Minutes 02-27-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Craig Benedict said there is an additional step that would be helpful to both jurisdictions. He said the town has moved from a blurry line to a more specific urban service boundary line. He suggested the creation of a water and sewer agreement between Orange County and Hillsborough. He said this would mean if a development proposal comes forward in this area, there will be a discussion by both entities. He said this could be a staff project, and this would give some clarity on the clarity to help anticipate water and sewer potential for economic development projects. He said this will be similar to the Mebane/Orange County agreement. Chair Jacobs asked if this was an amenable concept. Mayor Stevens said this is interesting on the surface, and the town is interested in economic development. He said the town has to pay close attention to capacity. He said there is capacity now, but there are some defined limits. He said he understands having some kind of general agreements, and it is worth a discussion. Eric Hallman said the water and sewer agreement is used to leverage annexation. He said this is worth a discussion by our board. Commissioner Dorosin said there is a line being drawn where water and sewer are and are not available. He does not understand this additional level of negotiation. He said if the development is slated to be within the boundary, they are eligible to have water and sewer, and if they are outside there is no eligibility. He asked if there is some level of subjectivity being reinserted here. Craig Benedict said this is more about what parts that will likely never have water and sewer and which parts could have it. Commissioner Dorosin confirmed that when you are outside the line, the possibility is off. Craig Benedict said just being within the boundary is not a guarantee. He said in the case of Morinaga there needed to be a formal agreement that Mebane, if it extended utilities, would maintain them afterward. He understands that no one wants to earmark water and sewer capacity, but a little more specificity would be good to help keep parties interested and start the negotiation process. Margaret Hauth asked if this agreement would not necessarily apply to the entire urban services boundary, but would focus at the EDD. Craig Benedict said yes. He said this would focus on the new growth areas. He said economic development prospects want to know their likelihood of water and sewer. He said there is an understanding that there are limitations and projects with large usage have been turned down. He said this would just give more specificity and allow for working within the constraints. He said the County is working on the Jordan Lake allocation and wants to know that Hillsborough has water to service the areas within their city limits and ETJ. He said the County will be asking for Jordan Lake allocations and Hillsborough may also be asking for allocations. He said the coordinated planning is very helpful in this. Discussion ensued about colors on the display map for delivery of water and sewer services. Chair Jacobs summarized the following discussion points: • Need to articulate where the boards are stopping and the ramifications of the 400 acres • Decision on whether to Incorporate in to Orange County's comprehensive plan • To have a discussion of possible guidelines for water and sewer for economic development purposes