Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Heartland Drra Siteplan topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Planning commission recommends DRRA and approves Heartland Holdings final site plan
Summary
The Caroline County Planning Commission voted Jan. 14 to forward a Development Rights and Responsibilities Agreement (DRRA) for Heartland Holdings to the county commissioners and to approve the company’s final site plan for an ag products processing facility in Greensboro, after staff and the applicant described stormwater improvements, haul‑route payments and traffic estimates.
The Caroline County Planning Commission on Jan. 14 voted to recommend a Development Rights and Responsibilities Agreement (DRRA) for Heartland Holdings to the county commissioners and approved the company’s final site plan for an agricultural products processing facility near Greensboro.
The DRRA, which the applicant agreed to record, requires payments earmarked for paving Sunset Avenue — the approved haul route — and contains provisions meant to cover repair or mitigation should heavy traffic damage county roads. “The financing part of the agreement is really to ensure that the county has money in hand over the next number of years,” Brenda Mulaney, attorney for Heartland Holdings, told the commission.
Why it matters: The DRRA ties developer payments to a specific roadway improvement and is a condition tied to a prior Board of Zoning Appeals approval for the facility. The planning commission’s positive recommendation sends the agreement to the elected county commissioners, who make the final decision to record the contract.
Staff said the DRRA meets the minimum information required by county code and is consistent with county plans for an ag processing use. The agreement runs through May 1, 2028; the applicant has made an initial payment, and staff and the record show three further payments scheduled in 2026, 2027 and 2028. Commissioners emphasized that failure to make payments would be a breach and that usual remedies (recording, liens, court action) would be available.
On the site plan, the applicant and its engineering consultant described stormwater work that will renovate an existing pond into a stormwater basin, add conveyance and a four‑bay berm within the existing pond area to manage sediment, and regrade areas to direct runoff to the basin. Brenda Mulaney said the operation is largely retroactive: the infrastructure exists on site and the application formalizes and brings it into compliance. On stormwater, the applicant said improvements are required and will be implemented as part of final permit issuance.
Traffic and haul route: Commissioners pressed the applicant on truck counts and hours of operation. The applicant and staff clarified that traffic estimates are recorded as trips (not unique vehicles) and that peak harvest days were estimated up to about 40 trips per day in September and October, with lower averages outside harvest. Mulaney also told the board that if the planning commission required signage to direct outbound trucks to use Sunset Avenue, the applicant would be willing to post a sign: “If that were a condition of approval tonight, I’m sure that I’m willing to do that.”
The planning commission approved the final site plan after staff recommended approval and after commissioners confirmed the eight findings required for final site plan action. The chair noted that final permits remain dependent on completing the recorded DRRA and any remaining county permit steps.
Next steps: The planning commission’s positive recommendation on the DRRA goes to the Caroline County Board of Commissioners for their decision; the planning director and permitting staff will complete the remaining actions needed to issue final permits for the site plan.
