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the country. So please think about that. Drainage, we have multiple concerns about drainage.
<br />We have a flow going down West Ten Road, and you ask for legal and whatever examples, my
<br />example would be Crabtree Mall back when we had rain. Every time there was rain, they had
<br />flooding and drainage issues, and that may impact us. The other thing, we moved to where we
<br />are because we liked country life, we like clean, green living. All of us in our neighborhood have
<br />pets, we do organic farming, organic bee-keeping. This will all be threatened by the pollution
<br />and traffic, and I still have to talk about the traffic coming off of Buckhorn Road, and we're going
<br />to widen it. I mean, we have to be in a dreamland to think that people are not going to take side
<br />roads like West Ten all the way down past where we live. We're just going to have traffic,
<br />pollution, and have you thought about, back to Gravelly Hill Middle School., the affect of this
<br />traffic in December and November and shopping times on school bus traffic. My last thing, so
<br />many people have already covered, again, so many intelligent people here, and this is all we
<br />can think of is a mall. I can guarantee you that all of us that are driving out of the County are
<br />not going to stay here to work, because we will not be working in the mall for minimum wage.
<br />The last thing is, my husband and I used to live in Pittsburgh, and I talk about the shortcuts.
<br />The one thing they did in the mall that was abandoned, it grew up and was a beautiful mall, and
<br />literally five to six years later, it was abandoned and an eyesore. Somebody went in there and
<br />redid this mall, and some of things they did would have music festivals. And the other thing
<br />thought -make this a green area, make it a park where people can come in and play volleyball,
<br />ping-pong tournaments -things like that where you have other areas where they can still come
<br />in, still spend money. A theater, for heaven's sake, maybe Carrboro and Chapel Hill do, but we
<br />don't. I'm not talking about movies; I'm talking about a theater with plays, both outdoor and
<br />indoor. There are thousands of good small businesses coming in here. Try to find other
<br />businesses that will develop in this area in a green atmosphere, but not a mall. And don't ruin
<br />our homes, please.
<br />Becky Bolinger: I have been sworn in. I'm a resident of Efland. I'm Karen's neighbor. Mostly
<br />what I wrote down has already been said, but I just wanted to be on record that I do not think
<br />this would be very good for our community. I don't think it's the right direction to go when we're
<br />in a big global warming crisis. Mike Collins, I think everything he said is something you should
<br />really consider.
<br />Mike Swaim: I have been sworn. I live a mile from the proposed development site. What I
<br />would like to do tonight is propose an idea for the developers and for the County
<br />Commissioners. I apologize to you in advance if this idea is something you're fairly sick of
<br />hearing about. Asa 20-year resident of Orange County, the general Buckhorn area, I've been
<br />hearing proposals for this region west of Orange for quite some time. Initially, I was extremely
<br />dismayed that one of the plans was to turn the Jockey lot into a giant retail center. It seems that
<br />that would just increase congestion in an area that locals have been avoiding on weekends for a
<br />long time, due to flea market traffic. Over the years, I've watched Hillsborough and Mebane
<br />struggle with decisions regarding big box retailers and ever-expanding retail sprawl, with Efland
<br />caught right in between. It seems to me that simply attempting to halt proposed retail space
<br />expansion rarely works well. If anything, in this case, it might just move the project down the
<br />interstate a few exits in neighboring Alamance, meaning that once again, Orange could see no
<br />benefits but still experience the negative consequences of increased traffic. So, I have an idea
<br />on how this area might be developed in a manner that would benefit residents in both Orange
<br />and Alamance Counties and still meet the larger goals of The Village Project and distinctly
<br />different than Buckhorn Village. What Buckhorn Village needs is a regional farmers' market, a
<br />regularly daily schedule coupled with a restaurant featuring locally-grown products and an art
<br />consignment gallery featuring works by local artists and craftspeople. There are a number of
<br />reasons why Buckhorn exchange area is neatly suited to a regional farmers' market. Both the
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