Agenda - 02-16-2021; 8-a - Minutes

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27 1 Beth Trahos referred to letters in the abstract packet from other communities discussing 2 the benefits of having Buc-ee's nearby. 3 Commissioner Bedford said she has examined the project based on various plans, 4 emails, minutes, planning board recommendations, economic forecasts, videos from the 5 Applicant, etc. She said she has especially considered the possibility of jobs and tax revenue, 6 and thanked County staff for its intense review of this project. 7 Commissioner Bedford said the Applicant will have to contract with outside vendors for 8 trash removal and recycling, and this is said to have "no impact to Orange County." She said 9 this waste will go somewhere, and it is likely to go to a lower income or minority neighborhood, 10 and she feels Orange County does have some obligation here. She said the County needs to 11 consider future cost benefit analysis, impact to residents, and broaden its view, just as we do 12 with other issues. She said she took an environmental science last fall, and learned about local 13 groups who are advocating composting. She said remediation is good, but there needs to be a 14 greater focus on reducing waste in the first place. She said the goal should be to prevent 15 pollution. 16 Commissioner Bedford said there are many pros to providing performance standards 17 and conditions. She said taxpayers have funded public water and sewer with that intent. She 18 said she supports economic development to diversify the tax base. She said this is a land use 19 decision, and the BOCC does not choose between specific preferences (e.g.: Outback vs, Olive 20 Garden). She said many of the arguments against this project do not apply because they do not 21 pertain to land use. She said the comprehensive plan does recognize the wide range of 22 interrelated planning areas, including economic development, housing, natural and cultural 23 systems, parks and recreation, services and community facilities, and transportation, in addition 24 to land use. 25 Commissioner Bedford said she reviewed the 8 principals of the comprehensive plan 26 and held them in mind while considering the application. She said the BOCC needs to wisely 27 use the investment of water and sewer. She said sustainable growth and development should 28 occur in a place where it can be long term, and this site is ideal for dense commercial growth. 29 She said the third principal is divided into 3a and 3b, with 3a being the encouragement of 30 energy efficient, lower energy consumption, and use of renewable energy resources. She said 31 this project flat out fails on part 3a. She said 3b is the promotion of both air quality protection 32 and development of effective transportation, and this project also fails here. She said the fourth 33 principle is the natural area resource preservation, which she narrowly interprets as the 34 protection of niche items, like hardwood forests. She said others likely have different 35 interpretations, but it did not really seem applicable. She said the fifth principle is preservation 36 of rural land use patterns, which this project could be argued as both for or against. She said 37 the sixth principle is water resources preservation, and she read from the comprehensive plan 38 about concerns of water availability and the protection of water being a high priority. She said 39 this project does not meet these criteria. She said the seventh principle is promoting economic 40 prosperity and diversity, and noted that jobs and tax revenue could contribute to prosperity, but 41 gas stations and convenience stores do not add to diversity. She said the final principle is to 42 preserve community character, and it is hard to argue that a large travel center does this, 43 despite its close proximity to the highways. 44 Commissioner Bedford said she returns to the second guiding principle of sustainable 45 growth and economic development, which links the economy with the environment. She said 46 clean air and water are essential for public safety, and environmental concerns are at the top 47 when making decisions. She said the proposed rezoning violates the second principle, and the 48 BOCC can advocate for economic development without the sale and storage gasoline. She 49 said the project is not consistent with the comprehensive plan, and the current zoning meets the 50 goals of the plan. She said the positives of the application do not outweigh the negatives.