Orange County NC Website
landfill property, and as such clearly constitutes an extension and expansion of the existing <br /> solid waste uses on and around Eubanks Road, in violation of repeated assurances that no <br /> such expansion would take place. Those historical assurances, it should be noted, have been <br /> premised on the admitted racial and social inequity in further burdening the communities <br /> around and most severely impacted by the landfill and related uses. <br /> The primary factor recommending the Paydarfar site seems to be cost (rated <br /> "important" and allotted 5 points, the lowest ranking for nay criteria). In fact, implicitly <br /> acknowledging the environmental injustice and inequities inherent in the site, staff and some <br /> board members have suggested allocating "some portion of the land purchase differential <br /> between the NC 54 site....and the acquisition reimbursement of the County owned <br /> site....toward a water/sewer solution for the Rogers Road area." <br /> This rationalization for ignoring the due process and the environmental justice issues <br /> presented by the Paydarfar site is a further betrayal of promises made to the Rogers road <br /> community and of the social, racial, and economic justice values that the County and its <br /> residents hold dear. Water and sewer infrastructure improvements in the neighborhood have <br /> been recognized and discussed by local governments and the community as compensation for <br /> bearing the substantial burdens of the County's landfill and solid waste operations for nearly <br /> forty years. While residents believe the County (and other local governments) are genuinely <br /> committed in good faith to provide these long overdue improvements, to suggest that these <br /> remedial measures be considered mitigation or consideration for additional — and potentially <br /> ongoing — solid waste uses perpetuates the legacy of disparate impacts on this under- <br /> resourced minority community, undermines the progress being made to remedy those <br /> inequities, and belies the fundamental values of the County and its residents. As Jonathan <br /> Kozol once said, "Charity is no substitute for justice." <br /> We respectfully request that the BOCC eliminate the Paydarfar site from further <br /> consideration. <br /> Sincerely, <br /> Mark Dorosin <br /> Senior Managing Attorney <br /> Sarah Krishnaraj <br /> Attorney <br /> Chris Lamb said that he is a soccer dad. His sons have played soccer in three different <br /> leagues for the past eight years. He was delighted when the Board of County Commissioners <br /> purchased the Paydarfar site for a park and playing fields. He said that Commissioner Gordon <br /> and Commissioner Jacobs were on the Board at that time when the Board voted unanimously <br /> to purchase the land for this park. He said that on September 1st, the Board directed staff to <br /> research sites for a waste transfer station and one site they looked at was the Paydarfar site, <br /> which borders the Blackwood property on the north and west sides. Since then, the County <br /> staff has had Olver, Inc. perform expensive and questionable site evaluation. In this <br /> evaluation, Olver, Inc. did not mention any impact to the planned Blackwood Park, even <br /> though the plan for the site (Exhibit B) shows that the construction extends beyond the ten- <br /> acre Paydarfar site and into the Blackwood property on two sides. He said that there is also <br /> no mention in the report of a required buffer between the waste transfer station and the park <br /> and no mention of conflicting traffic with 40 or more garbage trucks and minivans filled with <br /> children. He said that having a waste transfer site on this property would degrade the quality <br />