Minutes 01-21-2020 Business Meeting

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19 John Roberts said the public will have access to this document as soon as the Planning Department puts it on the website, and there will be a minimum of two months for the staff to prepare for the information sessions. Commissioner Bedford referred to newly worded point#4, which says: "Jointly agrees to not initiate formal public engagement until completion of the Memorandum of Understanding document". She said it is possible that the MOU will not be completed, and this will end up in court. She said she does not see the purpose of refusing to have formal public engagement before the MOU is completed. John Roberts said the purpose of#4 is only for the environmental assessment, and the MOU will focus on uses, where they go, how much acreage, etc. He said until all of that is decided, the only thing to discuss with the public is the environmental assessment. Commissioner Bedford said she thought the MOU was about what to do if parties do not agree. She said if the MOU is to include land uses, etc. then the public absolutely should be involved. She said this process is confusing. John Roberts said the MOU will decide how this property is used. Commissioner Dorosin said the MOU will determine how the discussions will move forward. Chair Rich said the MOU is a governance document, and the issues being raised by Commissioner Bedford will be discussed is a series of public meetings/hearings. She said the MOU will determine how to move forward. Commissioner Bedford asked if there is a process to move forward if the parties do not agree on the MOU. John Roberts said he has put a two-year time frame, but this may not stand. He said if the parties cannot agree on the MOU after two years, as is currently written, then the option could be partitioning the property and taking Orange County's property out of the ETJ to do as it wants to with the land. He said the partition is a judicial process, if the boards cannot agree. Commissioner Marcoplos said he will very reluctantly support this resolution because there is one shot to do something impactful and historic with this land. He said this opportunity has existed for years. He said the County owns the land and can build more for less money there. He said the Rogers-Eubanks neighborhood has had the road stubbed out for years and years, but nothing has happened. He said the County has had an affordable housing crisis for years, and nothing has happened. He said it was very disappointing, and caused him a bit of a loss of faith, when the Town of Chapel Hill left the collaborative process. He said the historical timeline shows Carrboro and the County trying to move this forward, but Chapel Hill did not, and the points of disagreement should have been worked out at the MMC, as they were not complicated issues. He said he was part of a group that met in the spring, which prodded Chapel Hill to meet in July in order to move this project forward. He said the July meeting was actually a confusing set back. Commissioner Marcoplos said there were then discussions in Chapel Hill about tall buildings, etc. on the Greene Tract. He said the map of uses out there matches what is on the ground, and he has been out to this area many times. He said from his observation, the County's assessment did what it was supposed to do. Commissioner Marcoplos said he then learned of the option of gaining the partition, which seemed the quickest way to move this project forward, which is his main goal. He said many issues were misunderstood, and the Rural Buffer is a 5-minute walk from this area and there are a lot of opportunities to enjoy the natural areas. He said he will support it this resolution, and he does not know why this process went off the rails. Commissioner McKee said the key word for him is the completion of the MOU, and not the adoption. He said he does not want the boards to start talking about the nuclear option (partitioning of the property). He said the AOG meeting will give everyone an opportunity to work out the kinks and hear the same thing.