The Orange County Board of Commissioners is set to host a public hearing at its business meeting Tuesday night. This hearing will open up a discussion on the proposal for the Research Triangle Logistics Park – otherwise known as the RTLP.

The RTLP is a trucking and industrial warehouse development, proposed at the corner of Davis Road and Highway 86. According to the county, the RTLP would be a 160-acre development with four overall buildings. Currently, this land is undeveloped and does not contain any uses or structures.

The proposal under consideration, submitted by Terra Equity Inc., advertises a capacity for 2.25 million square feet of health technology, information sciences, scientific research and laboratories. The project site could also include light industrial, light manufacturing and an abundance of warehouse space.

The proposed economic value of the RTLP is estimated at up to $150 million dollars, creating between 1,000 to 1,500 jobs. Orange County hopes that these jobs will help combat the record high unemployment rates stemming from the pandemic while helping to stimulate and strengthen the local economy.

Despite these hopes, Orange County Commissioner Penny Rich notes that this proposal has stirred up a lot of negative feelings and questions for local residents. These feelings have led to multiple “Save Hillsborough” protests – including one this past weekend.

Although, Rich said not all the information that has been circulating is correct – so Orange County put out a Frequently Asked Questions document earlier this month to help answer resident’s questions.

“I advise everyone who has some concerns to go read that,” Rich said. “I think that’s such a great document. It was put together by Economic Development and Planning and it’s about 30 pages long of frequently asked questions. It does talk a little bit about things people were saying were happening that weren’t happening.”

Some residents are particularly concerned that the proposed RTLP will create and excess of tractor-trailer traffic moving through the neighborhood. Certain claims say that the project will create 200 trips per hour resulting in a tractor-trailer entering or exiting the site every 15 seconds.

According to the town’s FAQ sheet, that statement is false. The Traffic Impact Assessment, provided as a part of the development package, states the total estimated daily trips to the site equate to about 3,600 trips.

While this number does not equate to one tractor-trailer every 15 seconds, the impact is still substantial. Moreover, residents are concerned that, since the NCDOT forbids a left-hand turn out of the existing service road, Davis Road will be overrun with the tractor-trailers that are entering the project site.

Although, the county said that shouldn’t be a problem – stating that the anticipated change of traffic during peak times in the morning and afternoon on Davis Road will be marginal, with only an additional 25 vehicles.

To communicate these concerns, Rich said the public is welcome to register for the County Commissioners public hearing on Tuesday, September 15. Public concerns will be addressed ahead of an official RTLP vote.

“We will not be voting on this and that’s an interesting sort of rule that the North Carolina General Assembly put in place – that if you do have a public hearing virtually, you can’t vote on it the same night,” Rich said. “So we won’t be voting on this until our next business meeting and it looks like our next business meeting will be on October 6.”

To learn more about the Research Triangle Logistics Park or to find the FAQ document in response to resident’s questions, click here.

Lead photo of concept design for the RTLP courtesy of Kimley + Horn.

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