Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: February 16, 2021 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 7-a <br /> SUBJECT: Buckhorn Area Plan (Study) <br /> DEPARTMENT: Planning and Inspections <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> 1. Buckhorn Area Plan Focus Map Craig Benedict, Director, (919) 245-2575 <br /> 2. Suitability Values Table Tom Altieri, Planner 111, (919) 245-2579 <br /> Tom Ten Eyck, Planner II, (919) 245-2567 <br /> 3. Potential Future Growth Map Steve Brantley, Economic Development <br /> 4. Future Growth Area and Primary Industrial Director, (919) 245-2326 <br /> Area Map in Mebane Amanda Garner, Assistant Economic <br /> Development Director, (919) 245-2330 <br /> PURPOSE: To receive a presentation on the Buckhorn Area Plan (Study). <br /> BACKGROUND: In recent years, the City of Mebane has experienced increased interest in the <br /> development of properties in Orange County that were not addressed by its existing 2017 <br /> Comprehensive Land Development Plan (LDP), Mebane By Design. Per North Carolina <br /> General Statutes, the City of Mebane has an obligation to update its long-range plan so that its <br /> actions on development proposals, rezoning and annexations are consistent with its adopted <br /> plans. The City of Mebane and Orange County have coordinated to provide utilities in the <br /> greater Buckhorn area (Efland and westward to Mebane city limits) and have a Utility Service <br /> Agreement (2012 was the most recent update) that identifies a service area that, to a significant <br /> degree, coincides with the scope of the Buckhorn Area Plan. This Agreement is in need of an <br /> update due to new developments and growth pressures in and around the existing Mebane <br /> LDP, Efland Mebane Small Area Plan, and City of Mebane/Orange County Utility Service <br /> Agreement. The Buckhorn Area Plan may help inform future agreements or amendments. <br /> As suggested by the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) in late 2018, staff was to <br /> research the development potential of existing designated economic development zones, as <br /> well as other viable sites. A prior engineering analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, <br /> and threats (SWOT analysis) by Timmons Group of the economic development districts <br /> bolstered the need for additional study. Orange County's Planning and Economic Development <br /> departments worked together with their Mebane counterparts on this plan. As such, both <br /> jurisdictions funded the planning study to help inform future land use and potential utility service <br /> that could be mutually beneficial. <br /> Orange County utilized funds available in the FY 2019-2020 budget to reimburse the City of <br /> Mebane for half of the consulting expenses of the Buckhorn Area Plan. The original goals have <br /> been to work together with a consultant to further analyze areas within Orange County — <br /> adjacent to and near Mebane — and to develop recommendations for a growth strategy. In <br />