Minutes 11-22-2010 - Laserfiche WebLink

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we support having a "level playing field" in which development approval timelines and developer costs in Orange County are no longer significantly more expensive and/or time-consuming than those found elsewhere in the Research Triangle and eastern Triad regions." Mark O'Neal said that he has been a resident of Orange County most of his life and he thanked the staff and Planning Board for completing this task. He said that the County needs to set a tone for Phase II implementation. The property owners need to have a predictable, more streamlined process, which constantly supports economic development. He said that when Durham County passed its UDO a few years back they had to stop and review their land use policies. He said that the business community has the same problem. Whenever they consider Orange County, they first have to look at the timelines, investment, and the risk. Orange County needs available property. Jeremy Browner is an attorney in Chapel Hill and he said that he disagreed with the emails that have been submitted by the public in that the County needs to stay on its current timeline and should not be pushed back because it is of absolute importance. A delay of six months would be very detrimental to the County in terms of trying to develop businesses. He said that the UDO is very complex, but he believes that it should not be extended. Carolyn Crissman lives in Cheeks Township. She said that she works for a small business and she is a 30-year resident of the County. She said that they all share one goal to increase the County's prosperity to maintain the quality of life. To meet this goal, the County must be transformed into something more resilient. The current regulations discourage innovation. The UDO will be more clear, fair, and progressive and could be the foundation of making Orange County resilient instead of brittle. Written comments (emails, etc.) From: Betsy Smith <betsys @nc.rr.com> Date: Mon, 22 Nov 2010 09:27:57 -0500 Subject: Unified Development Ordinance: please slow down! To: bjacobs @co.orange.nc.us, bpelissier @co.orange.nc.us, gordon.alice @gmail.com, mikenelsonnc @aol.com, Vfoushee @co.orange.nc.us, phemminger @bellsouth.net, syuhasz@co.orange.nc.us Dear Board members - I just recently learned of the proposed Unified Development Ordinance at a recent CH Town Council meeting and I am very concerned. This proposed effort to simplify the development process for the sake of improving economic development on first glance appears to favor developers over the concerns of residents and the ordinance itself appears to be fast-tracked with little opportunity for public input or even any attempt to make the proposed changes clear to those who would be most affected by it. Thus I would urge you to postpone the vote on the UDO, extend the timeline to something that is more reasonable given the scope of the changes (and the size of the document!), and make a sincere effort to engage the public in discussions of how development should proceed within Orange County and if we should use this new proposed process. We all know that development simply for the sake of economic reasons is unsustainable and often leads to unintended consequences with associated unplanned for costs. thank you, Betsy Smith 1412 US Hwy 15/501 Orange County