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Attachment 3 26 <br /> 4� = �o <br /> Office of the County ' ORANGE+ COUNTY eta <br /> • <br /> Attorney <br /> P.O.BOX 5181, ` `i <br /> 200 S. CAMERON STREET -� <br /> ILLLSBOROUGH,NC 27278 <br /> • <br /> cAxo- <br /> October 17,2013 <br /> Mr.Jerett Yan <br /> OCR External Compliance Program - <br /> U.S. EPA, Office of Civil Rights <br /> (Mail Code 1201A) <br /> 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW <br /> Washington,DC 20460-1000 <br /> • - <br /> Re:EPA File No.: 13R-07-R4 <br /> Dear Mr.Yan: <br /> On June 20, 2013 you informed me in a letter sent via email that the Environmental Protection Agency's <br /> ("EPA")Office of Civil Rights had accepted for investigation an administrative complaint received by EPA - <br /> on April 18,2011 ' <br /> Three months have passed and I have heard nothing regarding this investigation. For that reason I am <br /> writing to address the allegation that Orange County's Planning and Inspections Department <br /> "discriminated on the basis of race by denying water and sewer service to the African American <br /> Residents of the Rogers Road Community:' Specifically, your letter states thelnvestigation is based on a <br /> complaint that alleges Orange County is complicit with the Orange Water and Sewer Authority <br /> ("OWASA"),an independent governmental unit,in a race-based denial of water and sewer service to <br /> residents of the Rogers Road community because Orange County's Planning and inspections <br /> Department did not seek grants similar to the grants received for Buckhorn and Mebane projects. This <br /> allegation is baseless and approaches the level of being a fraudulent misrepresentation. <br /> By way of background both the Buckhorn and Efland(Mebane project)areas are within Orange County's <br /> jurisdiction so noted within its Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Atlas. The area that is the subject of the • <br /> complaint(i.e.Rogers Road Area)is partially within the town limits of the Town of Carrboro and partially <br /> within an area controlled by an adopted interlocal agreement known as the Joint Planning Agreement <br /> ("JPA") between Orange County and Chapel Hill. The Joint Planning Agreement deals with land use. <br /> The two primary areas of the JPA include `Transition'areas(i.e. areas transitioning to a future urban <br /> character)to be administered by the towns and'Rural Buffer';to remain a lower housing density area. <br /> This created an Urban Services delineation which also set the boundary of future town annexations. The <br /> local governments assigned transition areas to implement land development ordinances"...just as if the <br /> land were located within the respective Town's planning jurisdictions." The role of the County in JPA <br /> areas is to comment on land use consistency with the common land use plan map but not to direct <br /> development activities hi areas anticipated for municipal annexation. The Town of Chapel Hill has <br /> notified the county on.its intent to formally change these areas to add them to its extraterritorial <br /> jurisdiction in the immediate future. <br /> • <br /> 1 <br />