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