Members of the Wake Forest Planning Board had lots of questions about traffic for traffic engineer Rynal Stephenson Tuesday night as they considered a special use permit for Sam’s Club along Caveness Farm Road and Capital Boulevard, but they quickly, with very little discussion, voted unanimously to recommend the town board approve the permit request.
David Bissette, a business owner who ran for mayor in 2009, was the only person speaking against the request, citing the town’s vision statement and Community Plan. “How do we keep Wake Forest from being Cary-like?” he asked as he called the proposed building “an incongruous structure” and the plan one that will add more traffic signals to Capital Building. Town attorney Toby Hampson, who conducted the quasi-judicial hearing, warned the members and the town and planning boards to disregard several of Bissette’s statements because he is not an expert witness.
Later Mayor Vivian Jones warned residents not to try to talk to her or the town commissioners about the Sam’s Club request that will be on the board’s agenda for its June 15 meeting. She and the commissioners can only consider the evidence presented during Tuesday’s hearing.
Planning board chairman Bob Hill summed up the hearing, noting the town’s planning staff recommended approval, the speakers for the applicant laid out a clear case and there was no expert evidence to refute the application.
During the hearing, Commissioner Zachary Donahue asked for the definition of a major street because the Community Plan says “Large-scale commercial uses should be located on the corners of neighborhood planning areas, that is, at the intersection of two or more major streets.” He asked if Caveness Farm Avenue could be considered a major street.
Planning Director Chip said the current request is an amendment to an existing approved plan and the department has to interpret current policy for an existing plan. The Shoppes at Caveness shopping center with a large retail anchor store and 39 smaller stores was approved in 2004 after several hearings where questions about the location were raised, among other objections.
Stephenson, who works for Ramey Kemp & Associates and prepared the traffic analysis, said a major goal in planning the extensive traffic improvements was that traffic on Capital Boulevard could not be compromised and there was an emphasis on reducing queueing and stacking.
He had several slides which clearly showed how traffic will flow, including the access to the site from the Walmart shopping center and Ligon Mill Road via Caveness Farm Avenue. Both provide access to and from South Main at signalized intersections.
Stephenson also said the traffic plan is based on the whole shopping center, not just Sam’s Club. Sam’s Club will use 13 of the 35.8 acres owned by Weingarten Realty that was to be the Shoppes at Caveness, minus the four outparcels that have been sold.
He called the plan, with access to and from Capital on Caveness Farm and an unnamed driveway, both at synchronized traffic signals, a variation of a super street. “There will be no more full movement traffic signals on Capital Boulevard,” Stephenson said.
We will see more of this type of intersection, Jones said, adding that they will be an interim solution to traffic before Capital Boulevard becomes a limited-access freeway.
(There was a full description of the traffic plan in last week’s Gazette.)
The planning board also voted unanimously to recommend approval of the request to rezone 3.78 acres at the corner of Wait Avenue and Bowling Forest Drive to GR3 and RMX as part of the Bowling Green subdivision. The rezoning means the porches for the 18 new homes can be no more than 18 feet from the sidewalk, creating something like traditional neighborhoods.
3 Responses
It might be time for residents of Wake Forest to challenge the idea that a planning board meeting is a “quasi-judicial hearing”. Any lawyers out there want to explain how a public meeting that makes recommendations that impact the entire population of a town can be limited to “expert testimony” only?
So the public has been warned not to speak their opinions on what’s best for their own community. Gee, I wonder who is providing the “evidence” presented Tuesday, or rather, who is funding it? Do we vote these people in to think for us or listen to us? There is already a Sam’s Club less than 10 miles away, and bringing another one here is a necessity??? The traffic light on Capital where the Wal-Mart is can easily be called the WORST intersection in this area! It’s so infuriating and unintuitive that myself as well as many others I know go well out of their way to avoid it. That’s reality, people! Worse traffic on the most dangerous road to make way for a financial black hole close to another financial black hole. The real question is what incentives are these commissioners getting to help suck our beautiful town dry?
They claim the two traffic lights will be “synchronized.” Driving around as we do I am convinced that no DOT this State or any County or city equivalent actually knows how to do that.!!!!