Minutes 01-26-2018 Retreat - Laserfiche WebLink

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31 In reply to a question from Commissioner McKee, Mr. Hines said the limited availability of water and sewer is most significant factor is making the County’s EDDs unattractive. In reply to a question from Commissioner Price, Mr. Hall said if there was not a sufficient supply of willing land owners within an EDD then the availability of willing land owners adjacent to an EDD might open up new opportunities. In reply to a question from Commissioner Price, Mr. Hines said that “legacy issues” were factors in the ability of the Planning and Economic Development Departments to collaborate. We want to ensure that both departments are on the same page, he said. He referred to a transportation study conducted by Planning that had not engaged Economic Development. A collaboration gap exists between Orange County and Hillsborough as well, said Mr. Hall. Commissioner Marcoplos suggested that the Board revisit the Eno EDD during a future work session. We might no longer be looking at that area in the same way as we did 30 years ago, he said. Perhaps some modifications are in order. There are a lot of residents near there, sensitive environmental areas, a blighted Scottish Inn property which I can’t imagine much better replacing right now, and uncertainties about water and sewer. Maybe at that work session or another time the Board can talk about boundary adjustment for the Buckhorn EDD. In reply to a question from Commissioner Dorosin, Mr. Hines clarified that sewer service is an even greater constraint than water supply. There is a limit on capacity now, and a further limit imposed by the cost of providing that capacity, he said. If Mebane is going to spend $20M upgrading its treatment capacity, for example, is Orange County going to pay for a proportion of that cost in order to gain access to a proportion of that capacity? In addition, there are costs associated with extending the water and sewer systems to the properties. Commissioner Dorosin then asked f would make more sense to raise the profile of properties where there already is water and sewer, beyond the EDDs. Commissioner Dorosin wondered how realistic it is to think in terms of “getting another Morinaga.” Perhaps we’re not competitive for developments like that, and instead should be more strategic about realigning our approach to another model. Mr. Hines said that it would be smart to prepare for the next Morinaga – at least to know the costs of water and sewer extensions to likely sites -- so that when it appears the County is positioned to act. You won’t have time to act when the opportunity shows up. You need 12 months or less to extend the utilities. Commissioner Jacobs said that during negotiations with Mebane about the Buckhorn EDD, the City opposed future water and sewer extension below NC-10. If Timmons is recommending that kind of expansion, then the implementation is going to be much more complicated than Timmons appears to appreciate. Commissioner Jacobs said that Duke University might be interested in a research campus at the Eno EDD. It’s so expensive to bring water and sewer to that area that we will need a partner, and the only partners possible are Duke and Durham. We tend to be focused on Carolina, but Duke is Orange County’s largest property owner. Commissioner Jacobs said that “big game hunting” needs to fit into a larger economic development strategy. Part of that is, how much are we willing to invest in a framework for “big game hunting.” We never have had that conversation. It would be good to have numbers to inform us on what that would mean. Settlers Point was already zoned, but people still were very