Minutes 09-06-2018 Work Session - Laserfiche WebLink

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12 Commissioner Rich said she is excited about the pre-zoning, and would like to add public–private partnerships to the list, besides the universities. Commissioner Rich said she went to the Chairs/Mayors meeting at Triangle J Council of Governments (TJCOG), and the topic was behavioral patterns in government, and the lack of innovation in comparison to the private sector. She said it is important to think outside of the box, and be more innovative. She said she liked the idea of allowing some mixed use. Commissioner Jacobs referred to what Craig Benedict was describing with the Eno EDD property owners coming together to develop a parcel, and said at least 10 years ago he and Senator Valerie Foushee met with the residents of the Eno EDD, who very much wanted to develop it. He said this is a great opportunity to partner with small, private investors. Chair Dorosin said it may be possible for the County to play a role without actually buying the parcels. Commissioner Price said when she was referring to understanding trends; it was not to define who would move into the spaces, but rather related to site readiness. Chair Dorosin said there is consensus here regarding: pre-zoning; a site readiness capacity study; and identifying marketable sites, with the Board needing to determine whether to limit it just to EDDs or broaden it outside of the EDD; he is in favor of broadening this. Commissioner Rich said she would like to add access points. Commissioner McKee referred to sites outside of the EDDs, and asked Steve Brantley if it is more efficient to focus on areas within EDDs now, and broaden the scope as a second step. Steve Brantley said the staff can go either way, and knows where most of the outside sites are, but have yet to approach property owners. He said the Economic Development Advisory Board would also be excited to participate in this matter as they have a great deal of expertise. Commissioner McKee said he does not want to shift focus by making the scope too large. Chair Dorosin said the GIS study would be a first step, and knocking on the doors of property owners may come next. He said there may be parcels in the towns or town extraterritorial jurisdictions (ETJs) that may be more marketable options to consider. Commissioner McKee said that is good and he just does not want to give too much workload to staff. Bonnie Hammersley said, as staff looks into the most marketable sites, a third party would be brought into to do much of the legwork. Commissioner Jacobs suggested not venturing out too far from EDDs prior to investigating the capabilities within them, because that is where sprawl occurs, like in Wake and Durham counties. He said when this happens, the integrity of the land use plan is compromised. Commissioner McKee said that is part of his concern too. Commissioner Jacobs said the more deliberative way to do this is to use what currently exists and see if that is enough; if not, then decide where you want to go. Commissioner Marcoplos agreed with the danger of overreach, but knows there is land that has been asked about, and the sooner marketable sites are identified, the better the Board can address this issue. He said the EDD maps are 30 years old, and may need to be reconfigured. He said it is important to be mindful of these issues like sprawl, the rural buffer, what makes Orange County unique and attractive, etc. Chair Dorosin said there are controls in place like the rural buffer to prevent sprawl, and he has confidence in them. He said there seems to be consensus to look into the EDDs, and the areas immediately around them, while being open to other marketable sites that staff may uncover. He said the Board can move forward with the pre-zoning and site readiness capacity study. Commissioner Jacobs said this is good summary, but there is not consensus.