Minutes - 20070119 - Laserfiche WebLink

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1 Land Preservation 2 Chair Carey said that this is one of those areas where bad and good can be done. The 3 County has acquired a lot of land over the past few years, and some of the land that was 4 designated for parks has not been planned out. He thinks that all County Commissioners would 5 like to leave a legacy of land in the County for the benefit of future generations. He thinks that 6 some boundaries should be established around where to go. He said that it could go so far that 7 there is land that only rich people would be able to use in the future, because acquisition will 8 preclude poor people from being able to stay here and pay taxes. There is no doubt that the 9 biggest landowners now are groups that do not pay taxes - OWASA, UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke 10 University, and County government. He said that somebody has to make this up. He wants to 11 establish some boundaries around acquisition and what the goal is. He does not want to get 12 caught up with acquisition because this does not help with social justice. 13 Commissioner Gordon said that the voters have already voted money for the acquisition. 14 In terms of the goals, the County does have a Lands Legacy Action Plan. She said that she 15 feels that it is important to get land while the County can afford it. She said that if you do not 16 have a lot of money, the only place you can go for parks and green space is to public lands. 17 She thinks that it is partly because of social justice and equity concerns that the parks and 18 green spaces should be established. She said that the prime target for the preservation of the 19 green infrastructure and parks is a person that does not have a lot of money because it is the 20 only place that they can go. 21 Commissioner Jacobs said that one way to address this is that the County has a park 22 plan adopted in 1988 and he believes that the County is coming close to acquiring land or 23 agreements for parks in all of the areas that were identified 20 years ago. He suggested 24 thinking about how to go forward from here. He said that having greenways and parks in the 25 community enables people to avail themselves of amenities regardless of income level. He said 26 that Little River Park has been a success beyond anything envisioned, and it was not even part 27 of the plan. He said that there are 30 people in line for conservation easements, and there is 28 not enough money to do this. Some decisions need to be made about this program. Lastly, he 29 said that there is a natural environment here that people are destroying as fast as they can in 30 the name of growth and development. Orange County is fifth in the state for collisions between 31 deer and cars and it is not the fifth largest county and it is not the fifth most populous. He said 32 that there is a tremendous displacement going on that is irreversible and will affect air quality, 33 water quality, etc. 34 Chair Carey said that he hopes that no one has construed his comments to mean that 35 he is against fulfillment of the Lands Legacy goals or that he is against acquisition of properties. 36 He just wants to strike a balance with land acquisition. He just wants the people that cannot 37 afford to go anywhere else to be able to use the property that the County is acquiring because 38 the taxpayers are paying for it. 39 Commissioner Foushee agreed with all points made. She said that when they talk about 40 acquisition of lands for preservation, they also have to talk about what is available for affordable 41 housing, what funds and land are left, and how affordable the rest of the land is going to be, 42 given that the County is acquiring lands for preservation. She said that there does have to be a 43 balance. The County Commissioners have to determine what that balance is. 44 Commissioner Nelson said that it is a good idea with any program to assess what your 45 goals are, which ones have been met, and where you are going. He suggested updating the 20 46 year-old master park plan and Commissioner Gordon said that it is on the list. 47 Andy Sachs asked how soon the County Commissioners would want this on the agenda. 48 Commissioner Jacobs suggested, regarding acquiring conservation easements, that 49 since there is a finite amount of money, the County Commissioners need to decide if they want 50 the program to be maintained without running out of money.