20070699 Ver 2_Consistency Determination 08-03-10_20100805

Blue Ridge Engineering PLLC 529 Main Street
North Wilkesboro, NC 28659
[phone]
August 4, 2010
Mr. Ian McMillan
Division of Water Quality - 401 Coordinator
2321 Crabtree Boulevard - Suite 250
Raleigh, NC 27604
Ref: Federal Consistency Certification Submittal
Porter's Neck Crossing
New Hanover County, NC
Dear Mr. McMillan:
Please find enclosed one copy of the Consistency Determination as requested by the Division of Coastal
Management. The enclosed CD contains the Consistency Determination, USACE Individual Permit
Application Submittal, and approved regulatory permits for the project. Fifteen (15) copies of the CD have
been sent to DCM per their request.
Please feel free to call with any questions. Thanks in advance for your assistance with this project.
Sincerely,
/Y1 M
M. Devin taley,
Engineering Manage
cc: Mr. James A. Black, Jr., ACI
Mr. Martin Fridy, MPG
George House, BPMHL
File #7015
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Blue Ridge Engineering PLLc
August 3, 2010
Stephen Rynas
Federal Consistency Coordinator
NC Division of Coastal Management
400 Commerce Avenue
Morehead City, NC 28557
Ref Request for concurrence with Consistency Determination
Porter's Neck Crossing
New Hanover County, NC
Dear Mr. Rynas:
529 Main Street
North Wilkesboro, NC 28659
[phone]
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AUG 0 5 20.0
DENR-' PER QUALITY
VOETLANDS AND STOFMMATER BRANCH
On behalf of ACI-Pine Ridge, LLC, Blue Ridge Engineering PLLC requests concurrence from the Division
of Coastal Management of the applicant's consistency certification. The applicant is proposing the
construction of the Porter's Neck Crossing Shopping Center, a new development located at the intersection
of Market Street and Porter's Neck Road in New Hanover County, NC. The proposed project will impact
3.90 acres of 404 wetlands. To compensate for these impacts, the applicant proposes to preserve the
remaining 13 acres of wetlands on the property and further compensate by purchasing credits from an
approved mitigation bank or payment to the Ecosystem Enhancement Program. The applicant has applied
for an Individual Permit and a 401 Water Quality Certification for this project.
We have reviewed the State's coastal program regulations and the local Land Use Plan for New Hanover
County. The proposed development complies with the policies of North Carolina's approved coastal
management plan and will be performed in a manner consistent with these policies. Enclosed you will find
a copy of the Consistency Determination, Individual Permit Application Submittal, and regulatory permits
which have been obtained for this project. Per the request of DCM, fifteen (15) CDs containing these
project documents are also enclosed
Please feel free to call with any questions. Thanks in advance for your assistance with this project.
Sincerely,
M 0
M. Devin taley,
Engineering Manage
cc: Mr. James A. Black, Jr., ACI
Mr. Martin Fridy, MPG
Mr. George House, BPMHL
Mrs. Emily Hughes, USACE
Mr. Ian McMillan, DWQ
File #7015
CONSISTENCY DETERMINATION
Porter's Neck Crossing
New Hanover County, NC
August 3, 2010
ACI - Pine Ridge, LLC
1. INTRODUCTION
ACI - Pine Ridge, LLC (ACI), the applicant, is requesting an Individual Permit from the US
Army Corps of Engineers as well as a 401 Water Quality Certification from the NCDENR -
Division of Water Quality and a consistency certification from the NC Division of Coastal
Management.
ACI's former agent, Land Management Group, Inc., previously submitted an application to
USACE, NCDENR, and NCDCM for the appropriate permitting and approval. This
application was closed in May 2008 for failure to comment on the public notice within the
required time frame. ACI has since retained Blue Ridge Engineering PLLC (BRE) to act as
its agent for all USACE, NCDENR, and NCDCM permitting and approval issues for the
subject property.
2. PROJECT
In an effort to meet the growing Porter's Neck Community as well as the growing US Hwy
17 (Market Street) corridor in northeast New Hanover County, the proposed shopping
center will be located at the intersection of Porter's Neck Road and Market Street. In order
to achieve a practicable design, placement of fill material within wetlands is necessary. The
proposed site plan includes the minimum amount of fill area, 3.90 acres, in order to provide
the necessary building area.
Wetlands subject to the Corps of Engineers jurisdiction pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean
Water Act will be impacted by the project. ACI received a Notification of Jurisdictional
Determination (JD) for the subject property on November 20, 2007. The project engineer,
BRE, has made all possible efforts to minimize wetland impacts. Of these impacts, only
0.09 acres are to the wetlands in the Carolina Bay Pocosin area with highest functional value.
The site plan was revised from the previous Individual Permit application to minimize the
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impacts to these wetlands with the higher value by reducing the building sizes and reducing
the proposed parking ratio.
3. AREAS OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN
The project is located in the southwest quadrant of the intersection of I-140 (Wilmington
Bypass) and US 17 Highway (Market Street) in New Hanover County. In order to determine
whether the project required a CAMA Major Development Permit, areas of environmental
concern that may be affected were determined. The areas of environmental concern most
applicable for the project area include coastal wetlands and outstanding resource water.
COASTAL WETLANDS
In the NC Administrative Code 15A NCAC 07H.0205, coastal wetlands are defined
as any salt marsh or other marsh subject to regular or occasional flooding by tides,
including wind tides and also includes some or all of ten (10) specific species. The
project site is not located in an area that receives regular or occasional flooding by
tides except for possible extreme cases of tropical storm and hurricane tides. The
species found in the areas to be impacted include gordonia lasianthus, ilex glabra,
lyonia lucida, cyrilla racemiflora, and peltandra virginica. These species are not
identified in 15A NCAC 07H .0205 as coastal wetlands. Therefore, we affirm that
the project area is not identified as a coastal wetland area of environmental concern.
B. OUTSTANDING RESOURCE WATERS
According to the jurisdictional Determination, wetlands located on the project site
are in the headwaters of Island and Smith Creeks, tributaries to the Northeast Cape
Fear River. No streams exist on-site and no ORW zone exists within approximately
two (2) miles of the project. No surface waters adjacent to the project site, including
Island Creek and Smith Creek, are identified as an ORW. Therefore, this project will
not affect an ORW. An excerpt from the Division of Water Quality Environmental
Sensitivity Map is attached.
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CONCLUSION
The proposed project is not located within any area of environmental concern.
Therefore, the project will not require authorization pursuant to the Coastal Area
Management Act because it will not occur within a designated area of environmental
concern.
4. GENERAL POLICY GUIDELINES
BRE has reviewed the coastal area General Policy Guidelines found in 15A NCAC 07M. It
has been determined that the proposed project is consistent with these guidelines.
Specifically, Section 7M.0200 (Shoreline Erosion Policies) is not relevant because there are
no shoreline erosion control devices proposed for the project. Section 7M.0300 (Shorefront
Access Policies) is not applicable because the proposed fill will not affect any estuarine
waters or access to the waters. Section 7M.0306 (Local Government and State Involvement)
did not identify this project site with a plan which would provide local access. Section
07M.0400 (Coastal Energy Policies) is not relevant because the proposed project does not
involve any department of energy development plans within the State. Section 07M.0500
(Post-Disaster Policies) does not apply to the proposed activities. Section 7M.0600 (Floating
Structure Policies) does not apply to the proposed project. Section 7M.0700 (Mitigation
Policies) has been addressed in the project narrative submitted to the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers. The applicant has proposed to place a conservation easement over all remaining
wetlands within the tracts to prohibit any wetland impacts from future development. This
will protect approximately 13 acres of wetlands, including the on-site Carolina Bay. The
applicant also intends to further compensate for the impacts associated with fill in Section
404 wetlands by purchasing credits from an approved mitigation bank or by payment to the
N.C. EEP program. Therefore, the mitigation policies are consistent with the proposed plan
for development. Section 7M.0800 (Coastal Water Quality Policies) has been addressed for
Phase I and a significant portion of Phase II of the development by the issuance of a State
Stormwater Permit and New Hanover County Stormwater Permit. The remainder of the
development will follow this consistency by obtaining stormwater permit revisions from the
State of North Carolina and New Hanover County. All proposed tenants have yet to be
determined and therefore a stormwater permit revision cannot be applied for at this time.
Erosion and Sediment Control permits have also been obtained from New Hanover County
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for Phase I and a portion of Phase II of the development. Copies of the stormwater permits
and erosion control permits are attached. Section 7M.0900 (Policies and Use of Coastal Air
Space) does not apply to this project. Section 7M.1000 (Policies on Water and Wedand
Based Target Areas for Military Training Activities) does not apply to this project. Section
7M.1100 (Policies on Beneficial Use and Availability of Materials Resulting from the
Excavation or Maintenance of Navigational Channels) does not apply to this project.
Section 7M.1200 (Policies on Ocean Mining) does not apply to this project.
CONCLUSION
Based on our review of the coastal area General Policy Guidelines, we have found
that the proposed project is consistent with 15A NCAC Subchapter 7M.
5. LAND USE PLAN REVIE
The proposed development will be consistent with the County's Policies for Growth and
Development (1999 Land Use Plan) and the Wilmington-New Hanover County Joint
Coastal Area Management Plan (March 13, 2006 Update) ("2006 CAMA Update Plan")
(collectively referred to as the "Land Use Plan"). The proposed development will be in
harmony with the overall development of the Porter's Neck community and will service the
existing and planned residential communities of this area of New Hanover County.
The project's classification on the Land Classification Map is "Transition" in the eastern
portion of the site and "Wedand Resource Protection" on the western portion. The purpose
of "the Transition class is to provide for future intensive urban development on lands that
have been or will be provided with necessary urban services. The location of these areas is
based upon land use planning policies requiring optimum efficiency in land utilization and
public service delivery." (2006 CAMA Plan Update, p.61)
Additionally, under Section B (Land Use and Urban Design) of the Land Use Plan, the
proposed project complies with subcategory entitled COMMERCIAL USES, which states
"Maximize effectiveness of commercial uses by assuring that land is available for commercial
uses within close proximity to the markets they serve and by ensuring that such commercial
uses do not diminish the quality of life in nearby residential areas." The proposed
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development will comply with this statement. Furthermore, the development specifically
concurs with the Implementation Strategy 4.3.1: "Locate regional commercial nodes at major
intersections consistent with the Land Classification Map, the Wilmington Future Land Use
Plan, and corridor plans to accommodate used that serve a regional market". The
juxtaposition of Interstate I-140 and Market Street further confirms that this project is in
clear harmony with the Land Use Plan and will become a viable commercial node.
From the Land Use Plan, the Wetland Resource Protection class "is primarily in the
northeastern part of the county. The impact from which protection is needed is loss of
wetland areas to development. The primary resource protection strategies focus on
encouraging preservation of wetlands and wetland functions." The proposed plan is
consistent with this purpose in that proposed Section 404 wetland fill has been minimized to
the maximum extent practicable and the remaining wetlands are proposed to be placed into
conservation. Also, additional compensation has been proposed as payment into an
approved mitigation bank or the N.C. EEP program.
CONCLUSION
It is our determination that the proposed project is consistent with the Wilmington-
New Hanover County Joint Coastal Area Management Plan (March 13, 2006
Update) ("2006 CAMA Update Plan). Although the previous Individual Permit
application submittal was consistent with the Land Use Plan, the applicant has
further minimized the impact to Section 404 wetlands by modifying the site plan and
reducing the building sizes and the proposed parking ratio.
6. PROJECT CONSISTENCY CONCLUSION
In accordance with 15 CFR 930.58, these supporting documents and data provide the
necessary information to declare that this project is consistent with the Federal Coastal Zone
Management Act of 1972 as amended and the policies of the North Carolina approved
Coastal Management Program. The applicant requests that the North Carolina Division of
Coastal Management concur with this Consistency Certification that the proposed activities
meet those requirements and policies set forth by the North Carolina Approved
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Management Program and that the proposed project will be conducted in concurrence with
the Program.