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12 <br /> 1 building new schools and they need to ask themselves if it is a possibility to add on or create <br /> 2 some type of different construction with the present schools. Other thing to consider is <br /> 3 retrofitting the Lincoln Center and other smaller schools because of the trend toward smaller <br /> 4 class sizes. <br /> 5 <br /> 6 Chair Jacobs said that the Department of Public Instruction recommended acreages that are not <br /> 7 functional for urbanized areas. He said that Raleigh just received a smart growth award for a <br /> 8 middle school that is located on four acres in downtown Raleigh. He thinks the school boards <br /> 9 should have more participation and be more creative in the construction standards. He pointed <br /> 10 out that South Carolina just abandoned its acreage standards. <br /> 11 <br /> 12 Jim Ward asked how the group dealt with the acreage issue. Craig Benedict said that with the <br /> 13 urban sites, they knew it would be more difficult to find acreage. Recommendations will be <br /> 14 coming forward on acreage needs more on a case-by-case basis. There is some land banking <br /> 15 opportunities, <br /> 16 <br /> 17 Joal Hall Broun left at 9:15 p.m, <br /> 18 <br /> 19 Craig Benedict said that they acknowledge that there will have to be urban settings, where <br /> 20 acreage will have to be changed, and suburban settings but not sprawl settings, where they <br /> 21 should be as conscious as possible of efficiently using whatever lands are available, <br /> 22 <br /> 23 Commissioner Gordon said that there needs to be a formal statement of smart growth principles <br /> 24 that everyone agrees upon. She thinks there can be smart growth principles in rural, urban, and <br /> 25 suburban settings. She said that the idea of land banking was not new, and the county has had <br /> 26 a School Park Reserve Fund for several years. The idea was to set aside one cent a year for <br /> 27 land purchases for school and co-located park sites, This fund was spent down and currently <br /> 28 no more money is being added. She said that the County needs to work with the school <br /> 29 systems on school siting because statutory responsibility for siting schools still resides with the <br /> 30 school boards. <br /> 31 <br /> 32 Ed Harrison, Jacquelyn Gist, Alex Zaffron and Cam Hill left at 9:20 p.m. <br /> 33 <br /> 34 5. Update on Orange County Comprehensive Plan Land Use Element and Transfer of <br /> 35 Development Rights Activities (Orange County Planning) <br /> 36 <br /> 37 Craig Benedict said that there were public outreach activities in March, April, and May of this <br /> 38 year, where the staff went to the various townships and made presentations about the <br /> 39 comprehensive plan update. The main emphasis of the work has to do with watershed <br /> 40 protection. <br /> 41 <br /> 42 Regarding air quality, the pattern of development happening in rural parts of the County is <br /> 43 somewhat of a sprawl pattern and there are a lot of vehicle miles traveled. Some suggestions <br /> 44 involve a reduction in the build out population of the rural areas of the County, <br /> 45 <br /> 46 Another issue is to look at the Hillsborough general area. There are areas outside of <br /> 47 Hillsborough that could be serviced by water and sewer that are under Orange County's <br /> 48 jurisdiction, These could be urban transition areas. A task force has been formed to talk about <br /> 49 the potential for this. There is also a task force for a small area plan in Efland. <br /> 50 <br />