Agenda - 02-01-1994-IX-A - Laserfiche WebLink

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2 approximately 3,450 feet to the east of Saddle Club Road (see attached map). ETJ Expansion in Orange County As a matter of policy, Orange County will not permit a municipality, either in or adjacent to its borders,to expand its extraterritorial jurisdiction.Instead, Orange County has followed a policy of"joint"or"cooperative"planning.The rationale for this policy is twofold. First, citizens residing in such areas have historically been opposed to ETJ extension because of the loss of representation; e.g., the ability to vote for those persons making land use decisions affecting their property. Second,G.S.16OA-360 recognizes that counties traditionally have not been as well prepared to handle land use planning matters as municipalities. This is not the case with Orange County. Orange County's joint planning policy originated in 1977 when Chapel Hill requested that its ETJ be extended three miles beyond its then present location. Orange County denied the request and proposed instead the creation of a Joint Planning Task Force.From the initial work of the group in 1979 to its culmination in 1987 with the adoption the Orange County-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Joint Planning Agreement and Land Use Plan, the policy of joint planning emerged. This policy was given statutory authority in 1987 when the N.C. General Assembly adopted House Bill 738, authorizing Orange County and its municipalities to engage in joint planning programs.More recently,Orange County has been working with the Town of Hillsborough to prepare a Cooperative Land Use Plan in an area of mutual interest surrounding the Town. The County and the Town adopted a Cooperative Planning Agreement in October, 1991. RECOMMENDATION: Rather than approving the proposed ETJ extension of the City of Mebane, the Administration recommends that the staff be authorized to meet with the Mebane staff to initiate discussions on joint planning.This approach is recommended, given the present ETJ request as well as Orange County and Mebane initiatives in economic development, particularly in the vicinity of I-85, Buckhorn Road, and Mattress Factory Road.