Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
8 <br /> January 25, 2019 <br /> Orange County Board of Commissioners <br /> 200 South Cameron Sheet <br /> Clerk's Office,Link Building <br /> Hillsborough,NC 27278 <br /> Dear Board of County Commissioners: <br /> Please include and consider this letter along with any other public comments received during the <br /> public hearing on the Efland-Buckhorn-Mebane Access Management Plan(EBMAMP)Update, <br /> scheduled for February 5,2019. <br /> On January 8,2019, Orange County Planning staff, including Director Craig Benedict,Tom <br /> Altieri and Nish Trivedi, attended our Orange County Economic Development Advisory Board's <br /> regularly scheduled meeting,presented key aspects of the updated draft,responded to questions and <br /> collected our comments. In general,the Economic Development Advisory Board(EDAB) specifically <br /> requested: <br /> 1) Heightened coordination between the Planning Department and Economic Development Department <br /> in all future endeavors involving areas targeted by the County for economic development initiative; <br /> and, <br /> 2) Consideration of an alternative to the draft 2018 Plan,which would remove or eliminate new <br /> corridors for future interior roads that would require the dedication of right-of-way by future <br /> developers for connectivity. <br /> As the Economic Development Advisory Board understands,based on the above comment,the <br /> Planning Department has developed a"Reduced Connectivity"option that removes the majority of new <br /> connectivity roadways through undeveloped properties (i.e., 1 of the 4 elements of an Access <br /> Management Plan). We understand the Planning Department's Director supports this option as his <br /> recommendation to the Orange County Board of Commissioners,which he intends to convey at the public <br /> hearing on February 5th. The Economic Development Advisory Board supports the Reduced <br /> Connectivity option as the only viable alternative over the original, and requests that the Board of County <br /> Commissioners also support the "Reduced Connectivity"option for inclusion in what would become the <br /> adopted Plan. <br /> The Economic Development Advisory Board understands the balancing of planning and <br /> economic development goals, and looks forward to continued mutual coordination between its Economic <br /> Development staff and advisory board, and that of the Planning Department. Thank you for the <br /> opportunity to offer comments on the Plan. <br /> f <br /> Sincerely, <br /> I <br /> Jim Kitchen <br /> Chair, Orange County Economic Development advisory Board <br /> i <br /> i <br /> i <br />