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Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes <br />December 18~ 1997 <br /> <br />Page. 23 <br /> <br />just-to the right. He said the reason there are no complaints now is <br />because there are a very few houses in that area. Mr. Jordan said <br />before this board even consi'ders letting any residential develop in <br />there, that would just be disastrous because the airport traffic <br />patterns will not change. He said the highest and best use for this <br />area is industrial. <br /> <br />Mr. Starnes said he doubts this development if it is zoned as <br />requested could be considered a slow development. He asked how <br />long would it take to put roads in there to sustain this for 55,000 <br />trips a day? Will it take 10 years 15 years, he said he has not heard <br />anyone say. He asked Dr. Hartgen if he would address that issue. <br /> <br />Dr. David Hartgen, Property Owner Beech Bluff and also a <br />Professor of Transportation at the University of North Carolina at <br />Charlotte, addressed the Board stating he will confine his <br />comments only to the traffic issue. He said the maximum capacity <br />of a two lane rural road, such as Derita Road, with narrow <br />shoulders, and limited site distance is about 10,000 cars a day. It <br />cannot carry much more than that. Dr. Hartgen said none of the <br />proposals that we have heard tonight seriously question the <br />number 55,000, it only questions the time in which that number <br />might be achieved. The State of North Carolina has a road <br />development process which typically takes between 7 and 15 years <br />for a road, once identified as a need, to move on to the program <br />called the Transportation Improvement Plan and then to be <br />ultimately funded and finally to be constructed. He said they are <br />discussing in this county now roads yet to be constructed which <br />were first proposed 15 and 20 years ago. Those roads are not yet <br />under construction and they have not yet been designed. We are <br />proposing here to put development on a two lane facility for which <br />there are no development plans and no upgrades yet under <br />discussion. The road is not on any of their transportation <br />improvement plans. It is not even within the listing of serious <br />discussion items yet to be released for those plans. There is not <br />even any plans at this point to handle the traffic on 1-85 that would <br />be caused by the Concord Mills Mall. Dr. Hartgen said to him this <br />is a pretty straight forward question. If they approve this project <br />they are essentially demanding without support that the State <br />provide us with highway facilities, and those facilities would have <br />to be bigger <br /> <br /> <br />