Eco business park in N.C. gains cash, focus

CAMDEN, N.C.

A draft of covenants for a green business park near the Chesapeake border and large grants awarded this month have brought the project closer to reality.

After months of debate, the county economic development commission has completed a draft of covenants that would define what the eco industrial park would be and what businesses would be accepted. A final draft will be subject to approval by the Board of Commissioners.

Officials have struggled to balance conservation against practicality and affordability.

"There is a tension," said Camden County planning director Dan Porter.

A green park in North-ampton County, Va., failed in part because businesses chose less-restrictive areas. Camden County is somewhat remote and lacks industry, but U.S. 17 runs in front of the site and it is less than an hour from most Hampton Roads industries.

A list of permitted businesses include manufacturers of renewable energy resources and recycled products, university and private research efforts that solve rather than cause environmental problems and eco tourism-related eateries and lodging.

Businesses not wanted include salvage yards, fast- food restaurants, self-storage units and nuclear power plants.

Businesses would get credits for such efforts as installing fixtures that use less water or less energy, diverting more waste from the landfill, reusing materials and prohibiting smoking.

"We're hopeful that the covenants are not so restrictive that they are not necessarily more expensive," said Robert McClendon, a sustainable design specialist with the University of North Carolina Coastal Studies Institute. McLendon works out of Manteo and serves on the Camden County economic development commission.

With the backing of North Carolina Sen. Marc Basnight, D-Dare, and Rep. Bill Owens, D-Pasquotank, large grants have given the project a lift. Water and sewer lines and a set of roads on the 100-acre site could be in place by next summer, Porter said. Plans are to eventually expand to 4,000 or 5,000 acres, partnering with adjacent private landowners.

This month, Camden County was awarded a $500,000 grant from the state Department of Commerce to help build roads, Camden County manager Randell Woodruff said. The county must contribute $125,000 to get the grant.

Two weeks ago, the state Department of Transportation awarded the county an additional $425,000 for road construction in the park. The money will pay for an entrance from U.S. 17, a road parallel to the highway and a road to the back of the site, he said.

The Golden Leaf Foundation awarded Camden County a $2 million grant last year to run water and sewer lines to the park site. Work is expected to start soon.

Three weeks ago, the North Carolina Rural Center awarded Camden County a $160,000 grant to create a corridor plan for U.S. 17 from South Mills to the Chesapeake border and for marketing the area. The county has to match that grant with $40,000.

At about the same time, the North Carolina Rural Center also awarded Camden County a $649,000 grant ago to run public sewer lines in South Mills, a community near the park site that could grow rapidly with new infrastructure. The county is expecting a $1.9 million grant from the Clean Water Management Trust Fund to match that grant, Woodruff said.

But grants do not guarantee success. In Northampton County, Va., the 140 acre Sustainable Technology Industrial Park failed after getting $3.9 million in grants and $5.2 million in county funds. Only one business opened there, offering nine jobs.

When begun in the mid- 1990s, it was touted as the prototype environment-friendly industrial park that would create more than 900 jobs.

T he property sold for a little over $3 million two years ago but has yet to be developed, said Janice Williams, assistant to the county administrator in Northampton County.

Jeff Hampton, (252) 338-0159, jeff.hampton@pilotonline.com