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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: April 3, 2012 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. -7 - Ct <br />SUBJECT: Durham - Chapel Hill - Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization Boundary <br />Amendment Options <br />DEPARTMENT: Planning and Inspections <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />1. Map - DCHC MPO Before /After 2009 <br />2. Map - Existing DCHC MPO Boundary - <br />Mebane Area <br />3. 2/23/12 Staff Meeting Minutes <br />4. Map - Option 1, Proposed B -G MPO <br />Existing and Proposed <br />5. Map - Option 2, DCHC MPO Existing <br />and Orange County Staff Option <br />6. Map - Composite Showing MPO Areas <br />Potentially Reverting to RPO <br />PUBLIC HEARING: (YIN) No <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Tom Altieri, 245 -2579 <br />Craig Benedict, 245 -2575 <br />PURPOSE: To provide feedback to staff on amendment options to the Durham - Chapel Hill - <br />Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization boundary in the vicinity of the City of Mebane. <br />BACKGROUND: During the winter of 2009, the Durham - Chapel Hill- Carrboro Metropolitan <br />Planning Organization (DCHC MPO), with Orange County's approval and assistance, expanded <br />its boundaries to the west. Attachment 1 shows the DCHC MPO boundary before and after the <br />expansion. The intent of the amendment was to expand the DCHC boundary along the general <br />area of the 1- 40/1 -85 corridor to meet and coincide with the Burlington- Graham (B -G) MPO <br />boundary. However, this was not actually accomplished because the B -G boundary used was <br />never approved by' the State. While for many years North Carolina Department of <br />Transportation ( NCDOT) and DCHC MPO staff had been using the boundary for mapping <br />purposes, further research by NCDOT revealed that it was not the State approved boundary. <br />As a result, gaps between the two MPOs exist today and also a small area of overlap, as shown <br />in red on Attachment 2. NCDOT plans to correct this overlap by deleting the overlap area from <br />the B -G MPO. <br />What's Next: Both MPO boundaries need to be formally amended to meet at a mutually <br />acceptable boundary. Although the MPOs will take the lead in formal actions, the DCHC MPO <br />will not proceed until the Orange County BOCC provides a recommendation. At a February 23, <br />2012 joint staff meeting (Minutes, Attachment 3) of all interested parties, it was conceptually <br />agreed that boundary Option 1, provided as Attachment 4, would be presented to the BOCC for <br />its consideration. <br />