Secondary and Cumulative Impacts Master Management Plan

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Understanding Morrisville’s development constraints prior to beginning the planning

process can avoid unnecessary negative impacts on the environment and capital-

ize on the assets of the community.

Water Features

Lake Crabtree, a major man-made lake, is located just east of Morrisville (Figure 2.4).

A County Park on the north side of the lake provides boating and recreation access

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the southern portion of Morrisville. Topography in Morrisville gently slopes down to

Crabtree Creek, with few steep slopes. The tributary streams of Indian Creek and

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along the eastern and southern portions of the Town. Wake County has preserved

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as part of a wetland mitigation project, restricting it from any future development.

Two smaller lakes, one near the Airport Boulevard interchange at I-40 and one adja-

cent to the Preston Golf Course, are also owned by Wake County.

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sources (NCDENR) as a 303(d) impaired stream, which means that the water quality

does not meet Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) water quality standards. As a re-

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the water quality. This management plan may affect how much and where development

can occur near Crabtree Creek.

Airport Noise Overlay

Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) is located adjacent to Morrisville’s eastern

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over Morrisville, creating substantial noise. To avoid negative impacts, RDU has been work-

ing with neighboring jurisdictions for years to restrict sensitive land uses in noise impacted

areas. These restrictions are in acknowledgement of the fact that excessive noise has

been shown to cause hearing and other physical problems over a long period of expo-

sure. In addition to protecting its citizens, Morrisville’s implementation of the Airport Noise

Overlay District protects it from legal liability for allowing substantial negative impacts to

occur. Generally speaking, residences, schools and other sensitive uses like daycares,

should not be located in areas with greater than 65 decibels of airport noise (shown by

yellow diagonal lines in Figure 2.4). For Morrisville, this area covers approximately 26% of

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is installed. The Town Council has recently changed the Town’s ordinance to permit resi-

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Railroad Corridor

The railroad through the center of Morrisville, as described earlier, has been an integral

part of the town’s history and success. The tracks currently separate the town into two

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North Carolina Railroad Company owns the rail corridor and has taken the position that

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pass), and that no sidewalks or greenways may cross at-grade. Thus, east-west connectiv-

ity is limited in the town until funds can be secured to build additional overpasses.

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formal designation, such as inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. The Shiloh

area near the north end of town is a historically black community dating from the 1820s,

with a church and other historical buildings. The Shiloh Heritage Preservation Area was es-

tablished by the town through the adoption of the North Morrisville-Shiloh Small Area Plan

on January 6, 2003.

In addition, there are numerous historic buildings in the Town Center area, the preservation

of which have been addressed in more detail in the Town Center Plan, adopted in 2007.

Superfund Site

Just south of the Shiloh area, on the northwest corner of McCrimmon Parkway and NC 54

is the former Koppers Co., Inc. plant. The plant, which dates to 1896, processed and treat-

ed wood products, releasing contaminants into the soil, groundwater and surface water.

Contamination at the site was discovered by the EPA in 1980, and cleanup was performed

from 1990 to 1997. Cleanup involved removal of contaminated soil; bioremediation, car-

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actively monitored by EPA before it can be formally removed from the Superfund list, but

there is currently no environmental hazard at the site. The site is currently owned by two

companies, with part of the site actively operating as a wood laminating facility, while the

other is vacant. Now that the site has been cleaned up, it represents an opportunity to

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Development Restrictions

Floodway

: Undevelopable

100-year Floodplain

: 1% chance of flooding in any

given year. Development is acceptable if building

is located at least 2 feet above base flood elevation

(FEMA elevation certificate is required).

NationalWetlands Inventory

: Require permits from

state agencies for any major development, such

as subdivisions or commercial development. May

require developers to mitigate wetland losses.