Agenda - 03-20-2018 8-a - Minutes

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12 concerned about all of the bars downtown, and people need somewhere to actually shop. She 1 said the Town is turning into townhouses, bars and traffic. 2 Town Commissioner Ferguson said her concern is that it will not just be the transient 3 commercial retailers going in to Settlers’ Point, but rather local residents will go there, and there 4 is not connectivity, walkways, etc. She said this is potentially very dangerous. 5 Town Commissioner Weaver said connectivity and walkability is so integral to everything 6 they do in Hillsborough and the planning and zoning aspect is one of the few things the Town 7 can control. She said it is important for the people that live here to be able to walk or bike to 8 the places they need the most, in order to alleviate traffic. 9 Mayor Stevens said the Town has sat down with the developers, and it is not a matter of 10 refusing retail, it is a question of what kind of retail will be brought in to Settlers’ Point. He said 11 the Town has acquired land on either side of I-85, with the long-term vision of making some 12 type of pedestrian/bike connection. 13 14 b) Extension of Water/Sewer Boundary in Economic Development District 15 Mayor Stevens said the Town is willing to extend the water and sewer boundary, with 16 commercial growth in mind. 17 Mayor Stevens said the staff and the Board of County Commissioners have been very 18 responsive to considering the Town’s concerns about Settlers’ Point. 19 Margaret Hauth reviewed the information below: 20 The Town conducted its public hearing on designating the 85-acre extension to the water and 21 sewer boundary on February 15, 2018. The mutually agreed land use designation proposed 22 was Suburban Office. The Orange County Planning Board has deferred action on 23 recommending a new land use on the expanded Water and Sewer boundary area. Similarly, the 24 Board of Orange County Commissioners has requested a delay in considering the proposal 25 pending further study. Orange County planning staff is planning an open house ‘Planning 101’ 26 meeting for County residents, in general, to explain the various elements of planning. This is 27 not specific to the area but maybe helpful to many new and existing residents in Orange 28 County. 29 30 Margaret Hauth said the Town agreed to the extension because it was a request from 31 Orange County, and this evening allows one last check in before more public involvement. 32 Travis Myren said after hearing from the public, the Board of County Commissioners 33 took a pause on affixing a land use. He said the public voiced concerns about the public 34 notification process, and thus staff is doing some public education before moving on. 35 Town Commissioner Ferguson asked if this parcel of land is built out more, with water 36 and sewer, will it still be zoned suburban office, employment based, and not residential. 37 Travis Myren said yes. 38 Mayor Stevens said it would also not be zoned for retail. He said the Town has already 39 extended the water and sewer boundary agreement, contingent on the land use agreement. 40 Margaret Hauth said the Town held the public hearing about designating the future land 41 use, and it is cued up for the board to make a decision by the end of March. She said if the 42 BOCC may not go forward with this land use designation, then the Town board can stop its 43 process, and let the water and sewer boundary amendment lapse. She said this is not 44 necessarily a recommendation, but is just another option for moving forward. 45 Chair Dorosin said the pause does not imply that the proposal has been abandoned, but 46 rather is due to what the BOCC heard in the public hearing about the lack of adequate public 47 notification, what was happening and what could happen. He said the pause is to look at this 48 again, and determine how to better communicate with the residents. He said the economic 49 development use is still the model for this parcel, but the BOCC would like to start the 50