Agenda - 05-28-1985 - Laserfiche WebLink

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8 roads. It happens that most of the sites designated in the Land Use Plan have it. Third, you need sites that are zoned because when you are trying to attract industry it is competitive. Everyone else has zoned sites; Orange County needs zoned sites. We have a few zoned sites in Orange County. These are individual sites. We need to provide a range of facilities that will make firms look at Orange County. One approach to this is an industrial park. Some firms want indi- vidual sites to develop in their own style. Two good examples of these are Brady Company and Wilmore Electronics. Both are a credit to the community. Other firms want to move into an image by buying into an area with a good image and where they will fit in. We need both. Last year the EDC decided to promote the establishment of quality indus- trial parks to complete the package of what we have to offer. However, we need both isolated individual sites and the park-type setting. All of these are to be located in correct areas in respect to the Land Use Plan and in taking account of the environment. Again, we need a choice because Orange County is on the fringe of the Research Triangle Park. Research Triangle Park is basic- ally for research and research applications. Things associated with it tend to locate around the edges of the park, particularly in industrial parks located on the fringe. If a company is looking for a park location, they do not look at Orange County because we have no industrial park. Therefore, we need both individual sites and industrial park sites and we need them properly zoned. Competition requires this. The kind of companies we want are choosy. We need to be able to offer them the choice to get them to look at Orange County so we can look them over too. We are choosy too. We want non-polluting, high quality, good paying jobs and a range of skills. We can be choosy on who we accept. But, we need to attract them so we can be as selective as possible. She indicated that the Horton project met all the criteria of the Land Use Plan and the needs of the area, including quality development. She urged the Boards to support this rezoning so that the County can go after the type of industry she described for northern Orange County. Cormann Drumm, NC Dept. of Commerce, stated that industrial parks, with restrictive covenants, are becoming popular within the state. Industrial parks, when properly graded, preserve the aesthetic value of the property. He cited some parks around the state that are good examples of quality developme nt. He stated that he feels rezoning is mandatory. If the zoning is not available, prospective clients do not even consider an area. Businesses looking for industrial parks go to the State for guidance. This, too, would help assure Orange County that unsuitable industry would not be directed this way. Valerie Greenberg inquired if Mr. Drumm felt that would hinder the goals that EDC had mentioned. Drumm responded that he felt that a planned development of this type is very difficult when you don't know all the types of industry that may be interested in development in the area. Sylvia Price also was asked this question of planned development versus straight rezoning. She responded that this was not like a subdivision. You do not know the exact size, shape, and number of buildings. Basically, you need to be able to tell clients you will build to meet their individual needs. Walker noted the question of whether planned development would be detrimental had not been answered. Price responded that in a project such as this you could not do an accurate or adequate planned development. If the clients didn't want the kind of building shown on the plan, the whole process, which kills client relationships, would have to be worked through again. Wilihoit noted that the EDC had been concerned for a long time with having land that was prezoned. He understood the Planning Board's desire to have planned development applications so that many of the features of development mummamomagemsor