Orange County NC Website
as <br />Preliminary "Pros" <br />1. Promoting walkability to the future schools campus is an important goal, <br />and the proposed redesign would have schools located closer to existing <br />neighborhoods to the south, However, it should be noted that the "redline" <br />in the October 2004 staff "Alternative Scenario" was designed for this very <br />issue and would greatly streamline the walking trip for students to the <br />school, <br />2. The greatest demand for water and sewer to the site will almost certainly <br />be from the schools, and location of the campus closer to existing sewer <br />lines to the south would reduce infrastructure costs to an as yet <br />undetermined degree <br />3. If it were to be found that there are safety and distance issues with <br />students walking along the proposed "redline" trail to the schools, the <br />walking distance would be shorter in the proposed redesign. <br />4. Finally, the proposed new plan leads staff to wonder what might be gained <br />by taking the concept a step further. Using the principles of walkability and <br />smart-growth, among others, it might be intriguing to examine all potential <br />walkable destinations together - whether a park playing field or a school. <br />Such a review might yield a comprehensive, completely-integrated <br />"seamless" design, with no boundaries between the park and the campus. <br />Staff would be glad to pursue a process for such an approach and report <br />back, if desired. <br />Preliminary "Cons" <br />1. Time would be an issue. Soccer groups, among others, have pressed for <br />fields to be constructed as soon as possible to meet the existing lack of <br />availability. Reviewing and considering a redesign based on this <br />schematic, to be comprehensive, would take 6 months based on current <br />projected workloads and the time needed to consider and approve such a <br />change, and the total project delay would be around one year. The time <br />elapsed to date on this project is already three years, from the date of the <br />Board's adoption of the pre-Concept Plan in November 2001, <br />2. The proposed redesign is not consistent with the Master Plan Process and <br />Charge (Pre-Concept Plan), and was not pursued by the CHATPEC Work <br />Group in May 2003. The entirety of the CHATPEC/Twin Creeks process, <br />from original vision to the current date, has been a construct of the Pre- <br />Concept Plan and the defined general locations of the campus and park. It <br />is not clear what underpinnings of the process/project would be altered by <br />reversing this construct as proposed in the new plan. <br />3. The schools campus as shown in the original plan and the "Alternative <br />Scenario" is already located within the CHCCS walkability zone of 1.5 <br />miles for most of Lake Hogan Farms (please see the map in Attachment <br />5-b), and this was noted by a CHCCS Board member in the CHATPEC