbee Rd.

Durham, NC 27713-8538  

Marie R. Godwin

6606 Barbee Rd.

Durham, NC 27713-8538  

Dalton Lee Riggsbee

P.O. Box 5702  

Cary, NC 27512  

Deborah A. Beeman, ET AL

4806 SW 32^nd Terrace

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 33312-6986  

Katie R. Phillips

2569 Hope LN W

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 33410-1129  

Dennis Lee & Tracey Lynn Jones

503 Wayland Hills Drive

Cary, NC 27519  

Dalton Lee Riggsbee

P.O. Box 5702

Cary, NC 27512  

The Godwin/Jones/ Riggsbee Planned Development District (PDD) is a proposed planned development that sensitively takes into account the natural environment.  It is located south of Cary Park PDD, west of Green Level To Durham Road, north of Green Level Church Road and east of Yates Store Road . The PDD Plan proposes primarily low-density single-family development and incorporates a 200-foot stream buffer through the center of the development.  A proposed Town of Cary greenway is planned within a portion of the stream buffer. A multi-use corridor is proposed along a portion of Green Level To Durham Road.  

The development concept for the Godwin/ Jones/ Riggsbee PDD reflects Cary ’s desire to locate low-density residential development in the southern portion of the Northwest Cary Area Plan adjacent to where the Northwest Plan will tie into the future Southwest Area Plan. The proposed land use and density conform to the adopted Northwest Cary Area Plan. The proposed development is compatible with surrounding development in the area.  

The proposed Godwin/ Jones/ Riggsbee PDD Plan takes advantage of the option of providing flexible building setbacks that will allow the development to save more trees, minimize the impact on the existing stream, and provide for a more sensitive layout.  

Adjacent Zoning & Land Uses:

Existing Use

Existing Zoning

Existing Land Use Designation

North:

Vacant, Low Density Residential, Very Low Density Residential, Parks

Planned Development District Major  R-40 Residential

Low Density Residential and Parks

East:

Agriculture/ Forest and Parks

R-40 Residential 

Parks, Institutional and Medium Density Residential

South:

Agriculture/ Forest

R-40 Residential 

Low Density Residential

West:

Parks and Agriculture/ Forest

Planned Development District Major  R-40 Residential

Parks and Low Density Residential

Land Use Plan Designation:

Land Use:

Low density residential

Low density residential

Alternate Designation:

None

None

Activity Center  

None

None

Maps:

Vicinity Map - Small

Vicinity Map - Large

Zoning Map

Land Use Plan Map

Stream Buffers

Master Land Use Map

Vegetative Inventory

Slope Inventory

Soil Inventory

Hydrology Inventory

Parcel

Maximum Density (Du/Ac)

Acreage

Total Units

Minimum Lot Size

SF-1

3.4

24.76

85

8,500 square feet (lots adjacent to Cary Park will be of equal size)

SF-2

2.4

28.64

70

8,500 square feet (lots adjacent to Cary Park will be of equal size)

Major ROW

0.51

Open Space

16.29

Total

70.20

155

The proposal conforms with the Northwest Cary Area Plan that classifies this area for low density (1-3 units per acre) development.   The proposed density is 2.2 units per acre.   A land use plan amendment is not needed for the proposal.

Staff Contact: Jim Parajon, Planning Manager, james.parajon@townofcary.org, (919) 469-4029  

This project is located in the Jordan Lake Watershed and will be required to meet the Watershed Protection Overlay ordinance of the Town of Cary.

There are riparian buffers associated with this project.

The project will be required to meet the nitrogen requirements of the Town of Cary .

Staff Contact: Tom Horstman, Erosion Control Supervisor, tom.horstman@townofcary.org,(919) 469-4347  

Traffic Impact Analysis Required:

This study has been conducted to assess the traffic impacts and evaluate the access and egress requirements for the proposed Godwin/Jones/Riggsbee PDD.  The project site is to be located in the northwestern portion of Cary, North Carolina.  This report identifies the impact of traffic generated by the proposed development and evaluates it with regard to capacity, safety, and roadway requirements.  The following provides a brief summary of this study’s findings.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The project proposal is an approximately 63-acre residential development known as the Godwin/Jones/Riggsbee PDD.  This project site is to be located along Green Level to Durham Road, between Cary Glen Boulevard and Green Level Church Road, and is just south of the previously approved Cary Park PUD.  As proposed, 130 single-family residential units will be constructed on-site.  Under the current development plan, all units would be constructed and occupied/fully operational by 2006.

Direct access for this future development will be provided via a single full movement driveway to/from Green Level to Durham Road.  Additional cross-access will be allowed to/from the Cary Park PUD to the north.   

EXISTING CONDITIONS  

Existing conditions have been gathered for the following six intersections, which make up the project study area as directed by Town of Cary staff:  

Yates Store Road at Green Level Church Road;

Yates Store Road at Cary Glen Boulevard;

Yates Store Road/Carpenter Fire Station Road at Green Level to Durham Road;

Green Level to Durham Road at Cary Glen Boulevard;

Green Level to Durham Road at Green Level Church Road; and

Green Level Church Road at Green Hope School Road.  

This study area is located within the Base Transportation Zone, which requires the use of the counted 60-minute peak-hour volumes in accordance with the Town’s APFR Ordinance 01-012.  Traffic volume data within the study area has been obtained for the weekday AM (6:30 - 9:30 AM) and PM (3:30 - 6:30 PM) peak periods.  From this data, peak-hour volumes were extracted and have been utilized within this report as required by the ordinance.

PROBABLE IMPACTS OF THE PROJECT  

No-Build Traffic Volumes  

To represent Future 2006 traffic volume conditions within the study area, the Existing traffic flow volumes were upwardly adjusted to account for normal traffic growth and any other currently approved projects within the study area. 

Discussions with Town of Cary staff indicate that an annual growth rate of 3.5 percent is to be used.  This growth rate was applied to the Existing peak-hour traffic volumes to estimate Future 2006 conditions without the proposed development.   

It should be noted that, in addition to the normal annual growth in traffic, the projected traffic associated with the Cary Park, Highcroft, and Amberly PUDs has been included in the 2006 No-Build traffic volumes.

Planned Roadway Improvements  

As part of the Amberly PUD and Cary Park PUD projects, two roadway projects are anticipated to be completed within the Godwin/Jones/Riggsbee PDD study area and are as follows:  

Green Level to Durham Road will be improved to provide for a two-lane divided cross-section from Green Level Church Road to Cary Glen Boulevard; and  

Green Level to Durham Road will be improved to provide for a four-lane divided cross-section from Cary Glen Boulevard northward to outside the study area boundary.

With these projects, signalization is anticipated at the following intersections with applicable turning lanes:

           Green Level to Durham Road at Cary Glen Boulevard; and

Green Level to Durham Road at Carpenter Fire Station Road.

Another planned roadway project is the Wake Expressway which is planned to end at NC 55 via a grade-separated interchange.  Construction for this first phase will begin in late 2003.  South of NC 55, the second phase of the Wake Expressway should continue as a six-lane facility terminating at US-1 in Apex, NC.  Right-of-way acquisition for this project is expected to begin in 2006, with construction anticipated to begin in 2008 and end in 2010.  

Site-Generated Traffic

For this project, the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Trip Generation manual was utilized to estimate project trips generated by the proposed facility.

Based on this information, the proposed development can be expected to generate a total of 1,320 (two-way) vehicle trips on a weekday daily basis, of which a total of 101 trips (25 entering, 76 exiting) are expected during the weekday AM peak-hour.  During the PM peak-hour, 136 trips (87 entering, 49 exiting) can be expected.

Traffic Volumes Increases

As a result of this project, traffic volume increases at the study area intersections are expected to be somewhat varied from a low of approximately 3 percent to a high of approximately 16 percent.

TRAFFIC OPERATIONS ANALYSIS

The Base Transportation Zone requires a minimum Level-of-Service standard of D based on the 60-minute peak-hour.

Under Existing conditions, traffic operations at all study area intersections are acceptable (LOS D or better) during both the weekday AM and PM peak hours. 

Under 2006 No-Build conditions, which account for annual growth, the Cary Park , Highcroft, and Amberly PUDs, along with all previously cited roadway improvements, all of the six study area intersections (three are future intersections) are anticipated to demonstrate acceptable operations.  

With the addition of project related traffic, operations are insignificantly affected and all six study area intersections are anticipated to remain at acceptable levels.   

recommended mitigation  

The final phase of the analysis process is to identify mitigating measures which may either minimize the impact of the project on the transportation system or tend to alleviate poor service levels not caused by the project. Measures considered necessary to mitigate roadway system deficiencies are discussed below as they relate to the impacts of the proposed project. 

Proposed Site Access

As part of the proposed development plan, access to/from the proposed Godwin/Jones/Riggsbee PDD will be provided via a single full movement driveway to/from Green Level to Durham Road.  Additional cross-access will be allowed to/from the Cary Park PUD to the north.  

Based on the anticipated traffic volumes, the following geometrics and traffic control are suggested for the project’s main access point.   

Green Level to Durham Road at Site Access

            #       Eastbound Approach:  Separate left-turn lane and right-turn lane; 

#       Northbound Approach:  Separate left-turn lane and through lane;

#       Southbound Approach:  Shared through/right-turn lane; and

#       STOP sign control with Green Level to Durham Road as the major street.

With the above-cited geometrics and traffic control in place, the site access intersection is anticipated to operate at a Level-of-Service B under 2006 Build Conditions during each of the studied time periods.

Off-Site  

Review of the intersection analyses indicates that the proposed project has a small impact on the study area intersections as compared to future 2006 No-Build conditions.  Project traffic causes a minor increase in delay and V/C ratio, but does not cause any study area intersection to operate unacceptably during either the AM or PM peak-hour.  Based on these conducted analyses, no improvements/modifications are necessary at any off-site study area intersection due to the anticipation that each will operate acceptably under future 2006 Build conditions.

Staff Contact: Dick Moore, Traffic Systems Manager, dick.moore@townofcary.org, (919) 462-3937

Site predominately forested with mixed hardwood and conifers, with bottomland hardwoods along the riparian buffer area.  

Staff Contact: Don Belk, Senior Planner, don.belk@townofcary.org, (919) 469-4084  

A Town of Cary greenway is proposed to be extended through the site.

Staff Contact: Doug McRainey, Parks Planning Manager, doug.mcrainey@townofcary.org, (919) 460-4973  

The proposed development will have access to Town of Cary