ORD-2008-012 - Orange Co Zoning Ordinance -Buckhorn Rd Associates LLC Rezoning

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green stuff, then we're going to have to develop on the stuff that's already messed up. So, this is a brown field in existence at the intersection of major transit corridors, and is the exact sort of place that you in your good wisdom in 1981 began talking about. Many of the previous speakers spoke eloquently on the nexus between successful economy and successful community, and that's one that's going to get more and more important, and we need to generate revenue to support the things that we want. What I'm going to hand into you is, at our expense we hired a graduate student of the Department of City Regional Planning to use a software program to project a construction grid and all of the economic impacts of the project. Many of the numbers you have heard here today, with an estimated total of 2,465 jobs created both through the construction phase as well as the retail sector, 1,700 of those filled by Orange County residents; the sales tax revenue of almost $900,000 during the construction phase for Orange County, and $2.5 million totally; and another $5.5 million in sales tax revenue projected every year once it begins, plus million of dollars in property tax revenue. That's an extraordinary opportunity to do the things that you all have long set out and desired for the County. I'm pleased to be part of it and to be here expressing our organization's support and congratulations. He added that he had not been sworn in. The Clerk swore in the remaining speakers. Tom Studemayer: We've heard lots of testimony, a lot of it very moving, and a lot of it very emotional. I don't have a lot of details, I don't have a lot of charts, I don't have a lot of facts. I bring simply my experience growing up in a community not in Orange County that did not have a plan for smart growth. I also bring it as a local businessman who deals with residents of Orange County daily. In my business, I do a lot of tax planning. The one tax plan that I can't help them with is their property tax, and it is about the single biggest complaint that I hear. So my question simply is, if not here, where? If not now, when? And if not these folks, who? I enjoy the rural nature of Orange County just like everyone else. Clients give me the pleasure of the use of their land during hunting and fishing seasons and I enjoy it immensely. It's how I grew up, and I would hate to see that go away. This property and the decision to develop this property was made long before I took residence here. If not now, when? As stated, the residential property tax burden that the citizens of Orange County are bearing is crushing. Our school systems are crushing under that burden as well. This is a small parcel of one EDD that would bring infrastructure, which I hope will make room for the small businesses and the start- ups that don't have the shoulders and the Ph. D's that are leveraging our homes and our mortgages to start businesses and putting their families at risk that are now taking those businesses outside Orange County because they don't have room to build in here. I would prefer to see this in downtown Hillsborough or downtown Carrboro. That's not your fight. If not these folks, who? Business, from a transactor's point of view, is a one-time deal. You come in, you either buy what you want or the service you receive, and then leave. But from my side of the desk, it's my lifetime pursuit. The assumption that folks that live here and work here are somehow going to ravage the communities that they serve is just bad business. I leave you with those three points - if not here, where? If not now, when? And if not them, who? Because growth is coming, and if you squeeze it out of Orange County, your problems are going to get worse. Tatiana Jones: I live at 610 Buckhorn Road. If you would look at section 3, I am part of the road front that is not included in the development. I have two small children -one who is three years old, one that is five months old. My children can't play outside as it is now on the weekends because of the traffic from the flea market. If this comes in, being that we are not included, my house will still be there. My children could still not play outside. Another thing that someone touched on earlier was the traffic. No one mentioned anything about the traffic on I-