By Jessie Burchette
jburchette@salisburypost.com
County commissioners will hold a public hearing on changes in the county’s soil erosion and sedimentation control ordinance.
The Rowan County Board of Commissioners will conduct the hearing at its session at 4 p.m. Monday.
The changes are woven into the 22 pages of the ordinance and are intended to bring the county’s ordinance into compliance with state requirements.
The ordinance includes specific requirements for the Town Creek area, the result of a planned Town Creek sewer project to be jointly funded by the county and the city of Salisbury. Many of the changes have resulted from negotiations between project engineers, the county and the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Commissioners will also be asked to approve hiring an engineering firm to review erosion control plans for developments as needed.
The board will also consider a new fee schedule for erosion control plans that will pay for the services of the engineering firm.
Currently the county charges $50 per acre. Under the proposal, rates could run up to $140 per hour depending on the expertise of the consultant doing the work.
Erosion control plans are required when one acre or more of land is disturbed for non-agricultural purposes.
In other matters, the board will hear information or act on the following:
– Conduct a public hearing on a request by Cecil and Michelle Perry to rezone 3.14 acres at 6020 E. N.C. 152 from rural agricultural to commercial, business, industrial to allow construction of mini-storage buildings. Staff recommends approval. The county Planning Board voted unanimously to deny the request after several neighbors spoke against the rezoning.
– Hear an update on the current land-use planning effort from Planning Director Ed Muire. Public input workshops are scheduled for Thursday at West Rowan High School and on July 15 at South Rowan High School. Both sessions are from 5 to 8 p.m.
– Hear a proposal from Vice Chairman Chad Mitchell to consider turning one of the board’s two monthly meetings into a work session instead of an action meeting. Mitchell is asking staff to research the idea and see how it might impact staff.
– Consider approval of private roads for a planned gated development, The Woodlands, at Old Beatty Ford Road. A total of 24 single-family houses are planned on 75 acres located in the 6500-6800 block of Old Beatty Ford Road.
– Reschedule a public hearing on incentives for Duke Energy’s planned expansion at the Buck Steam Plant to Aug. 4.
– Consider appointments to various boards including the Tourism Development Authority, the Rowan-Kannapolis ABC Board and Juvenile Crime Prevention Council.
The Rowan County Board of Commissioners meets at 4 p.m. Monday in the Cohen Administration Building, 130 W. Innes St.