Minutes 02-07-2012 - Laserfiche WebLink

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McGowan Creek (areas are currently classified as Agricultural Residential and proposed for 10- Year Transition). VOTE: UNANIMOUS Commissioner Jacobs made reference to page 11 of the minutes and the Efland-Mebane Small Area Plan Implementation Focus Group that had suspended working on design guidelines. There are plans to have them on the May Quarterly Public Hearing and it is not a forgotten project. He wanted to clarify where this stands. Planner Perdita Holtz said that they are meeting shortly as. staff to discuss items for the May Quarterly Public Hearing. At this point, it is still on there as a template. d. Amendments to 2030 Comprehensive Plan Text (CP 2011-06) The Board received the Planning Board recommendation, considered closing the public hearing, and making a decision on Planning Director initiated amendments to certain sections of the Orange County 2030 Comprehensive Plan. Special Projects Planner Shannon Berry said that this item was heard at the November 21, 2011 Quarterly Public Hearing. No members of the public spoke to the amendment at that time. Based on the discussion at the public hearing, there were two changes made in the packet. LU 3.1 and 3.6 were revised. Attachment 2 reflects the amended text. The Planning Board unanimously recommended approval of the proposed amendments. Commissioner Gordon said that when the Comprehensive Plan was originally passed, there was discussion about the definition of the transition area. She said that the 10 and 20-year transition area should not be deleted. This was discussed extensively when the Comprehensive Plan was originally passed. Commissioner Gordon made reference to page 45 and the language about the Chapel Hill and Carrboro Transition Area. This should also not be deleted. A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs to approve Attachment Two with the amendments of keeping the language about the transition areas. Commissioner Yuhasz asked staff to comment on these changes and why the phrases about the transition areas were stricken. Shannon Berry said that the language on page 45 was not deleted but only moved to page 44. Commissioner Gordon withdrew that part of her motion. Shannon Berry said that, with regard to the Commercial Transition Activity Node, the language that says, "within the 10- or 20-year transition," this was deleted because the 10-year transition and the 20-year transition are also land use classifications. They are mutually exclusive. Based on how it appears on the map, one could not have another land use within another land use. The commercial transition activity node is separate from the 10-year and 20-year transition activity node. Commissioner Gordon said that the language defining transition areas should be picked up and not deleted. Planning Director Craig Benedict said that the original land use plan from 1981 did allow the overlaps and said the 10- and 20-year transition areas are the areas that were intended to have urban style growth. On top of that transition area, there were commercial industrial activity nodes. In the new comprehensive plan, the land uses are independent. Commissioner Jacobs said that theoretically, there could be a node in the middle of the rural buffer at the intersection of I-40 and New Hope Church Road because it does not say anything about water and sewer, it just says near a major transportation route. He thinks that Commissioner Gordon is trying to qualify it in a way that it is logically consistent with what was mentioned for the transition areas. Commissioner Gordon suggested picking up some of the language from page 18, and she read, "land located at major road intersections or near major transportation routes that could be provided with public water and wastewater services and is appropriate for retail or other commercial uses." On page 53, it should say the same thing.