Agenda - 03-19-2013 - 5a - Laserfiche WebLink

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4 1 2 6. Public Hearings 3 4 a. Public Transit Implementation Resolutions 5 The Board conducted a public hearing on, and considered approval of, resolutions 6 authorizing Triangle Transit Authority ("TTA") to levy a 'A-cent transit tax in Orange County, 7 authorizing Orange County to levy a $7 vehicle registration tax in Orange County, and an 8 additional $3 vehicle TTA registration tax in Orange County and authorizing the Chair to sign. 9 Chair Jacobs read the above statement. 10 John Roberts said that many meetings have been spent discussing transit and these are 11 the next steps in the process, for Durham County and Orange County to request that TTA levy 12 the 'A-cent sales tax and the additional vehicle registration fee and tax. 13 14 PUBLIC COMMENT: 15 Dave Laodicina thanked the County Commissioners for pursuing this transit plan. He 16 said that this is a start, but there are many pieces to it. He said that urban centers will be built 17 where people live and work and will be built around the transit stations. He is ready for this plan 18 to get started. 19 Bonnie Hauser spoke for Smart Transit for Orange County, which is a group of Town 20 and County citizens. She said that they support transit but they do have questions about the 21 plan. She said that Orange County plans to spend $660 million over the next 23 years; 70% of 22 which, about $500 million, will go to light rail service. The plan relies on federal and state 23 grants. According to the plan, Orange County will add 34,000 bus hours in the first four years, 24 about 18% to a base of 203,000 hours. By contrast, Durham will add 50,000 in the first three 25 years, about 28%. Wake County, who has not yet endorsed the plan, will double its bus hours 26 if it chooses to opt in. Charlotte spent 10 years building bus service in preparation for light rail. 27 She said that frequent, convenient bus service is essential to build transit ridership. She 28 showed a spreadsheet from the transit plan appendices that show how transit dollars will be 29 spent between now and 2020. She said that from the start, the bulk of the funds will go to Light 30 Rail Transit and not bus service as has been represented to the public. 31 In addition to the sales tax, the Board will consider a $10 vehicle registration fee, a 30% 32 increase to the $33 fee; 50% if you count the $5 that TTA has already levied. No other county, 33 including Durham or Charlotte, has levied the transit fee. She said that once the County levies 34 the tax or fee, it authorizes TTA to move forward. Changes are governed by the 35 implementation agreement, which requires approval by TTA, the MPO, and the Board of County 36 Commissioners to make any changes. She asked the Board to please consider what happens 37 to the ability to negotiate on behalf of Orange County once it levies the taxes and fees. 38 Del Snow read a prepared statement: 39 "I'm Del Snow and I'm the chair the Chapel Hill Planning Board. I am proud that our 40 board is decidedly pro-transit, and although we are pleased that the voters have shown their 41 support for a '/2 cent sales tax, we have informed the Town Council that we do not support the 42 MPO 2040 transportation plan that the TTA plan is based on. Our unanimous decision was 43 based on many factors. Because of time constraints, I will share only some of them with you 44 tonight. 45 The Planning Board is encouraging the use of responsible data-based decision 46 practices. In view of that, we have serious questions about the plan's population projections. 47 Although a specific critical mass is needed to support transit, no data was presented proving 48 that Chapel Hill could successfully absorb the quantity of housing and commercial building 49 necessary for the type of transit proposed. A significant drawback to the plan is that it does not 50 support many of the Future Focus areas established by the 2020 Comprehensive Plan. These