Minutes - 20070119 - Laserfiche WebLink

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 Commissioner Jacobs said that north of Hillsborough, it is very difficult to get to work if you do not have a car. He also thinks that transportation will relate more and more to Carolina North, which will have a huge impact on Orange County. He thinks that Carolina North will be a job magnet. Commissioner Gordon said that transportation always comes up because people live where it is economical, but then they have to get to their job. If transit is an important element, then people can get to their jobs, medical appointments, etc. Andy Sachs asked about agriculture and Commissioner Jacobs said that the County Commissioners have been working to develop a local agricultural economy, recognizing that it is an industry that already exists in the County that needs help. There is a strong demand for quality food, and the County has invested money and time in trying to help farmers who are forced to get out of tobacco into other aspects of agriculture without having to sell their property for development. Andy Sachs asked the County Commissioners if they wanted all of these issues under Economic Development. Commissioner Gordon suggested getting this information to staff and then have staff come back with implications and strategies. Chair Carey said that some of the issues are long-term and some are really short-term. Laura Blackmon said that some of the issues are in different stages of development and staff needs to bring these to back to the Board promptly with a timeline. Green Building Commissioner Jacobs said that this is a priority both internally and externally. The external has to do with standards for development. Internally, it relates back to sustainability. He said that he sees it as including the kinds of fuels, fixtures, vehicles, etc. that the County uses. He said that with Elementary School #10, the school system is looking to cut expenditures and is looking to cut out sustainable design. Commissioner Gordon said that green building costs more up front, and if the County is serious about it, then there has to be discussion about how to address it. She said that you could make the argument that the life cycle is what you look at. There needs to be an approach to address the fact that the upfront costs of a green building could be higher than a conventional building. Chair Carey said that this area is kind of like an overlay of all of the County Commissioners' decisions in the policy of constructing facilities. There is a conflict between the jurisdictional prerogative and the fact that money is tight. He would like to keep it as an overlay to all of the policy-making and decision-making. Commissioner Nelson made reference to the external part of it and said that the standards for developers could be handled through the comprehensive plan process. Chair Carey said that he likes the concept of providing incentives (as opposed to penalties) for developers to comply with. Commissioner Nelson said that the "carrot" approach could also be used with developers for other items such as affordable housing. Commissioner Jacobs said that there is no coordinated strategy to change out fixtures to energy efficient ones, change out water fixtures, etc. and he does not get the sense that there is a high priority or a plan to do green things within County government. Also, he thinks that the County should "buy local" more. Laura Blackmon said that the staff would have to go back and evaluate how some of these already fit in with what is already being done, and which ones will be a new direction or focus. She said that it may be a focus on environmentally friendly issues and not so much with green building.