AGENDA #5b
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TO: |
Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager |
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FROM: |
George Small, P.E., Director of Engineering |
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Sue Burke, P.E., Stormwater Management Engineer |
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SUBJECT: |
Response to Petition Requesting the Use of the Pinehurst Drive Right-of-Way for Stormwater Management |
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DATE: |
January 22, 2007 |
This memorandum responds to a petition submitted by Mr. John Mackowiak concerning the use of a portion of the Pinehurst Drive right-of-way for construction of a stormwater management facility. Town staff recommends that the Council take no further action on the request.
If the Council requires further information about this matter, adoption of Resolution A would direct the Manager to have Town staff further investigate and identify the legal and operational issues associated with construction of a stormwater management facility by a private party or entity within public right-of-way; and identify possible strategies for resolving those issues.
Mr. Mackowiak made application to the Town Council for a major subdivision approval of his property at 1025 Pinehurst Drive. In his initial submission, Mr. Mackowiak proposed using a portion of the Pinehurst Drive right-of-way adjacent to his proposed development for a stormwater management facility to serve his development and to comply with stormwater management requirements of the Town’s Land Use Management Ordinance. At the November 6, 2006 Town Council meeting, Town staff recommended denial of Mr. Mackowiak’s application and, subsequently, Mr. Mackowiak agreed to construct on-site stormwater management controls to serve his proposed development.
Separately, Mr. Mackowiak then requested that the Town Council permit him to construct a stormwater management facility in the Pinehurst Drive right-of-way intended to alleviate downstream flooding conditions.
In Mr. Mackowiak’s petition, he refers to downstream flooding in the vicinity of Burning Tree Drive at Pinehurst Drive, and he suggests that construction of a stormwater management facility in the Pinehurst Drive right-of-way adjacent to his property would help mitigate such flooding.
The periodic flooding that occurs in the vicinity of Burning Tree Drive at Pinehurst Drive is a long-standing problem largely resulting from a combination of perennial stream drainage and older, undersized infrastructure. Please refer to the map in Attachment 1. We have included drainage improvements at this location as part the Town’s Capital Improvements Program. Town staff issued a Request for Qualifications in November 2006, soliciting responses from engineering firms interested in providing design services for these improvements, and we anticipate selecting a consulting firm by the end of January 2007.
Additionally, the Town’s Stormwater Management Master Plan is presently being developed and the Burning Tree Drive/Pinehurst Drive area has been identified for detailed analysis and modeling. If our engineering analysis determines that the Pinehurst Drive right-of-way is a recommended site for a stormwater management facility, Town staff would then consider inclusion of such a facility in the Stormwater Management Capital Improvements Program. If constructed, this facility would benefit the community-at-large, and it would be owned, operated and maintained by the Town.
There are ownership, operation, maintenance, liability and other issues associated with the construction of a stormwater management facility by a private party or entity on publicly-owned land, as suggested by the petitioner. Town staff discussed a number of these issues in a memo dated September 28, 2006 (please see Attachment 2) responding to Mr. Mackowiak’s initial development application plan that proposed using a portion of the Pinehurst Drive right-of-way for a stormwater management facility to serve his development and to comply with requirements of the Town’s Land Use Management Ordinance. We believe that the issues we discussed in that memorandum are relevant to this petition.
We recommend that the Council take no action on this petition.
If the Council requires further information about this matter, adoption of Resolution A would direct the Manager to have Town staff further investigate and identify the legal and operational issues associated with construction of a stormwater management facility by a private party or entity within public right-of-way; and identify possible strategies for resolving those issues.
