Orange County NC Website
1 <br />2 <br />3 <br />4 <br />5 <br />6 <br />7 <br />8 <br />9 <br />10 <br />11 <br />12 <br />13 <br />14 <br />15 <br />16 <br />17 <br />18 <br />19 <br />20 <br />21 <br />22 <br />23 <br />24 <br />25 <br />26 <br />27 <br />28 <br />29 <br />30 <br />31 <br />32 <br />33 <br />34 <br />35 <br />36 <br />37 <br />38 <br />39 <br />40 <br />41 <br />42 <br />43 <br />44 <br />45 <br />46 <br />47 <br />48 <br />49 <br />42 <br />Commissioner Marcoplos agreed with Commissioner Jacobs. He said this does not <br />preclude anything that Mayor Hemminger wanted to do. <br />Commissioner Price agreed that moving forward is the best course of action. She said <br />the abstract mentioned the word temporary, and asked if this will in fact be a permanent site <br />Craig Benedict said the Board of County Commissioners will determine how temporary <br />or permanent it is. He said the conditional zoning is not a temporary zoning district, so it can <br />last as long the Commissioners like. <br />Commissioner asked if the people and the housing would only be there temporarily. <br />Craig Benedict said the BOCC will set parameters on how people move into the park, <br />leases, etc. <br />Commissioner Price said the County should move forward, but it should confront Chapel <br />Hill as this responsibility is shared. <br />Chair Dorosin said perhaps this space could be used for rapid relocation, with displaced <br />peoples. He said there should be a broader strategy on relocation. <br />PUBLIC COMMENT: <br />Delores Bailey, EmPOWERment Inc. Director, said she is attending Chapel Hill's Town <br />Council meeting tomorrow with residents from the mobile home park that are being displaced; <br />to talk with the Town about where they will go in two years, when the developer buys this <br />property. She said this proposed property that Orange County is considering is the perfect <br />place for these residents. <br />Bonnie Hammersley said staff has been working with Chapel Hill, and Orange County's <br />housing director will be identifying roles and responsibilities' going forward with the Town's <br />housing director. <br />Pam Hemminger, Chapel Hill Mayor, shared the following comments earlier in the <br />evening (7:34 p.m.), and had to leave due to illness: <br />On behalf of the Town of Chapel Hill I am writing with regards to your consideration of possible <br />Zoning Atlas amendments to the Millhouse Road Park Site as a possible solution for Mobile <br />Home Park displacement. (Item 6C on tonight's agenda). <br />The Chapel Hill Town Council is very passionate about working together with the county to help <br />our mobile home residents remain in affordable housing. <br />We applaud the BOCC for wanting to take immediate steps to help with this situation. <br />With imminent redevelopment pressure threatening to relocate 90 families living in three mobile <br />home parks *, we share your sense of urgency and have been reaching out to these residents to <br />learn more about the challenges. <br />Unfortunately, most of the trailer units in these parks are over four years old and are valued <br />very low (some under $1,000). Most of the units cannot survive being moved even if a new site <br />were found. Furthermore, recent studies have identified other issues associated with mobile <br />home ownership — including the fact that, because mobile home units are depreciating assets <br />and have low energy efficiency — they often leave their owners in worse financial shape than <br />had they rented. <br />These studies also identified the reasons that residents choose to live in mobile homes — <br />including their interest in single - family living and desire to be part of a community. <br />