Agenda - 05-08-2014 - 6a - Laserfiche WebLink

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14 1 impact of annexation and water rates on houses of various price points to help 2 neighborhoods determine what is in their best interest. 3 4 The town is willing to release the 400 acres of ETJ to the County without receiving 5 additional acreage in return. These areas are difficult to serve with utilities and are unlikely 6 to be considered for annexation, so releasing them from the ETJ manages expectations 7 more clearly. This process does involve notice and public hearings by both entities. 8 9 Commissioner Dorosin said an ETJ is an unusual situation where residents are subject 10 to the control of a governing body that they have no power to elect. He feels that when this was 11 first adopted by the legislature, the trade-off was that cities got the control beyond their borders, 12 because the areas ultimately become annexed and become part of the city. He said, given the 13 changes in annexation laws, this is not going to happen, and much of the areas here are 14 already developed. He said he does not see any rational justification for subjecting these 15 residents to the additional level of oversight by a board to which they have no political voice. 16 Margaret Hauth said she has struggled to find an upside for the residents, other than to 17 say that in North Carolina it's nice to have ETJ's around city limits. 18 Commissioner Dorosin said this is also not a situation where you have two cities butting 19 up against each other with the ETJ as a buffer. He said this gives him a tremendous amount of 20 reluctance. He said any of these areas, in the ETJ or not, could be voluntarily annexed. 21 He asked about the demographics for the areas being let out. 22 Margaret Hauth said most of this area is Duke Forest, and the others are very low 23 density areas. She said there are only about 22 property owners. 24 Commissioner Dorosin said given all of that, he feels that this change merits a much 25 closer review. 26 Commissioner Gordon asked if the proposal, as referenced it the "What's Next" section 27 of the handout, is proposing that this just stop. 28 Margaret Hauth said the boards could just stop, but the town is still willing to give the 29 400 acres back to Orange County, as it is unreasonable to have this in the town's ETJ to begin 30 with. This would be a release, instead of a swap. 31 Margaret Hauth said there is no benefit to fully implementing the interlocal agreement if 32 this is done. She said, after this step, the agreement just calls for even more areas to be 33 treated as quasi ETJ. 34 Commissioner Gordon said this is sounding like an argument not to do this. She 35 summarized that what the board would like to do is: not change the interlocal agreement; 36 release the 400 acres to Orange County; and not expand the ETJ. 37 Margaret Hauth said it would be best, since there is a sunset provision, to have both 38 boards pass a joint resolution after these two things are done, that this will not continue. 39 Chair Jacobs said part of the original purpose of the interlocal agreement was to set 40 boundaries for growth and to memorialize a joint vision of how Hillsborough and its 41 surroundings would grow or not grow. He said if the boards think it is sufficient to stop now, he 42 wants to make sure that there is preservation of the fact that there is an agreement that 43 envisions certain elements as to what the surroundings of Hillsborough will be. He said there 44 was essentially an agreement that there would be a collar of lower density for the benefit of 45 both parties. He does not want this to be lost, and it is consistent with this to take the 400 acres 46 and put it into a lower density use. 47 He said it may be the best decision to stop, but he wants to make sure both parties 48 agree that this is stopping at a place that is consistent with the vision that was articulated.