Agenda - 05-04-1987 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mitt 9 legal authority and thus more autonomy based on State Statutes if extraterritorial jurisdiction were granted. Councilman David Godschalk indicated he would like to make just a brief statement in support of these matters on behalf of the Chapel Hill Town Council. The Chapel Hill Town Council strongly supports watershed protection and joint planning which are the two main reasons for this hearing. Orange County, Carrboro and Chapel Hill now have the opportunity to: (1) Cooperate to protect our watersheds and thereby the communities drinking water and public health and; (2) cooperate in the planning and managing future growth and thereby the quality of life and public welfare. The representatives of the county and towns put before us share a need for watershed protection. Stewardship of University Lake and Cane Creek watersheds is a matter which transends jurisdictional lines. These representatives have discussed possible solutions in pursuit of good stewardship principles. We will best protect the water supplies if we minimize the amount of asphalt roads, the potential for erosion and sedimentation, and the amount of impervious surfaces such as buildings and pavement. It is very important to control carefully the location and site design of land disturbing activity. Retaining areas with natural vegetation and ground covers provide for naturally clean stormwater before it reaches streams feeding the reservoir. Two key aspects of the thirteen point statement of principles are before us for hearing. One is change of Carrboro' s extraterritorial jurisdiction; and two is the extension of Carrboro' s transition area further north into the Bolin Creek drainage basin. We believe that the exchange of extraterritorial jurisdiction and the extension of the transition area are in the best interest of the whole community. since they provide sufficient solutions for future utility service. an environmentally sound area for future growth, and they take development pressure off the University Lake watershed. Together with the study of the carrying capacity of the watersheds and the identification of appropriate land use controls and standards. these approaches can maximize watershed protection and wise growth as we plan together. To summarize, we believe this plan to be in the entire community' s interest, although the geographic area of extraterritorial jurisdiction and transition area is a small portion of southern Orange County. Many people who now and in the future use our public water system will benefit from this comprehensive watershed protection strategy. Commissioner Jan Hartwell indicated that he thought a clear difference between extraterritorial jurisdiction and the transition area under joint planning was that in the extraterritorial jurisdiction it would be possible for the municipality to decide to change the land use plan and make high density residential or commercial in the future if they saw fit. The whole purpose of joint planning, as he understood it, was that the municipalities would be charged with the administration of specific permits. but they would not be allowed to change the land use plan without a joint approval process such as was being conducted at this moment