Minutes - 19990421 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Planning Director Craig Benedict said there are two categories, Long Range Planning and Current Planning. The Sustainability goal, which is now a goal, will remain in Long-Range Planning. There will be an objective under Sustainability that includes economic development. Also under Long Range Planning will be Shaping Orange County's Future and the Comprehensive Plan update. He said in the previous meeting, it was mentioned that there is a need to update the comprehensive plan. Within that update, maintaining the comprehensive transportation planning process will be covered. Another overarching area is Cooperative Planning Agreements. In this goal there is Hillsborough, Mebane, and then small area plans. Also under Long Range Planning is Analysis of Fiscal Impacts of Growth and Development and the Public School Impact Tax and/or Fee. He said those two items are more research oriented. He said that Rural Character Preservation was no longer under Long Range Planning and he feels that it might be time to take the Rural Character Preservation goals and put them into Current Planning. This would allow them to move forward with regulations to implement the goals instead of just having the study out there. The objectives within Rural Character Preservation are Farmland Preservation, Flexible Development Standards, and Visual Resource Protection. He said the Board needs to decide if these items should be under Long Range Planning or Current Planning. Chair Gordon said placing these goals under Current Planning was discussed at the last meeting and it was fine. Commissioner Jacobs said that at the retreat the Board agreed that, without specifically discussing the rural buffer, that they would review the findings of the Rural Character study and see how they applied. Craig Benedict said he would get copies of the changes to those who may be missing pages. He said that there were three things that were compiled to make the new goal, Farmland Preservation, Visual Resource Protection, and the Flexible Development Plan. Commissioner Brown asked if when Craig Benedict comes back with issues on TDR that he show the linkage. Commissioner Jacobs made reference to the transition areas and said that his understanding is that the Comprehensive Plan Update would be done after the completion of the work being done by the Shaping Orange County's Future committee. Craig Benedict said that was correct and that they were going to be doing some groundwork for the Comprehensive Plan Update. He said that the plan he has now is from 1981, and it generalizes transition areas, urban areas, and rural areas. There are some other more current plans that would give the Board more direction on what densities could go in those transition areas. Commissioner Jacobs said that it might make sense to identify the transition areas that the Board wants to target now as opposed to waiting longer. Craig Benedict said that he feels that there is some urgency to fix the plan and have everything conform to that plan so there is more direction. Chair Gordon feels that there are compelling reasons to do the parks in Orange County for which the Board has land use control, and that the rural buffer should be a separate case. She said that if the Board decided they wanted to do something later, that they could have it as a separate item. She thinks Shaping Orange County's Future should be kept separate before they go through the process of putting it through the joint planning mechanism. She said the citizens do not really want it to be changed. Commissioner Brown made reference to a subdivision that came in and where the developers were allowed to put the septic systems anywhere which essentially ruined the rural buffer. Chair Gordon said that this is a specific regulation. Commissioner Brown said that she would like to look at the possibility of having a backup site for a conventional septic system.