 candy good evening I'd like to call this meeting of the Durham City Council to order at 7 o'clock on August the 19th 2019 and I certainly want to welcome everyone here today we're very very glad to have you before we have our moment of solid meditation I have a few words that I would like to say first I want to remember a distinguished member of our community who passed away this week Dr. Evelyn Schmidt Dr. Schmidt was the longtime director of Lincoln Community Health Center and a pioneer in public health and an incredible presence in our community in so many ways she asked that she not have a memorial service but I think it would be it's very appropriate for us to remember her here tonight and she lived a long and very productive life but we also know that today in our community we lost someone who was not able to live a long and productive life Zion person young man age nine years old was shot in a senseless senseless shooting murder in Durham within the past 24 hours it is hard to fathom something as terrible as that someone who would shoot into the car into a car where there are several young children and shoot time and again into that car and every time someone is shot in Durham it tears a hole not only in a person in their family but in in a neighborhood in a community and in all of our hearts we have to do everything we can every day to stop this violence as long as we have the the guns that we have on our street here in the United States as long as we are doing nothing as a nation and as a state to stop the proliferation of guns we are going to have this gun violence we have got to take action to change that we've also got to do everything that we can in our power as a community to change that we have different ideas about what those things are but we need to be taking every action that we can to stop this senseless violence I want to say that I was honored to be able to swear and Chief Davis as the president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives in New Orleans this past week she has the confidence of this very significant National Organization as their president I think there were 2,000 people in the room when she was sworn in and she also has the confidence of this Council and of this city and I know that our police department is up to the task the rest of us up need to be up to the task as well we need to be surrounding our our children with love we need to be surrounding our residents with all the supports that they need mental health services addiction services whatever it takes so I asked that we bow our heads today not just in a moment of silence but in a moment of silence in which we remember Zion person and that we recall his memory and the wish and the hope and the work that we need to do to make sure that this senseless violence does not continue to occur in our community please join me in a moment of silence thank you and now I'm going to ask Councilmember Reese if he would please lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance thank you mr. Mayor good evening colleagues and members of the public if it's your practice to do so and if you're able please rise and join me for the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all thank you councilmember madam clerk would you please call the roll mayor shul here mayor pro tem Johnson here councilmember Alston here councilmember caballero here councilmember Freeman present councilmember Middleton here councilmember Reese here thank you now we're going to have our ceremonial items and we're going to begin with our sister city presentation for the our friends from Salaya Mexico and I'm going to ask councilmembers Reese and Middleton if they would please join me at the podium as our sister city representatives the the following people could come forward Rebekah Lomelin Velasco Ariel Augusto Ramos Horta Raul Jimenez Ariola could you please come forward and anyone else and you're in the delegation and Brady would you like you the sister cities committee to please come forward as well could the folks from the sister cities committee please come forward and we have Elsa Jimenez our interpreter tonight as well also thank you so much for being here we began tonight on a somber note and we'll have more somber notes tonight as well but this is a happy time very happy time gracias a Nuestros nuevos amigos de Salaya Nuestra Ciudad hermana por via hard adoran para visitarnos gracias al miembro del consejo Velasco por dirigir esta maravillosa delegation estamos muy felices de ser una ciudad hermana de Salaya y esperamos una relación larga y productiva ahora le era la proclamación whereas Durham is a city that promotes mutual understanding and cooperation among all its citizens you want to translate some of that Elsa or no it's a lot maybe you could do a little yeah whereas Durham is a city that believes the dignity and worth of each individual regardless of the national origin of our citizens which makes Durham a very diverse community and whereas Durham desires to promote and maintain a wholesome climate of goodwill among peoples of all nations and whereas the Durham community knows that inclusion respect and understanding of all those that work play worship and live here promotes a community that we can be proud of and whereas sister cities of Durham incorporated has sister cities in the countries of China Costa Rica England Greece Japan Mexico Romania Russia and Tanzania and the board and whereas the board of directors of sister cities of Durham and the city council have approved the application of the city of Salaya of Mexico to be a sister city with a city of Durham North Carolina and whereas the two cities have decided to enhance mutual understanding and friendly cooperation between American and Mexican people now therefore I Steven M. Shull mayor of the city of Durham North Carolina on this day on this day of August 19th 2019 declared Durham North Carolina to be the sister city of Salaya Mexico and hereby urge all citizens to honor the principles of equality and mutual benefit in the fields of education economy trade science and technology culture environment sustainable energy sports health and personnel to promote common prosperity and development in both cities witness my hand in the corporate seal the city of Durham North Carolina this the 19th day of August 2019 and I'm going to present this to our city council member for any comments that she might have I am Rebecca Loma lean I am the honor to be today in this beautiful city of Durham North Carolina representing Mrs. Elvira Panagua Rodriguez mayor of the city of Salaya state of Guanajuato Mexico has due to force major was not able to attend this marvelous event a thanking advance to the major of the city of Durham North Carolina mr. Steve Shewell to mr. Claudia Velasco Osorio VA general consult of Mexico in North Carolina to sister cities association our hosts and to the governor's representative Roy Cooper who is today with us thank you very much for this warm reception the city of Salaya may not be more than pleasure alone we do so little together we can do so much Helen Keller the sister cities program in America was created other than president of the United States of America initiative the general Eisenhower who in the year 1959 called it a massive program of understanding among American and the other people of the emissary this program was denominated people to people the basic principle of which the understanding strong countries of the world and the pace preservation the strength of groups will be given by enjoying efforts and today the municipal of Salaya is place it to sign the twinning agreement between the city of Durham North Carolina and the city of Salaya Guanajuato with the hope of sharing our strength simulation or difference with the purpose of developing programs on stranger force for strengthening friendship friendly ship and good will be benefit to the different field to the cities the present is demanding but the future is promising the share of international cooperation among with municipal list of different countries reflects global global community join it as today today we already had the chance to share our kajeta in the standing of typical Candice may be the sister cities association and as the cities motto say the 40 dulcin there of the strong come for sweetness the signature of this agreement is the reflection of the will of our countries for the hope the understanding the peace the exchange of no the land and experiences and development of strangers criteria opportunities make a difference despite it the tumor of tipi concurrences hurting our countries local actions with global impact is what we starting today our grain of stand for the peace equality and the friendly ship thank you very much for all of our good evening my name is Patricia Perez I'm the deputy consul general of the consulate general of Mexico in rally on behalf of the consul general of Mexico in rally Claudia Velasco we would like to express our appreciation to mayor Steve Shewell city council of Durham city sister cities of Durham rally chapter of the Mexican global network and everyone who has made this new collaboration possible the consulate general of Mexico has been following the development of this great relationship since its beginning and we are very honored to witness such an important event our priority is to build bridges of our understanding through education culture and knowledge of our societies our difference and diversity enrich us it is of the greatest significance to work together to enhance the development and well-being of the citizens of our countries states counties and cities the sister cities program is a valuable tool to make this possible the visit of the Celaya delegation today to make this alliance true is a first step towards a better comprehension of our customs our traditions our people hopefully more educational cultural and economic changes can come out of this agreement helping both cities to continue growing and strengthening their ties to promote tolerance friendship and clear up stereotypes that unfortunately still exist Durham is a diverse and welcoming city which has demonstrated its willingness to accept priority to embrace and empower its community fostering trust changing negative perceptions into positive ones fighting fear and giving hope to those who have lost it Celaya is a rich and modern city with a best culture growing economy and competitive technology great automotive industries and have made of Celaya their home as well as many American retirees that it fall in love with the state of Juanajuato and its people always welcoming always attentive always friendly we are sure that this relationship will not only intensify our bilateral cooperation but will open the door to more opportunities to other cities that want to become sisters and develop collaborative activities in benefit of both our countries thank you good evening ladies and gentlemen my name is Elsa Jimenez I am the vice chair of the sister cities Celaya committee and I'm also the vice chair of the Mexican network of professionals and I would like to start by saying thank you to you Mayor Shuo and to the honorable members of the city council for letting us be here tonight I would also like to say thank you to Celaya's council member Rebecca Lomeli for being here on behalf of Mayor Pañagua who couldn't join us tonight but she gave her trust and support for this project from the very beginning which by the way for me represents a dream come true since I was born and raised in Celaya over two years ago Mr. Brady serves the executive director of sister cities Durham approached the consulate of Mexico here in Raleigh with the intention of establishing a sisterhood with the Mexican city the consulate presented the proposal to the Raleigh chapter of Mexican professionals and organization to which I belong to and why not I decided to nominate my hometown to the communities and the sister cities committee Mr. Brady guided us all the way this is how we created our committee the members of the committee are Alberto Lopez Juan de la masa and Guillermo Solares who is also part of the sister cities board you guys I I express my eternal gratitude from the very beginning we had members to join our group and support like Dr. Carolina Vera who recently traveled with a group of students of UNC School of Dentistry to Celaya to provide social service to our friends with her project to Mexico the exchange officially has started we also have other members and volunteers to join our group like Paula Travenier Gerardo Gonzalez Gerardo Santoyo Luis Scott José Luis Martinez Alejandro Peña Enrique Oscar thank you so much guys for all your help to make this happen and last but not least I would like to thank to the support of the consulate of Mexico so you come to you console Patricia and of course Monica Colleen console of community affairs for believing in us from the very beginning today as our committee is box woman I would like to reiterate to you Mayor Shuo and to your to you console woman Omelie our commitment that we have with both cities following the motto of sister cities of Durham working toward world peace one friendship and one community at a time today today's world is going through somewhat difficult times and as civilians we have two options we can settle with today's status quo or we can face the world as factors of change and this sisterhood is a perfect channel to be factors of change on behalf of the Celaya sister cities committee I want to say thank you to all of you tonight and this is just the beginning of many things to come many good things to come I would like to end by quoting Dr. Martin Luther King by saying let's build bridges not walls thank you gracias a thank you thank you for being here thank you thank you everybody thanks for being here thank you Elsa Jimenez thank you for your words and it was really and for the to the consul general we're so glad to have you here in our chambers come back anytime we're delighted and to our sister city Celaya thank you so much I wonder if the their motto is out of strength sweetness and I wonder if that has anything to do with their well-known renowned candy that they make in Celaya if that's part of the sweetness so please save me a piece thank you so much right now we're going to move on to our neighbor spotlight recipient and I'm going to invite Mrs. Vanessa Evans a resident packed to and her family and friends and anyone else that she would like to have come with her to receive the award for the neighbor spotlight please come up everybody don't be shy this is your opportunity to get on television as Evans I'm gonna give you this right away so that you can hold and enjoy this this certificate and then I'm gonna just read a little something about you and then I'll offer you the microphone for a few words thank you sure the neighborhood spotlight tonight's recipient is Vanessa Evans Vanessa Evans is the recipient of the neighbor spotlight for the month of August 2019 the neighbor spotlight recognizes community members that have gone above and beyond in volunteering their time to serve the community this month Vanessa Evans a resident of Bractown was nominated and selected because of the wonderful work she has done in her neighborhood including but not limited to working for three years to secure secure the funds for the renovation of the Lakeview Park advocating for the reopening of the Bractown Community Library raising money and securing the resources for Bractown Community Garden serving as chairperson the Bractown Community Association for two years congratulations Vanessa Evans on being the August neighbor spotlight for the city of Durham and thank you for all the work you do to improve our community and we're so glad to have you and your friends and family here today and I just want to congratulate you and thank you on behalf of all of the residents of Durham I'm gonna be short and sweet I wanted to speak from my heart I first want to thank Mary Shul the city council for this wonderful award as well as my community all of the residents that work behind me I have to thank God first of all because he is the captain of my ship without him I'm nothing I have Miss Jean behind me who is the president of our garden she's 80 years old so they have someone behind me I look up to her I also have Billy Dee who's been working with me on a short basis but she's working with me on the different developments that are coming into Bractown and the area in which I live I would like to also thank RP Peter skilling who's was the first person I met I like to thank John who has been helping me through data works they're sitting out in the audience I like to thank Mamie who has also been helping me to facilitate my meetings and how to gather people for my meetings that I have within my community I would like to say where I live is a very rich rich community where I stay it was once slave plantation land owned by the Camerons but now I can say it was a place where people were freed and black people were able to settle and become sharecroppers and build and develop their own land and businesses so I'm proud to say that I'm a part of a community that is steady growing there are things that are changing along with gentrification but I'm hoping that through the gentrification there will still be affordable housing there will be places for everyone to live not just those who are rich but middle-class and those who are on low-income fixed income whatever it may be I feel dermis a place for all people and I know we have the blueprint for that and I thank you again Marishu for all that you've been doing and I know I've been in your face a lot lately in city council meetings and other places but I thank each of you for everything and I would like to thank Bradtown again and its residents for all the hard work that they do because it's not just me it's my community is doing what we're doing thank you thank you all right there's a really good ceremonial items and now we're going to turn to announcements by members of the council council member Caballero thank you mayor good evening colleagues and for those of us who are able to join us thank you I just wanted to echo a lot of what you already shared this evening today was a horrific day in our city I think many of us many of us are reeling from today's news and from the violence that we're seeing across our country due to gun violence the last time we gathered here was just a few days after El Paso and the Dayton Ohio shootings and so I think it's ever present and sadly we are seeing the effects in a very horrifying way my kids cross that intersection almost every single day on their way home from school it was a heart wrenching news to hear and so I am asking that I'm thinking about the person family my thoughts and prayers with you and I am asking our council to go ahead and I would like to take it up in our next or in a work session soon to go ahead and think about creating I'm doing the work to create a community safety task force so that's something I will be bringing up at a work session thank you very much council member cavietta for your remarks as you know the protocol is that if you please bring that up again in our work session Thursday and then we can take it up on a future work session but thank you so much for those remarks and we will do that thank you else member Middleton thank you mr. mayor mr. mayor people in our city who do not hold elective office and who do not control the imprimatur of our city have declared the state of emergency I think we should join them in that Zion person I want his name to echo in this chain Zion person nine years old on his way to get ice cream because that's your job when you're nine years old you eat ice cream you do pop a wheelies on your bike and you talk about the cutest kid in the class is that's your job our job as adults and the people in charge is to keep them safe this afternoon I had the most heart-wrenching phone call I've ever been on in my life I spoke to Zion's aunt who was driving the vehicle when the shots were fired her nephew was killed and her son was injured there were barely any words used in the conversation because it was just sobbing and I asked her what would you like me to say to the city what do you want the city to know and all she could get out was why did this have to happen we were on our way to get ice cream it is a state of emergency in our city whether or not we declare it or not so Mr. Mayor on this evening and I thank Councilor Caballero and I thank you Mr. Mayor for your comments I want to I want to challenge my colleagues tonight I want to challenge this government because I believe our ability to console this family and console other families and by the way Zion is a member of a club we know his name tonight but there are hundreds of children in Durham every night that duck and cover because of gunfire they're being trained to jump off of their bikes and hide behind trash cans every night we know his name because he died so Mr. Mayor I'm challenging my colleagues that we come up with a concrete plan and be able to tell the people of the city what our plan is for gun violence just like we did for bike paths the plan it is dying and we passed a very bold resolution children are dead so what is our plan if it's not shot spot or fine if it's not hiring more police fine if there is something in the Durham Beyond Policing plan that can address this type of stuff we should pass it right now we should declare an emergency and we should make appropriations mid-cycle with a council we can do that if there's something in there I'm voting for it because it's a state of emergency I know our hearts are broken and I know that we care but in order to have the moral authority just like we now have the moral authority to tell employers to pay a living wage because we upped our salary to $15 an hour we need to be able to point to something we've done concretely show me the money what are we going to spend money on what are we going to do where the protected lanes and Zion's neighborhood I'm asking for this council to put this city on emergency footing when it comes to this issue there is no help coming from Washington there is no help coming from the state we are our help it begins here and if it's none of the things that we voted down tell me what the vote up and I'll be the first person to make the motion tell me what to do our prayers are with Zion's family our prayers are with the other children tonight we'll be hiding in bathtub because of gunfire there is a hole in the heart of our city tonight a whole I come from a community where we take care of each other's family that was all our sons that was all our nephew that was all our play cousin that was all our little man man let's show them how serious we are by doing something not just taking stuff out the budget let's vote on something our hearts belong to your family tonight thank you Mr. Mayor thank you very much council member for those heartfelt remarks other council members as council member Freeman I hesitate to say much recognizing that I know that I'm always so tearful on these issues and I'm not trying to go there but it's really hard noting that a few weeks ago I had to endure the shock in the dismay of gunfire in front of my own very house and I am not okay with it and I'm telling you right now there will be police presence in my neighborhood I don't care what anyone has to say about it that being said I recognize that there are a lot of different views on this issue and the one view that is risen is not that of the consensus of the community and I want to I just want to hold it up and say even though more police does not prevent the crime it can it can dissuade it does we don't have a number for the number of shootings or deaths or robberies or breakings for those that have been avoided because of their presence and it is not okay to sit here and say a community task force is what we're gonna do I just want to be clear that is not enough because it could have been Ansel and it could have been Antoine and it could have been Adriana out front of my own house and there is no gang in my neighborhood so it's not about shooting at each other this is that this is more than that there are people on the street who are minding their very own business and it is not okay to just say that we're down 48% knowing that 52% is still out there we should be pushing for zero that means no deaths I don't care that it's impossible we should be doing everything in our power to make sure that the children in this community are safe I cannot understand it I refuse to accept it and I'm this is not the end of this conversation I appreciate the mayor making his statements I appreciate all the work and time that people have poured into this conversation because I know that people care but it's not enough to care and it's not enough to have the conversations I we need action and that action doesn't have to come from the police department it can come from the community I can tell you that no one reported in my neighborhood and that hurt me to my core because I know that it's out of fear I can't live in fear I cannot do it and I don't think it's acceptable to ask people who live in these communities who experience gunshots every single night because they're not reported to continue to accept that so just know that this is gonna be an ongoing conversation and we've got work to do so whatever it is I'm I mean I'm echoing Councilmember Middleton and say like I understand we don't need more police officers I understand you know we need a community task force I understand all of the things that have been brought forward but what I'm not understanding is that there is another dead child in our community tonight there's another child shot in our community tonight and each time those text messages or information comes I mean these press releases my heart stops because I know that these kids are out here living their best life and we've got to do more we just have to thank you thank you very much for your heartfelt words Councilmember anyone else have any announcements any words thank you all very much appreciate it and I think we all know that we have work to do I'm now going to turn to priority items first by the city manager thank you mr. mayor members of council good evening everyone priority items this evening from the city manager's office is agenda item number 16 the Oregon Street closing public hearing at the request of the petitioner this item is referred back to the administration thank you mr. manager we'll now have a motion on the manager's priority item second it's been moved in a second that we accept the manager's priority item madam clerk will you please open the vote please close the vote the motion passes seven zero thank you very much madam attorney any priority items tonight good evening mr. mayor members of council we do not have any priority items this evening thank you madam clerk good evening everyone on the city clerk's office would like to present the refreshed board committee and commission video and it's a recruitment video for our volunteers and roll it DTN great thank you roll it I count on Durham for awesome adventures and great bike shots I know I can count on Durham for great sports in every season I always count on Durham for amazing cultural events I count on Durham for his innovative ideas and the determination to bring them to life I count on Durham for community and a place for everyone I count on Durham to do a good job and celebrate our success did you know that the city of Durham counts on these individuals in a city of more than 260,000 people you're looking at residents who are making their voices count people who care about the past the present and the future of the city of Durham and you know what it doesn't matter how mature or young whether you're passionate about the economy the artist or the flight of the homeless in fact we have nearly 30 boards committees and commissions that you can participate on the requirements are to be a Durham city resident and be current on your Durham city and county taxes Durham is your home you can count on Durham to be there for you can we count on you to be there for our city can we count on you to be there for Durham can we count on you to be there for our city can we count on you to be there for Durham so come on get involved apply it today we can count on Durham but can Durham count on you great job wow Laverne was a star that's awesome and I assume that you all will be working with our public affairs staff to make that available to the world and congratulations to the clerk's office thank you and the public affairs staff thank you good job great video all right we'll now move on to our consent agenda the consent agenda is comprised of items which the council has worked on in the past the consent agenda can be approved by a single vote of the council items can be removed from the consent agenda by any member of the council or by any member of the public and if an item is removed it is held until the end of the meeting when we would then take action on it item one Durham Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission appointments excuse me item two historic preservation commission reappointments item three Durham Housing Authority Board of commissioners reappointment item four city county international city county management association local government management fellow and interlocal agreement item five maintenance support for performance management system item six national league of cities grant award for cities addressing fines and fees equitably item seven eb 5703 La Salle street sidewalk project supplemental agreement item eight eb 5704 Rainer street sidewalk project supplemental agreement item nine eb 5755 north duke street sidewalk project supplemental agreement item 10 proposed sale of the easement across a portion of twin lakes park to dan ryan builders north carolina llc item 11 2019 national recreation and park association meet me at the park grant agreement and budget ordinance item 12 amendment to the interlocal agreement between the city of Durham and Durham county the city provider recycling processing and hall services Durham county for target recycling materials item 13 license and maintenance agreement for the city work software upgrade and that completes the consent agenda and i will now accept an emotion a motion to approve the consent agenda one second it's been moved and second that we approve the consent agenda madam clerk please open the vote please close the vote the motion passes seven zero thank you very much well now proceed to the general business agenda public hearings and item 16 has been referred back to the administration so we have only one more item tonight it's item 17 towerview business center mtc i-40 buffer reduction and as you all know that this is a quasi judicial matter quasi judicial matters have become the favorite activity of our city council and so i'm extremely glad that we have another one back before us tonight the next matter is agenda item 17 which includes a major special use permit application for the towerview business center mtci 40 buffer reduction application number m1 800002 the hearing in this matter is judicial in nature will be conducted in accordance with special safeguards witnesses must be sworn in their subject cross examination and written evidence must be offered for incorporation into the record people who wish to testify should have signed up on the special sheet for this hearing at the clerk's station i think in the set of the special sheet this year we use this time we use the yellow cards is that correct if you've not already done so please go to the clerk's station now and sign in anyone who plans to testify including city staff should now go to the clerk's station to be sworn in to give your affirmation and then please return to your seat so with all those including city staff who will be testify or could be testifying please go to the clerk's station where she will swear you in please affirm or swear repeat after me so help you god by saying i do after i give the oath and affirmation do you solemnly swear so help you god or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth to the best of your ability thank you thank you very much by the clerk do any council members need to withdraw from consideration of this case because of a conflict that will prevent them from rendering a fair and impartial decision in this matter council member freeman had me on there for you i have any council members heard information about this case other than what may have been presented at work session or in the staff report so please disclose that information at this time before we begin i would like a representative or an attorney for the applicant and for any opponents to come to the microphone and identify yourself to the council to then take a seat in the front row nil goes attorney for the applicant hill brian attorney for the applicant morning star law group 112 west mainstream thank you are there any attorneys for any opponents any attorneys for any opponents thank you so much if an attorney or representative wishes to cross examine a witness please raise your hand immediately after the witness is testified and i will recognize you all written information including maps you want to be considered should be officially submitted as evidence copies of evidence you want to have admitted with the exception the staff report and attachments should be given to the city attorney and the opposing side if any and i believe that evidence is already been passed and city attorneys are correct and the attorney is reviewing it at this time each side may raise objections to the admission of evidence on the basis of relevance hearsay or any other evidentiary ground questions concerning admissibility will be handled by the city attorney please do not hand anything directly to council members until it's first been reviewed by the city attorney and has been admitted as evidence we'll first hear from city staff who have studied the request then from the applicant and then from opponents to the application if any i'm going to ask the city attorney if she's had an opportunity to review the evidence i have mr. mayor and it appears to be in order for the presentation of expert witnesses then i will um would you like to accept yes i would the tower view business center major transportation corridor uh package of exhibits from the petitioner thank you i very much would madam attorney and thank you for your assistance sure we will now open the hearing and hear from city staff good evening everyone i'm elizabeth representing the planning department i would like to state for the record that all planning department hearing items have been advertised and noticed in accordance with state and local law and affidavits of all notices are on file in the planning department planning staff request that all agenda materials submitted for the public hearing be made part of the public record with any necessary corrections as noted staff would like to note for the record a correction within the staff report on page six of attachment three word states that the development plan was approved prior to the requirement of the major transportation corridor otherwise known as mtc buffer a 100-foot buffer was a required component of the development plan done in 1993 request for a major special use permit m 180 0002 and a major site plan d 180 246 have been received from bill brine with the morning star law group representing nelson partners and milestone developments llc respectively to reduce the required mtc buffer width from 100 feet to 40 feet to construct a two-story office building totaling 12452 square feet on a 1.61 acre site zoned a light industrial d which stands for development plan lid and located within the triangle metro center commercial neighborhood cn tier the buffer width and the amount of landscape materials required may be reduced through the issuance of a major special use permit otherwise referred to as ms up by the governing body pursuant to unified development ordinance udo section 4.9 point 3d point 2 when a site plan is associated with a major special use permit that site plan shall be shall also be considered a major site plan which requires governing body approval if the council approves the major special use permit then the council should also consider the approval of the associated major site plan case d 180 000246 the site plan item does not require public hearing but it does require a separate vote for approval if the council elects to deny the major special use permit the associated major site plan should not be approved as the site plan would not be in compliance with the applicable udo standards the first item that requires action is the public hearing for item for the major special use permit m 180 0002 the applicant is requesting approval of a 60 percent buffer reduction from 100 feet to 40 feet on the north eastern side of the site a site plan has been submitted in conjunction with this request there will be attachment 3b within your packet that site plan is currently under review and is clear of comments per udo section 3.9 point 8 there are four general findings and 13 review factors that must be addressed in order to grant a use permit the findings and review factors are identified in the staff report attachment 3 and the application sub attachment 3a the four findings are that the proposed use is one in harmony with the area and not substantially injurious to the value of properties in the general vicinity 2 in conformance with all major with all special requirements applicable to the use 3 will not adversely affect the health or safety of the public and 4 will not adequately address will adequately with will adequately address the review factors identified below those 13 review factors are circulation parking and loading service entrances and areas lighting signs utilities open spaces environmental protection screening buffering and landscaping effect on adjacent property including but not limited to noise odor lighting and traffic compatibility consistency with policy and any other factors deemed necessary by the universe development ordinance staff has analyzed the application and finds that most of the factors above meet ordinance compliance based on the site plan submitted effects on adjacent properties and compatibility are not addressed through site plan review the applicant must provide evidence to demonstrate that the findings and review factors are being met if the governing body fails to find conformance with the conditions and factors listed then the proposed permit must be denied however if the applicant provides evidence that demonstrates the findings and review factors are being met the governing body must approve the use permit planning staff will make a recommendation for the use permit prior to a vote on the public hearing after all evidence has been presented and staff is available for any questions related to the permit request if there are no questions from staff at this time then I will turn the floor over to the applicant to present their case thank you miss Monroe first of all I'm going to ask are there any questions from council members at this time for staff any questions from council or any party for staff just one question the essential part of this is that the buffers being reduced based on what it was in 1993 they're requesting um they're requesting a buffer reduction from the required 100 feet to 40 feet so 60 percent and that was based on rules set when in 1993 there was a development plan done case p93-70 and that case as well as the ordinance at the time requires 100 foot buffer on that side of the property and there may be someone behind me who might have additional comment Jessica Dockery planning department the MTC buffers are still in place in the current UDO thank you any other questions at this time council members before we turn to the applicant my agenda says we need a motion to conduct a quasi-judicial public hearing and receive evidence we didn't do that at our last major special use permit hearings but we're going to do it tonight I don't think it will hurt so moved second it's been moved and seconded that we conduct a quasi-judicial public hearing receive evidence regarding the adoption of an order approving this major special use permit will madam clerk please open the vote please close the motion passes seven zero thank you and madam attorney maybe we better get ourselves straight on whether or not we need that next time so yeah we we uh we didn't do it last time we did it this time so probably we don't have a consistent practice thank you all righty and now we will hear from the applicant good evening mayor shul mayor pro tem johnson and members of the city council my name is nil gauche i'm an attorney with the morning star law group at 112 west main street here in durham and i'm here tonight back for your favorite thing quasi-judicial hearings i'm here tonight representing nelson partners the owners of property at 4804 page creek lane here in durham tonight we will present evidence in support of the application for a reduction in the major transportation corridor buffer along the portion of the site adjacent to the off-ramp for i-40 at page road exit this permit relates only to the buffer reduction and it does not relate to the office building use itself which is a generally permitted use in this location so the evidence tonight will be focused upon the impact of the buffer reduction and will not address the more general uh aspects of the use there also is a major site plan before you that site plan has been reviewed by sap and is clear of all comments and is pending your approval um the site plan is clean and ready to move forward upon your grant of the special use permit a staff mentioned we are requesting a 60 reduction in the buffer width at this time i would ask that all materials referred to are used by our witnesses including the staff report and all of its attachments our applications the site plan and any other materials be entered into the record and that judicial notice be taken with regard to the contents of the udo the comprehensive plan and any other plans adopted by the city and county of durham i will hear by admit them to the record i think i did so before but i'll do it again in just in case thank you in addition to exhibits we intend to offer expert opinion on certain aspects of the case i would like to enter into evidence well already entered into evidence is the resumes of well exhibit a is the resume of mr bill daniel he is our head project land planner he developed site plan that's before you we also have the resume of mr jarvis martin that is exhibit b mr martin is a certified real estate praser in the state of north carolina behind his resume is the report he prepared following the study that he conducted for this project also included in the exhibit packet as exhibit c is a copy of the recorded plat that is associated with an ncdot taking which we will speak about as you know this is a quasi judicial hearing and you all are acting as your own board of adjustment so just like the board of adjustment you can rely only upon the competent material and substantial evidence entered into the record at this hearing this site is across the street from the former quintiles building which is now acuvia i think that's how you pronounce it anyway so this is near the i-40 page road exit it's across the street from the former quintiles building in what is known as the creekstone office park the rear of this property and by rear i mean the east side of this property abuts the off ramp for the page road exit the site is part of an overall office park that was planned years ago and it remains one of the last pieces developed in the in the office park development plan for the office park was approved in 1993 the 100 foot major transportation corridor buffer was in place in 1993 and the development plan accommodated the full extent of the major transportation corridor what has changed since that time is the design of the i-40 interchange and therefore the shape of this parcel uh our first witness is a member of the ownership group and he was involved with the project at the time that these changes were going on his name is carlton midget and i will at this time ask him to tell you a little bit more about that thank you thank you neil good evening mayor members of the council thanks for the opportunity to appear before you tonight i am carlton midget and i'm one of the members of the creekstone office park origination group and we got the original development plan and rezoning approved over 25 years ago as neil mentioned the original development plan included the full extent of the 100 foot mtc buffer that rezoning was approved in 1993 in the late 90s and cdot came along and finalized the design for the page road off ramp its design ran adjacent to this site and required that did t condemn some of our property and specifically a portion of this tract if the taking effectively shrunk the width of the parcel as you can see in the plat which i believe is your exhibit c the taking affected 1.3 acres in total the site already had a development plan approved which accommodated the full 100 foot mtc buffer with the parcel then shrank with the condemnation the udo applies the mtc buffer from the edge of the i40 right away which includes the off ramp regardless of the development plan or the subsequent ncdot taking so when the ncdot took a large piece of the property the buffer just slid over to the remainder track 100 foot buffer this results in a double impact on a relatively small parcel the first application of the mtc was at the time the development plan was approved in 1993 the second application of the buffer was after the ncdot taking in 1998 this double impact renders the parcel largely undevelopable without the required special use per middle island the mtc buffer reduction which is why we're here tonight this is the reason that this otherwise well located track has not seen any development in over two decades we are of course delighted that the buyer has come up and has an ability to work with this site and an excellent use for the property as an office building if and only if this buffer can be reduced and we sincerely hope that you'll grant the request before you tonight thank you for your time and attention unless there are questions for me about the history of the property i'll turn the matter over to mr. daniels the engineer thank you mr. midgett is there are there any questions for mr. midgett at this time thank you so much thank you all our next witness will be mr. bill daniel i am proffering him as an expert witness he was the head site planner and his resume is exhibit a in your packet thank you mr. shul council members my name is bill daniel with we mg daniel and associates as neil stated my resume is included in that packet as exhibit a our firm was engaged by the developer to design the site plan i've overseen that those services i'm going to testify about the factors that you must consider in your review of our application as neil mentioned the site is part of a previously approved development plan which has a common scheme for development the parcels in this office park originally were designed and intended to operate as a cohesive unit the site plan and the requested reduction before you tonight carry out that expectation for this parcel additionally i think it's important to note that the parcel immediately south of this site which is hotel was developed with a 60 percent reduction in the buffer that's the exact level of reduction that we're requesting for this adjacent site therefore it's my professional opinion that the requested mtc reduction is in harmony with properties in the general vicinity because it is the same reduction which was previously granted and it will allow the site to be developed in the same manner as the surrounding properties as with the parcel to the south the buffer reduction will not affect the public health and safety to the contrary it could be said the reduced buffer will be beneficial while natural buffers along the main travel ways about 40 certainly makes sense along an off-ramp buffers tend to obscure the view that commuters have the conditions on the road to which they're exiting and also the locations near the intersection to which they may be traveling a reduced buffer will better enable commuters to observe what it is they're driving towards when they take the ramp therefore in my professional opinion this buffer reduction will enhance public health and safety certainly the buffer reduction in this area does nothing to reduce the public health and safety there are 13 review factors that must be considered for every special use permit in this case a special use permit is for the mtc reduction only so several of the factors just don't apply i'll run through these quickly and make a note of those which do not apply and address the reasons why they do not apply the first is circulation our site plan including the mtc reduction does not affect the current width alignment or any other dimension of the existing off-ramp or otherwise affect circulation in the area as a result the requested reduction has no impact on traffic circulation either the ramp or on page road on the site the mtc reduction improves circulation by allowing more develop width to accommodate drive aisles that are wide enough for safe turning movements otherwise it gives us more room in which to construct internal traffic moving elements aisles and roadways the same is true of parking and loading the reduction will allow adequate on-site parking to be developed without affecting any aspect of off-ramp or having any impact on the adjacent properties no service entrances or access points of any kind or salt to or from the ramp along the which the reduction assault all access to the site will be from page creek lane only all lighting will be compliant with udo requirements which address spillover lighting onto adjacent properties including the i40 right away any signed salt later for the building will be compliant with the udo and will be approved through the separate process obtained in the udo the requested reduction has no effect on utility servicing the site the utilities are not routed through the area in which the reduction is salt as noted in the staff report the open space requirement is not applicable in our request to our request by virtual being in the compact area there are no environmentally sensitive features on the site so this factor does not apply the next factor deals with screening buffering and landscaping the site plan shows that existing vegetation within the undisturbed buffer of the mtc buffer area will remain and the supplemental plantings will be required where the existing vegetation is insufficient to achieve the required level of opacity this ensures that there will be adequate screening of a highway from adjacent uses including including this new building in other words we are not relying solely on the existing vegetation in the remaining buffer width for screening regarding compatibility one of the primary effects that the requested reduction will have on nearby properties is to make our site more compatible with those properties as we've mentioned the site plan is consistent with the original development plan that was approved for the parcel the other properties in the area are developed with office buildings or supporting amenities like the jay's hotel while our property is a vacant lot moreover the parcel to the south has the same buffer reduction which we're requesting therefore development of the site pursuant to the proposed site plan which is based upon the reduction of the mtc buffer through this special use permit will enhance the compatibility of the site with the neighboring land uses finally the reduction is consistent with policy the intent of the mtc buffer is to establish a natural buffer between uses and the main travel lanes of major thoroughfare corridors exit ramps generally of course are a design feature of major thoroughfares but they do not present the same challenges as do the main travel lanes exit ramps or signal controlled approaches and do not experience the same rates of speed that main travel lanes do and the concern about roadside distractions is less since drivers who are exiting by definition are looking for their turn or the location to which they are headed and therefore more alert to their surroundings as a result the need for buffers along exit ramps is far less than along the main portion of the board of the corridor aside from 13 review factors that i've just addressed requests for special use permits allowing mtc reductions have two other factors which must be considered their topography and size as you can see on the existing conditions page of the site plan there's about 15 feet of vertical drop within the 30 feet of the parcel closest to i-40 sloping down to i-40 north to south the property drops about 22 feet in elevation over the entire site this topography is challenging but the requested reduction allows us to take advantage of the flattest portions of the site regarding size at its narrowest point the existing site is only 185 feet wide a full mtc buffer would reduce the developable width of this point to 85 feet which is prohibitively narrow for any reasonable use of the property certainly for this use moreover a full mtc buffer on the property would encumber 0.85 acres which is more than half of the parcel's total area as the property owner mentioned the ncdot taking and subsequent application of the full mtc buffer renders the original parcel pretty much undevelopable the requested reduction will provide adequate screening along the off ramp while maintaining the full 100 foot buffer along the main travel lanes of i-40 all of this can be achieved without any detriment to the public health and safety and in a manner which is in harmony and compatible with surrounding properties the mtc reduction which was granted for the parcel of the south is a strong precedent for this request the result of granting the reduction we're requesting will be no different than what was already done in that area your approval of the special use permit allowing the requested reduction will allow for new development on a parcel that has long remained vacant thereby improving the city's tax base and creating additional employment opportunities if you have any questions for me i'll be glad to try to answer them otherwise our next witness will be Mr Jarvis martin thank you so much mr daniel colleagues are there any questions at this point from mr daniel any questions all righty mr martin thank you thank you mr daniel our next witness is mr jarvis martin again i'm proffering him as an expert uh in real estate appraisal thank you thank you new good evening mr mayor members of the council good evening my name is jarvis martin i'm a state certified general appraiser i'm here tonight at the request of the applicant to provide my opinion as it relates to the reduction impact on this buffer you have my resume and i'll be glad to answer any questions about my credentials if needed our firm was implored to look at the proposed reduction of the buffer and how it might impact adjacent and surrounding properties it is important to note that my testimony tonight is dealing with the reduction of the buffer and not the use of the facility and looking at the property i discovered that the adjoining hotel which is south of it which is also developed with a 40 foot buffer so recently mr martin would you back on just a little bit away from the microphone yeah we're getting a little feedback thank you thank you so for 4.8 million dollars it is an improved structure and used as a motel i reached out and contacted the owner an operator of this facility to ask them some questions about his purchase and if he knew about the buffer reduction in which he did that he knew the property was adjacent to page road off ramp in my conversation with him he indicated that the location of this property in the buffer reduction had no impact on the decision to buy this property due to the strong occupancy that the hotel demonstrated i also asked him about the ongoing operations and he indicated that they have had no major concerns that occasionally they do have occupants who occupy room on the east side of the building will make a comment about the extent of the noise from interstate highway 40 but those comments come very sparingly and that he does not have any way to measure any negative impact and do not believe it is a minor concern to him it is also important to note that other properties in the business center also have buffers adjacent to the right of way with that being said it is my opinion that the reduction of the buffer has no negative impact on i-40 in the off ramp page road which is to the east of this property and that the reduction of the buffer will have no impact on nearby and surrounding properties as demonstrated at a recent sale of the hotel also and doing additional research i was able to locate within a radius of one mile of this property over 40 non-residential sales that have occurred in the past two years that demonstrate a very strong market activity in high demand for businesses in this area given any possibility of the buffer reduction and no impact with that being said it is my professional opinion that the reduction of the buffer would have no negative impact on the surrounding properties and adjacent property given the fact that the property to the south the hotel has already been developed with a comparable 40-foot buffer it is proof that there is a market for this type of property and granting this property the approval of a special use permit will not have any inverse impact with that i'm open for questions thank you mr martin colleagues any questions councilmember freeman actually just a comment i just really wanted to share that i appreciate you speaking to the neighborhood to the south thank you directly thank you any other comments or questions thank you very much mr martin thank you all thank you and for the record this is nil gauche attorney for the applicant speaking again at this time i again would like to move into evidence any exhibits relied upon by or referred to by the witnesses that were not already entered into the record as mentioned at the beginning of this hearing it's our burden to submit competent material substantial evidence into the record showing that our proposal has met all of the requirements of the udo for the approval of the requested major special use permit and the site plan mr daniel did a good job of drawing your attention to the evidence in the record which shows that the site has been designed in conformance with all applicable udo standards his firm has worked with your staff to make sure that that exactly that happened he also explained which of the 13 review factors are affected by the proposed reduction and what we have done how we have addressed them including the two additional factors that are specific to any mtc reduction mr martin analyzed the effect that the reduction might have on neighboring property values he concluded that property values will not be adversely impacted by the request of reduction and mr midget spoke to you a little bit about how the original development plan accommodated a full 100 foot mtc buffer uh and that in 1998 ncdot took some property which shifted that buffer over as a result in a way that encumbers most of this parcel and therefore makes it mostly undevelopable without the requested mtc reduction and that's why we're here today the site plan has been reviewed and approved by all the relevant apartments and is subject to your final approval so the only thing remaining for both of these items the special use permit and the site plan is your approval tonight all of the competent material substantial evidence in the record shows that the applicant has met all the requirements in the udo for your approval of the requested major special use permit and the site plan so we respectfully ask for your approval of both tonight and i thank you for your time and we're happy to answer any questions that you may have thank you mr gosh thank you are there any questions at this time for the applicant or in the applicant's witnesses if not uh are there any opponents to this application who would like to speak are there any opponents or representative of any po opponents of this application who would like to speak i believe at this time we will ask the staff if they have a recommendation to make on this matter elizabeth the planning department staff recommends approval of the major special use permit case number m 180 0002 provided that the improvement shall be substantially consistent with the plans and information submitted to the council as a part of the application thank you very much miss maro for that recommendation colleagues are there any questions at this time for staff or the applicant this one i note if we've alluded to that this is this case is not surrounding the use of the building is the 60 feet that you're taking into account for the buffer going to be included into the site as a like what would be what would be the use that you would put on that additional 60 feet like how does that so we're requesting the buffer reduction to allow the construction of a two-story office building and the associated on-site parking so within the the 40 remaining feet that's all going to be vegetation it's going to be existing vegetation and it will be supplemented with additional vegetation to meet the uda required opacity and then in the additional 60 feet that would be picked up that's an area that with this reduction we would be able to grade and develop so i mean that is essentially the flattest part of the site so that is where the building is going that is where the parking is going right there yeah thank you any other questions at this time for the applicant or for staff any discussion by members of the council will there be any housing on it i'm just kidding all righty if not then i'm going to ask for a motion that we grant the permit so moved second it's been moved and seconded that we grant the permit as recommended by staff madame clerk please open the vote please close the vote and the motion passes seven zero thank you very much now we need a motion to approve the major site plan almost i can't be moved and seconded we approve the major site plan madame clerk please open the vote please close the vote and the motion passes seven zero thank you very much madame clerk thank you all appreciate you're being here i do want to mention thank you very much mr mayor thank you ladies and gentlemen mr brine thank you thank you mr gosh thank you all do want to mention while mr brine and mr gosh are still here to our planning department this does again raise at least for me the question about what our uh prerogatives are in terms of deciding what comes before us as a special use permit and what is a legislative matter i know we talked about that um last week and just want to urge you all to continue to think about that we certainly will mr mayor pat young with planning department just um the mtb mtc buffer encroachment that you all just heard prior to the udo um being adopted in 2006 was uh heard by the board of adjustment as a minor special use policy the adjacent side the double tree hotel that case was heard by so we certainly have evolved and evaluated over time a number of items that were previously major special use permits um in 2015 and 16 became minor special use permits there are so are there a very small number of these we'll continue to assess and evaluate and review with the administration and you uh about which types of cases you want to see we have full trust in your judgment on that and we're very appreciative of you all considering uh continuing to give a consideration thank you all right and council members i believe that there is no more business to come before this body and i'm going to declare this meeting adjourned at 8 23 8 23 thank you