Orange County NC Website
35 <br /> 1 see the people who sat on this committee and made these recommendations. He referenced <br /> 2 the discussion about sidewalks and said he does not know how safe walkways would be on <br /> 3 highway 70. He asked that this issue remain open. He said the Efland Ruritans would be <br /> 4 happy to hold this event in Efland. <br /> 5 Doug Efland said he owns property in the Efland village area. He said he has a lot of <br /> 6 questions, and he would like this to continue with some sort of public meeting in Efland. He said <br /> 7 there are a lot of things that are alarming or hard to understand in the proposed text. He <br /> 8 referenced shared right of ways and other parts of the text that he did not understand. He <br /> 9 referenced the section on easement agreements between contiguous parcel owners and asked <br /> 10 what incentive it is for an adjacent property owner to enter an agreement with you if there are no <br /> 11 plans to develop their property. He said there are certainly questions. He questioned the <br /> 12 stipulations on connecting roadways to the east and west side of Mount Willing. He asked that <br /> 13 this discussion be continued. <br /> 14 Ben Lloyd said urban to him is Chapel Hill, Charlotte or New York City. He said Efland is <br /> 15 a sleepy little community where most of the residents have been living there all of their lives. He <br /> 16 said this small area study has been going on for 20 years and notice of this public hearing was <br /> 17 given 15 days ago. He has taken a quick look at this plan, and it would take a lawyer to pick all <br /> 18 this stuff out. He said the people in the Efland community need to have the opportunity to have <br /> 19 some input into this plan. He asked for an open Efland community meeting, followed by a public <br /> 20 hearing for general public input. <br /> 21 He said he has a letter from Joseph Forrest and he asked what to do with that. He read <br /> 22 the letter and asked it to be entered into the record. <br /> 23 Bill Efland said he also agrees with having the hearing in Efland. He asked if the <br /> 24 residents are privy to having the names of the people on the Mebane Efland small area plan <br /> 25 committee. He asked if there were any Efland family members on that committee and he said <br /> 26 he feels that they should have been involved in this process. <br /> 27 Commissioner McKee said there were Efland folks on this committee. He said he would <br /> 28 share the list of names after the meeting. <br /> 29 Lindsey Efland said he has had 40 years of Orange County government saving us from <br /> 30 ourselves. He said when all is said and done this language affects approximately ten parcels of <br /> 31 land. He said there are only a few developable properties. He said it has also been noted that <br /> 32 he community has not been part of the planning process of late. He said this is a significant <br /> 33 change for the future of the community and there is not any understandable language as it <br /> 34 relates to the re-development of buildings. He feels work needs to be done on this and local <br /> 35 input should be involved. He respectfully requests that the public hearing be continued while <br /> 36 planning staff works with land owners to help them, and the planning board, understand the full <br /> 37 implications of what is going on. <br /> 38 Mike Efland questioned how many landowners of involved parcels were on the <br /> 39 committee. He wants to know whose brainchild this is. <br /> 40 Brian Efland said there are a lot of Eflands from Efland, and he is not aware of any who <br /> 41 were on the committee. He feels that stake holders should be involved in these decisions. He <br /> 42 noted the large number of community members present, and he said no one who sees this likes <br /> 43 it. He would like to see continued discussion in the community. <br /> 44 Commissioner McKee said this came before the Board a year ago, and he still does not <br /> 45 like it. He feels this should be sent back to staff with instructions to work with the affected <br /> 46 community to address their concerns. He said this is not a countywide zoning overlay; it affects <br /> 47 a very small number of people in a very big way, and these people need to be involved upfront. <br /> 48 He understands there was a public meeting two years ago, but there have been changes made. <br /> 49 He does not think the public hearing needs to be held over, but this should be sent back to staff <br /> 50 instead. <br />