Agenda - 8-a - Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

10 Commissioner Marcoplos said there is no particular boundary on the Orange County 1 side, but rather how far one wants to walk. 2 Ben Hitchings said yes, and how property owners decide to use property consistent with 3 the Town’s standards and approval processes. 4 Commissioner Marcoplos said it would be inaccurate for one to say that Durham has the 5 lion’s share of the developable area around the station. 6 Ben Hitchings said some of the land around the station will be needed for parking, the 7 platform, etc. He said there is a decent split between the two counties. 8 Commissioner Marcoplos said he would go further and say this is a great opportunity for 9 Orange County, and that Orange County has more opportunity for development. 10 Commissioner Rich said that is a good point and this has been discussed. She said the 11 Durham-Chapel Hill-Orange (DCHO) work group will share updates, and development on the 12 two sides of the County line could complement each other more. 13 Commissioner Jacobs asked if Ben Hitchings will notify the BOCC of updates on 14 meetings. 15 Ben Hitchings said yes, and will try to find a mechanism to update both the Town and 16 the County on these projects as they move forward. 17 Commissioner Jacobs said the agreement with Go Triangle states that Orange County 18 and Durham County will be participants in the planning of the Gateway station; not getting 19 updates, but being notified of when meetings will occur, and participating in them. 20 Ben Hitchings said there has been increasing coordination in recent months, and County 21 staff and Commissioner Marcoplos have attended recent planning meetings. 22 Commissioner Jacobs asked if the Durham County Commissioners are present at these 23 meetings. 24 Ben Hitchings said not at the station area planning meetings, but they have been 25 engaged on this topic through the DCHO work group. 26 Commissioner Jacobs said the County has been talking about this with GoTriangle for 27 half a year and the agreement stipulated that Orange and Durham Counties would be parties to 28 the discussions of the planning of the Gateway station. He said Durham is being short changed 29 if it is not being invited. 30 Ben Hitchings said Durham can be included. 31 Commissioner Jacobs said he has heard this before. He said he is glad that 32 Commissioner Marcoplos attended, but he did this on his own recognizance. 33 Commissioner Price clarified that the Durham Board of County Commissioners did not 34 attend, and asked if the Durham City Council attended. 35 Ben Hitchings said no, the Durham City Council has not attended the station area 36 planning meetings. He said the City Council does have representation on DCHO. 37 Commissioner Price referred to Commissioner Marcoplos’ comment that Durham and 38 Orange County are receiving equal share for the light rail, and asked if he meant just the for the 39 Gateway Station, or for the whole project. 40 Commissioner Marcoplos said just for the Gateway Station. 41 42 4. Collaborative Economic Development Efforts & Challenges 43 44 a) Launch 45 46 Dwight Bassett, Chapel Hill Economic Development Director, said 35,000 square feet of 47 co-working space was added last year, and is beginning to fill up. He said this operation is five 48 years old. He said the Town and the County have invested about $400,000 over the last five 49 year, with a return of $12 million. He reviewed the following statistics: 50