Minutes - 20021009 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Aldermen of Carrboro. She agrees with Mr. Dorosin that we have the same goals— sustainable and environmentally sound development. However, they may have different interpretations of those goals and different ideas about how to achieve them. She would like the Board of County Commissioners to be kept in a decision-making role in this process. Mayor Nelson made reference to Ms. London's comment about not having representation and said that this has come up several times in their public meetings. He encouraged her to request annexation if this is an issue. Linda Hock is a Carrboro resident and lives at the end of Bolin Creek. She said that she gets to vote for both the Aldermen and the Board of County Commissioners. She said that the boards are representatives of the citizens. Secondly, she made reference to the comment from Chair Jacobs that this is a preliminary stage. She said that the track record is that this is not true. She said that eight months of County and Town time has been spent on this already. She said that this is already a train in motion. Thirdly, in terms of what the developer said about affordability, she has watched repeatedly the cry of affordability as the reason to pass these kinds of developments. She said that there is no tracking by our government officials as to whether there is truly affordability when these things are built out. Lastly, she said that this is the most biologically sensitive area that we have. She challenged the Chapel Hill Town Council to understand the safety and flooding issues that they are putting their town at risk for. She showed some pictures of the flooding that could happen with this dense development. Sue Holshen lives on one of the tributaries by a flood plain in Camden Place. She said that it is ironic that we have all these meetings and plans and proposals and a bulldozer takes out very old trees behind her house. She said that the area was completely cleared. She called the Town of Carrboro and the planning people came out immediately and asked him to stop clearing. Unfortunately, it was too late and this vegetation cannot be replaced. She said that no one is accountable because there is a plan in place that says that he could not do this, but he did it. She has no confidence in how the Winmore plan is going to unfold if this is what is happening right next door to her. Susan Drake lives at 1009 Camden Lane. She said that one month ago Brian Voyce stood in front of the Board of County Commissioners and asked how the citizens of the Northern Transition zone could transfer their town designation from one town to the other. She congratulated Chapel Hill. She said that Mr. Voyce was assured that he would get an answer to this question, and no answer has come to date. She said that she has seen no action from her designated town to make her feel welcome, so she must assume that she is not welcome into this family of citizens and they are ready to move forward and to pursue a change in town designation within what is left of the Northern Transition zone. Brenden Meyer (a young boy) said that he is worried about Bolin Creek because he has seen the clear cutting right up to the creek on Camden Lane. He asked what would happen when 200 houses were built. He asked why we should add to the population in the schools and lower the water supply when the schools are over crowded and the water supply is low. He said that he and his friends play in the woods that are about to be cut down. He suggested making it a nature preserve instead. Brian Voyce said that, according to the Winmore developers, the only reason this audience is upset is fear of the unknown. He said that they have studied the Winmore plans and they know exactly what is coming and that is what they fear. He said that Winmore would destroy the environment, would not help the schools, would not reduce traffic, or would not create a better lifestyle. He said that the people in Winmore would be going to the dreaded RTP because the houses would be built before the jobs. He thanked the elected officials for giving him the opportunity to speak, and particularly the Board of County Commissioners that have listened to them at meetings and have read mail. He asked those in the audience to stand if they felt that they had not been served by the existing planning process. He said that without citizen involvement, a village would already be rising over a clear-cut forest. Chair Jacobs thanked Mr. Voyce and said that they have devoted an hour to Winmore so that the Aldermen and Town Council members could hear the concerns. He said that the Board of County Commissioners believes that the elected officials are trying hard to represent the best interests of the citizens of their jurisdiction and of the overall citizens of Orange County. He made reference to the next item, which has to do with extending for 20 years some of the most important parts of the joint planning agreement. He said that there would be more public hearings both in Carrboro and in Orange County.