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a , <br /> 00,3 <br /> MEMORANDUM <br /> TO: Marvin Collins, Orange County Planning Director <br /> FROM: Roger Waldon, Chapel Hill Planning Director <br /> SUBJECT: Comments on Rural Buffer <br /> DATE: February 8, 1987 <br /> This memorandum is written to confirm and emphasize Chapel Hill' s <br /> perspectives on several Rural Buffer issues under examination. <br /> BACKGROUND <br /> Chapel Hill and Orange County have been working cooperatively for <br /> over two years in the context of a Joint Planning Agreement. The <br /> summer of 1986 was a critical time in the life of this Joint <br /> Planning Agreement, as our two governments came together to <br /> jointly adopt a Land Use Plan for the areas surrounding Chapel <br /> Hill. Perhaps the most important concept of this Land Use Plan <br /> was designation of a Rural Buffer around the Chapel Hill/Carrboro <br /> Urban Area. <br /> This cornerstone of the Land Use Plan has been questioned in <br /> recent weeks, and will be discussed at upcoming Public Hearings. <br /> I wanted to take this opportunity to restate some of the reasons <br /> why we believe the Rural Buffer is so critically important. <br /> KEY ISSUES <br /> Why a Rural Buffer? <br /> Chapel Hill began this round of Land Use Planning by adopting a <br /> set of Goals and Objectives, articulating a vision for the future <br /> of the Chapel Hill area. Several themes emerge from these Goals <br /> and Objectives; of particular relevance here are the following: <br /> - We want to retain the basic form and scale of Chapel <br /> Hill. We do not want to become a large city. We want to <br /> grow at a moderate, orderly pace, with the rate of <br /> development being consistent with the expansion of the <br /> community' s ability to support new development. <br />