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9 <br /> 1 Commissioner Marcoplos said he appreciated their work on the value of trees, and noted <br /> 2 that he, Commissioner Greene and Commissioner Jacobs were part of the 30t" celebration of <br /> 3 the rural buffer. <br /> 4 Commissioner Marcoplos said the rural buffer is designed to provide density in the urban <br /> 5 areas, and he said trees may be cut down in Chapel Hill, but overall more trees are being saved <br /> 6 because sprawl is not occurring, due to the rural buffer. He said it would be helpful to promote <br /> 7 this information. <br /> 8 Commissioner Marcoplos said it is important to quantify what these trees are doing for <br /> 9 the community. <br /> 10 Bradley Saul said the Commission is gathering data on one area in 2008 and 2018, and <br /> 11 said there is little change in the rural buffer, but bigger changes countywide. <br /> 12 Commissioner Greene referred to his notes, and the desire to "develop a plan for <br /> 13 researching potential environmental impacts on the rural buffer," and asked if there if anything <br /> 14 other than the size of the tree canopy will be measured. <br /> 15 Bradley Saul said the plan is to reach out to the Planning Department and UNC and <br /> 16 develop a larger set of research questions around the rural buffer. He said carrying out the <br /> 17 research is the bigger challenge. <br /> 18 Commissioner Greene said she recently attended the Climate Reality Conference, <br /> 19 where trees were heavily emphasized. <br /> 20 David Stancil, DEAPR Director, said staff has learned that there is an amazing amount <br /> 21 of activity, regionally, looking into tree protection. <br /> 22 Chair Rich asked if the Commission feels it representing the entire County on its <br /> 23 membership <br /> 24 Bradley Saul said that is an area of weakness, and there are only 1-2 members that live <br /> 25 north of 70. <br /> 26 Chair Rich said it would be nice to recruit more from the northern and western portions <br /> 27 of the County. <br /> 28 Commissioner Price asked if the Commission is looking at reforestation. <br /> 29 Bradley Saul said the Commission has considered creating a net-gain policy, but this <br /> 30 has yet to be worked out in detail. <br /> 31 Commissioner Price said she would like to pursue such a policy. <br /> 32 Bradley Saul said the Commission is looking at this in a general manner. <br /> 33 Commissioner Price asked if the Commission was working with the Planning Board. <br /> 34 Dave Stancil said to his knowledge, no, and he said the focus has been on protecting <br /> 35 the forest canopy. <br /> 36 Commissioner Price said one idea is having trees in parking lots, as opposed to only <br /> 37 asphalt. <br /> 38 Dave Stancil that conversation was consumed by a larger, bigger picture conversation. <br /> 39 Commissioner Price said these types of details would require partnership with the <br /> 40 Planning Board. <br /> 41 <br /> 42 • Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) Art Menius, Vice Chair <br /> 43 <br /> 44 Art Menius reviews some of the HPC's accomplishments from 2018: <br /> 45 • Historic Resources Publication Project: The HPC is nearing completion of its major <br /> 46 project to publish a book documenting the historic resources of Orange County and <br /> 47 Hillsborough, in partnership with the Alliance for Historic Hillsborough/Town of <br /> 48 Hillsborough. The author is now under contract and is preparing a manuscript for this <br /> 49 long-awaited book, to be printed in 2020. Obtained a grant of$25,000 from the Alliance, <br /> 50 to match County funds made available in FY 2018-19 budget. (ongoing) <br /> 51 Schley Grange National Register Nomination: Initiated a project to have the historically <br />