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plan in November. Michael Harvey said that staff would address this concern. He said that he <br />thinks that the County Commissioners should see at least what the zoning would look like in <br />order to see how it could be implemented. <br />Commissioner Gordon disagreed and said that considering land use changes and <br />zoning amendments at the same time fundamentally changes the process. <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that the Board could consider the items separately even if <br />they are presented at the same time. <br />Kim Foushee, Director of Operations of Orange County Speedway, spoke on behalf of <br />the Speedway. She said that at this time the Speedway cannot economically go forward with <br />conforming should this proposal go all the way through. She said that the Speedway still plans <br />to be a good neighbor and continue to operate in a manner that it has during the past year. She <br />asked if the nonconforming use designation applied to the entire property or only a part. She <br />said that she has 118 acres, but it is not using all of this to support the racing activity. There are <br />some agricultural activities that the Speedway has plans for on some of this property. She <br />asked that this plan, after it is implemented, not manipulate the manner in which the activities <br />have been operating. She said that the residential neighbors are concerned about being <br />pushed out of their area with businesses coming in. <br />3. Transfer of Development Rights fTDR) Update: An update on the status of TDR will <br />be presented. <br />Planning Director Craig Benedict introduced UNC-Charlotte -Charlotte Urban Institute <br />representative Vicki Bott and Lisa Murphy from Louis Berger Group. He said that there are <br />existing regulations within the ordinances, such as density bonuses and receiving areas, and <br />there may be a Strategic Growth and Rural Conservation Program as opposed to a TDR <br />Program. He said that staff has been working diligently to look at the implementation <br />mechanics of the program. <br />Vicki Batt made a presentation. The Strategic Growth and Rural Conservation Program <br />envisions three parts to the transactions: A voluntary extinguishment of development rights <br />through a conservation easement on one property, in exchange for a density bonus awarded to <br />another property in a designated growth area. The owners of the properties would have a <br />private, contractual agreement. <br />There are 3 phases: <br />- Program and Administrative Design {90% complete -done by next month) <br />- Implementation Plan (in process -done in October) <br />- Public Hearing and Adoption (November) <br />There is a draft Standard Easement Form, which was developed from the Lands Legacy <br />documents. There is also a tracking mechanism or log for keeping up with who has expressed <br />interest and a tracking log for transactions. <br />Vicki Bott showed acolor-coded map showing potential conservation areas. <br />Commissioner Gordon asked if the red areas were exactly the same as the County's <br />existing boundaries for these nodes. Vicki Bott said that these are parcel based, so the red <br />includes properties within a quarter mile of the center of the rural community nodes. <br />Commissioner Gordon asked how this relates to the comprehensive planning process. <br />Vicki Bott said that the land use plan is a policy guidance document, and this program will end <br />up with ordinance implementations. There will be a zoning overlay that will describe the districts <br />as a growth area overlay district or a conservation area district. <br />Commissioner Gordon asked what would be done about utilities -water and sewer. <br />Vicki Bott said that the eight units per acre is appropriate for the growth areas that are served by <br />