Agenda - 09-06-2012 - 6a - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

56 5. How land is used is a major factor in many aspects of people's lives. Land Use directly affects people's quality of life in a variety of ways. Community character, traffic generation and flow, availability of services and the quality of the natural environment are all affected by Land Use decisions. Indeed, one of local government's principal powers is the authority to control land development so that growth is managed in such a way that negative impacts are minimized and mitigated. 6. Preserve stream corridors and create a network of publicly-accessible trails between developed areas and the Eno River State Park to the north of the focus area and Duke Forest to the south of the Focus Area. Last week residents were informed about an interlocal agreement with Durham that had been recently made. I can find no mention of this agreement anywhere on Orange County's website. This agreement and the process that led to it should be made public. It concerns me that local residents weren't informed that an interlocal agreement was being negotiated with the City of Durham. Affected residents should have been informed and invited to be a part of the process. If the agreement does not include provisions for the City of Durham to abide by the recommendations and policies set forth in Shaping Orange County's future and the Eno Economic District small area plan this should be added to ensure that Durham's policies are aligned with Orange County's. Questions: 1. How will buffering and transitioning of existing and possible future, nonresidential development be accomplished to avoid impacts on existing and new residences? 2. What types of additional nonresidential land uses are to be considered for the area and how will their impact be mitigated? 3. What will be done to protect the environmental integrity of Duke Forest, and 'Eno River State Park and Stoney Creek? Robin Jacobs spoke on behalf of the Eno River Association. She is the Executive Director. She served as the Chair of the Carrboro Planning Board for a little over ten years while the University Lake Watershed Agreements and the Joint Planning Agreement were issued. She distributed a handout. She pointed out a resource protection area that is along Stoney Creek. She said that the Stoney Creek Plan does talk about higher, middle, and lower intensity uses. The plan is totally focused on residential development and is not talking about higher intensity industrial uses. Her concern is that Stoney Creek will have more industrial use. She said that just because there are regulations, it does not mean that the County can control what happens. Jennifer Gunter verified that her father's letter was received and entered into the record. Jim Brown said that it was stated that there is currently no development proposed that is pushing these zoning changes and that this is all in the planning phase. It was answered yes. Jon Arvik asked about a sewage lift station. He has lived within ten miles of one of these at one time. He is concerned about this. He would like to know where this station is and he would like to have public input. He wants to know what it will look like, sound like, smell like, etc. He asked what authority Orange County would have to resist the annexation by Durham. He said that he moved here for a reason and he would like to maintain the quality of life. Craig Benedict said that Orange County would not be choosing a consultant for engineering design until later this summer.