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and trucks that violate the speed limit and drop trash everywhere. Reverend Campbell asked the Council to <br />visit the area at length before making a decision. <br />Robert Cox, athirty-year resident of Orange County and a former president of the Sierra Club, spoke against <br />the proposed rezoning request on the grounds that it would be premature, unwise, and unjust. He said that <br />there had not been enough time to look at other proposed uses for that land, and to determine what would be <br />the highest and best use. Mr. Cox said that rezoning would not only be unwise but would be a potentially <br />inequitable resolution of both housing and solid waste management in the County. He suggested that <br />Officials slow down and take the time to act with prudence and equity. <br />Sally Council noted that two families {the Nunns and the Blackwaods} had made room far all that have come <br />here, and at an enormous price. She noted that the landfill was built in the middle of their neighborhood 28 <br />years ago. Since then, Ms. Council pointed out, the population of Orange County has grown from 58,000 to <br />110,000 and the population of Chapel Hill and Carrboro has increased from 29,000 to 60,000. She argued <br />that no other neighborhood has absorbed the rest of the County's debris like those along Eubanks and <br />Rogers Roads. <br />Ms. Council reviewed the history of the Greene Tract, and stated that it was not clear what it was being asked <br />to handle. She said that if the Council approved rezoning the Greene Tract, it would again be marked in a <br />way unlike any other tract in the County. Ms. Council asked Council members how they were able to commit <br />to an action that requires a public hearing without first holding the public hearing. She asked the <br />Commissioners how they could make this resolution a condition of transfer before holding a public hearing. <br />She asked if by signing a prior agreement the two bodies had already decided the outcome of the hearing, <br />and, if so, why were they all there? <br />Ms. Council questioned if the process was legal, asking why the process is not arbitrary and unduly <br />discriminatory. She added that it would be just as bad to go back aver to the inactive landfill on Eubanks <br />Road because those who live near one live near the other and they deserve a chance to recover. Ms. <br />Council said that using this land far a transfer station closes hope for better uses. She said that the <br />Council's assurances are empty without its vote for denial, which would be the last chance to change <br />directions. <br />Fred Simon, who lives within 1,000 feet of the Greene Tract, requested answers to the following: <br />• What exactly is a materials handling district? <br />• What are the materials? <br />• Are they toxic, sooty, and/or smelly? <br />• Do they attract big birds, or mice, or breed mosquitoes? <br />• Is the material large, small, wet, or dry? <br />• Would it be permanently or briefly stashed on the site? <br />• Inside or outside? <br />• What kind of building is proposed? <br />• Would the building be noisy? <br />• Would it have bright lights? <br />• What about the impact on traffic? <br />• Why does the County need sixty acres? <br />• How will this facility affect nearby neighborhoods? <br />• Could the land be put to a better more productive use as arevenue-producing asset ar a recreational <br />area? <br />• How does the proposal fit in with the Northwest Area Development Plan? <br />Mr. Simon suggested that the elected officials take care not to squander along-term resource for a short-term <br />accommodation. <br />