Orange County NC Website
35 <br />better we all are as going forward as a team. The facilitator does a good job, but I would like to <br />have conversations that are not moderated, part of the time. It doesn't have to be comfortable, <br />but it can be useful. It's awkward to have to wait 5 -10 minutes to respond to what someone else <br />has said. The topics on today's agenda fit together. It may be worth having a retreat topic on <br />how we communicate; we have done that in the past but obviously we have not surmounted that <br />problem. Another topic for a future retreat might be the land use plan. The single greatest <br />investment of a lot of people is their home, and when we talk about changing the character of <br />their neighborhood through changes in the land use plan, and then it gets reported, then we are <br />causing uncertainty or distress, and that is not the way to treat people. So, we may need to be <br />more sensitized to land use, zoning, and how we work through all that. Maybe we need to do a <br />better job at having community meetings before we have discussions of land use, so people are <br />a little more plugged in. Commissioner Dorosin asked when the last time the County had a long <br />range visioning process. Commissioner Jacobs referenced the Shaping Orange County's Future <br />process from the mid -90's, and an effort by the Planning Director "to do the good plan," which <br />"got shot down." Commissioner Price referenced a lengthy Comprehensive Plan update <br />process. Mr. Benedict mentioned some small areas planning processes for Efland, Eno, and <br />Hillsborough. <br />Commissioner McKee — Appreciated the work of the retreat planning committee. You chose two <br />"red meat" issues. We had a good discussion today. The back and forth was respectful and <br />informative. <br />The meeting adjourned at 4:OOp.m. <br />Mark Dorosin, Chair <br />Donna Baker, Clerk to the Board <br />