Agenda - 02-27-2014 - 1 - Laserfiche WebLink

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u c) Amtrak Station Update In December, the North Carolina Rail Road (NCRR), Norfolk Southern and Triangle Transit entered a contract to perform a capacity study on the rail corridor to help determine future needs (dual tracking, etc.) which could impact the station or its location. This study was identified last year as the critical next step. The study should be complete in September 2014. Following the capacity study, the Town and Triangle Transit will pursue environmental documentation for the site to continue improving its feasibility for funding. The recent prioritization 3.0 process saw the potential cost of the station balloon to $30 million. This was due to the inclusion of additional track work along with the station. NCDOT Rail staff recommends the scope be reduced to align with the $4 million previously proposed for site access, utilities, parking and a modular station. The Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) has suggested that the $8 million permanent station be included in the Transit Plan and should be pursued since the transit tax supports this phase. The Boards may wish to discuss which option to support. Staff will provide any other information at the meeting, and the Boards can discuss issues related to this item as necessary. No Attachments 3. Town of Hillsborough /Orange County ETJ Adjustment Process New Extra - Territorial Jurisdiction (ETJ) areas can cause some residents to feel unrepresented, even though these are formal planning advisory board representation requirements. Another method of the community staying involved in planning decisions is the creation of an informal planning advisory board for areas that are likely to be `transitioning' from rural to urban or from unincorporated fringe to a more urban environment. In the case of the County's Joint Planning Area (JPA) with Carrboro, an additional planning system was put into place for the unincorporated areas which was named the Northern Transition Area Advisory Committee (NTAAC) with three (3) County and two (2) Town appointed representatives (albeit, all unincorporated areas). This JPA `transition' area was largely contiguous, and this group assisted with town decisions in the area and small area planning efforts in addition to the planning board representation. There are positives and negatives to both systems. The spatial dispersion of the ETJ expansion pockets in the Town of Hillsborough may not lend itself to small area planning. However, the courtesy review system between Orange County and the Town of Hillsborough could be augmented by the additional participation with such an advisory board workgroup. Staff will provide any other information at the meeting, and the Boards can discuss issues related to this item as necessary. No Attachments