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15 <br /> is good, innovation is good. I know these things. Yet, I'm not sure what kind of businesses would <br /> be in district 1. The zone is described as "light industrial, manufacturing, and research"—this <br /> seems far too broad and could capture a huge range of businesses. So I ask that you please wait <br /> until it's possible to get more detail about exactly what would be taking residency in our town, <br /> right next to 1-40. <br /> Second, let's talk about District 2. <br /> As mentioned before, I've only lived in Hillsborough for 8 months. I have always liked <br /> Hillsborough, I enjoy the sweet little downtown, and the parks, and of course Riverwalk. With that <br /> said, since moving here, I have been surprised by how much I've grown to LOVE this town. The <br /> people in Hillsborough are friendly-1 know a lot of my neighbors are here tonight and look <br /> grumpy but don't let them fool you—they are usually incredibly friendly. There are a lot of artists <br /> here, and a lot of art around town... a lot of open, beautiful natural spaces... a ton of history.... <br /> There is something special here, it's hard to put your finger on it—the town's vision has settled on <br /> referring to this as Hillsborough's "unique heritage and small town character". <br /> While there is so much I love about this town, there is one thing I really do not like... That is the <br /> space on old 86, right off 85. Have any of you ever heard the term "food swamp"? the space off <br /> 85, on old 86 is the perfect example of a food swamp---an area overrun with unhealthy fast food <br /> chain restaurants. Yesterday, I counted 15 just a mile down the road from proposed district 2. <br /> Now, the public health girl in me wants to highlight the fact that increased easy access to <br /> unhealthy foods, can increase consumption of unhealthy foods, which can contribute to an <br /> increased incidence of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other chronic diseases <br /> BUT <br /> The Hillsborough-lover in me feels it's even more important to say to you, that this is not what I <br /> want people's first impression to be of my town, and of my county. <br /> Imagine with me for a moment that someone has never been to Hillsborough and, even better, <br /> has never been to Orange County. They're driving up 40, preparing to exit on old 86 and they see <br /> a water tower—either a blue one on the right, or a white one on the left..... and they think "oh, this <br /> is Orange County, NC... it's cute" and then they see it.... A food swamp. Right off the exit. Then <br /> they exit 40, drive north and a mile later they run into a second food swamp. Is this how we want <br /> people to experience Hillsborough? Is this how we want people to experience Orange County? <br /> We are sitting here today in a county building in Hillsborough. Most people who need to visit <br /> these county offices will be exiting on the very 1-40 exit we're speaking about, and be immediately <br /> greeted with the result of the decisions you make about this land. Do you want a food swamp to <br /> be people's first impression of Orange County? I certainly don't. Unfortunate decisions were <br /> made in the past that resulted in one food swamp off of 85.... Let's not allow that to happen again <br /> off of 1-40. <br /> Imagine with me for a moment that someone has never been to Hillsborough and, perhaps better, <br /> has never been to Orange County. They're driving up 40, preparing to exit on old 86 and they see <br /> a water tower—either a blue one on the right, or a white one on the left..... and they think "oh, this <br /> is Orange County, NC... it's cute" and then they see it.... A food swamp right off the exit. Then <br /> they exit 40, drive north and a mile later they run into a second food swamp. Is this how we want <br /> people to experience Hillsborough? Is this how we want people to experience Orange County? <br /> We are sitting here today in a county building in Hillsborough. Most people who need to visit <br /> these county offices where you spend so much time will be exiting on the very 1-40 exit we're <br /> speaking about, and will be immediately greeted by the result of the decisions you make about <br /> this land. Do you want a food swamp to be people's first impression of Orange County? I certainly <br />