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15 <br /> <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 I-40. <br /> <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—I 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 /> <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 /> <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 /> <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 /> <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 I-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 I-40. <br /> <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 /> <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 I-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 />46