Minutes 03-24-2011 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Gary Shope said that when they look at this collaboration they are trying to provide leadership and look at things that have worked in the past and what has not worked in the past. He said that the interest is in helping these communities with their own economic development vision and this will be done very slowly. Jim Ward said that Carrboro was conspicuously missing in these conversations and he asked if this was an intentional omission. Frank Clifton said that Orange County staff has had some talks with Carrboro's Economic Development Director before he left and asked him what Orange County could do to help them. Gary Shope said that he did have a discussion with the Town Manager of Carrboro and the town just hired a new Economic Development Director and once this person starts, there can be more dialogue. Mayor Kleinschmidt said that the Town of Chapel Hill has realized that economic development in Hillsborough helps Chapel Hill and vice versa and the same thing is going to be true with Orange County and Carrboro. He said that Chapel Hill has the brand and they want to help all of the communities. Commissioner Gordon clarified that the Board was going to be considering the '/4-cent sales tax at the April 5th Commissioners' meeting. c) Incentive Policy Discussions (Need and Formalization) Frank Clifton said that in order to attract businesses, there must be some standard of investment that the municipalities are willing to make. He said that the County does not have a lot of experience with this. He said that the investment in education is a kind of incentive. He said that the County wants to be in a position to discuss incentive plans and what might be available. Since the County is not in the utility business, it is hard to offer those things. He would feel more comfortable if the County had some kind of standard. He thinks that this is worth pursuing and formalizing. Gary Shope said that whatever incentives are done at the local level would be folded into the statewide incentives. The State has stepped up to the plate in a large way depending on the project. Gene Pease said that Chapel Hill has told its professionals that it wants to be in the game and you cannot be in the game without professional tools. He hopes that Orange County does the same thing. Chair Pelissier said that there has been a lot of reference so far to bringing in businesses from outside, but it really does not mean that. She has been approached by people that have grown up in this community that want to start some kind of industry in Orange County. d) Phase II of County Unified Development Ordinance Process Craig Benedict said that another part of the economic development tool is the process of the Unified Development Ordinance. This is a framework that includes all aspects from the environment, process, and committed uses. Of the 250,000 acres in the County, only 16% of it is scheduled for urban growth. Thirteen percent of that is all of the towns combined and 3% of it is scheduled in the County's economic development districts. Phase II is to look at targeting industries and making it easier and more expedited for industries to come into the County. Jim Ward said that there is concern that slight changes in the wording in the UDO may make it more difficult to keep the rural buffer intact. Roger Stancil said that Council Member Penny Rich had some specific concerns but she is not here tonight.