Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
18 <br /> <br /> Commissioner McKee said does not dispute Commissioner Jacobs’ comments, but he is <br />reluctant to believe that there will be an awakening in Hillsborough that will change its course of <br />thinking. He said two years ago, when he was BOCC Chair, he knew that Hillsborough was <br />against this Settlers Point, since it is seen as competition to downtown Hillsborough. <br /> Commissioner McKee said he would be reluctant to lose what little inertia that does exist <br />currently. <br /> Commissioner McKee referred to the Eno EDD, and said Durham is irrelevant, as it is <br />such a small area of the EDD. He said he does not expect Durham to be very accommodating. <br />He said he can recall Boards from 30-35 years ago being adamantly opposed to any <br />commercial development in Orange County, and the County’s dependence on the residential <br />tax base is evidence of this. He said he understands the desire to be sensitive to the <br />community, but there will be people who are upset no matter when this development proceeds. <br /> Commissioner Marcoplos said both Commissioners Jacobs and McKee have made <br />good points, and he suggests taking a couple of weeks to have a conversation with <br />Hillsborough to determine the cleanest hand off. He said this matter is not hugely time <br />sensitive, and he has to believe that this can be figured out. <br /> Chair Dorosin referred to the two maps: the first one being Hillsborough’s land use plan, <br />which approves 84 acres to be suburban/office. He said the second map, which shows roughly <br />the same acreage, and the County is considering making this a proposed EDD transition area. <br />Tom Altieri said yes, consistent with the properties to the north in red. <br /> Chair Dorosin asked if there are inconsistencies between these two maps/plans. He <br />said Commissioner Jacobs is expressing concern that the Town of Hillsborough will change the <br />use of the parcel, post annexation, which would be within the Town’s right to do. He asked if <br />there is there some inconsistency already on the map. <br /> Commissioner Jacobs said no, the only inconsistency is that some of it zoned this way, <br />and some it is not. He said it has to be changed, by the County, to be consistent with what is <br />north of it, and for the County to do so is different than what was communicated to the residents <br />previously. He said once the land is annexed, the County will no longer be at the table to <br />represent the residents’ interests, and that is why he would like to see a conversation occur. <br />Chair Dorosin said he is hearing two concerns, the first of which is Orange County’s <br />rezoning and timing of this, and it seems that the timing is not urgent. <br />Tom Altieri said he has heard the terms zoning and rezoning brought up, and really they <br />are talking about changes to the future land use maps, which provide a very general vision. He <br />said to implement this vision one has to start a re-zoning process, getting into specifics such as <br />the permitted use table, etc. He said there is no proposal at this time to re-zone this area. He <br />said it is currently zoned rural residential, and the area to the north contains an EDD zoning, <br />and the area to the south is rural buffer. <br />Tom Altieri said this gets the developer one step closer to a re-zoning, but this would <br />have to go through many hoops first. <br />Commissioner Price said out of respect for the residents, there should be some <br />conversation on this topic and the plan moving forward. <br />Commissioner Burroughs asked if that is not the point of the public meetings. <br />Tom Altieri said yes, that is the intent. He said this has been done in the past, and the <br />proposal has not changed, but only the timing of when the process will be carried out. <br />Commissioner Price said she was referring to further conversation with Hillsborough. <br />Commissioner Rich said this has been discussed this for quite some time, and with all <br />due respect, she does not think it is due to lack of conversation with Hillsborough and the <br />residents in the area. She asked if residents have been notified of the proposal. <br />Tom Altieri said yes. He said the process has been ongoing for over a year, and it has <br />been a bit confusing with property owners previously, due to the developer’s application, and <br />some misunderstanding over zoning and land uses.