HomeMy WebLinkAboutC.054.93011_0250 (2)Johnson said he also understood that if residents in an RA district had opposition
to a sewage treatment plant, as the current ordinance was written, their only recourse
would be by civil action through a court of law.
Jackson said this was also correct.
Jackie Power, a resident of the Spring Acres Subdivision, said she was requesting
an amendment to the ordinance that would require non-public sewage treatment facilities
to apply for special use permits when locating facilities in RA districts. She said currently
in Iredell County, the RA districts were the only areas exempted from the process. Mrs.
Power said the Highway 150 treatment plant was permitted by the state and construction
was already in progress before she and other residents knew what type of facility was
being built. She said that if a special permit had been required, the board of adjustment
would have evaluated the request, and the residents in the neighborhood would have been
notified. Mrs. Power said the state of North Carolina had 71 sewage treatment permit
applications for a ten -county area. She said 17 of the applications were for Iredell County,
and already, there were 14 sewage treatment plants discharging into Lake Norman. Power
said two of the existing plants were for commercial facilities. She said the Hwy. 150
facility was the only one that treated wastes from off-site sources, and its discharge was
ten times that of any other treatment facility. She continued by saying the vision of the
Hwy. 150 facility was to become a regional provider which had the potential of processing
non-Iredell County waste. Power said her subdivision was not a part of the facility's
customer base. Mrs. Power said she wasn't anti -growth or development, but the county
needed more control over the facilities, especially since the Hwy. 150 facility was located
in a critical watershed area.
Michael Lindsey, a resident of 173 Trollingwood Lane, in the Spring Acres
Subdivision, said the Hwy 150 plant (100,000 gallon per day package waste treatment
facility) was built four year ago, but its license to operate was rescinded by the NC
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). He said the plant was now
up for licensing as a 300,000 gallon per day facility with a goal to process up to one
million gallons per day. Mr. Lindsey said he believed in a pro -active approach to land use
planning, and he had a sincere interest in preserving the quality of life in the county. He
said he supported the special use permit request for the following reasons:
1. The proposal conforms with the practice of other counties in the region.
2. Requiring special use permits in RA districts is in alignment with the practice
already in place (Permits are required for septage disposal sites in RA districts).
3. The requirement of a special use permit would protect neighborhoods from
improper and damaging intrusions.
4. The state looks to DENR for the review and management of waste treatment
applications, but from a local perspective, the state agency does not evaluate
the request beyond water quality. (It does not look at local land uses, zoning,
or harmony with the surrounding community.)
No one else desired to speak, and Chairman Johnson adjourned the hearing.
OTIO by Commissioner Tice to approve the proposed amendment to the
Iredell County Zoning Ordinance, Section 8.3 (Table of Permitted Uses & Special Uses) —
Sewage Treatment Plants Permitted as a Special Use in the RA Zoning District as
presented.
VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0.
The ordinance amendment will revise the following chart as follows:
USE TYPES
R -A
RU -R
R -R
R-
20
R-12
R-8
R -8A R-0
0-1
NB
HB SC
CB
GB
M-1
M-2
SR
Sewage
S
S
S
S
S
S
S S
X
X
X X
X
X
X
X
44
treatment plants,
non-
governmental
public