Minutes 02-16-2021 Virtual Business Meeting

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35 This plan was presented to the Mebane City Council on Dec 7th. That was when all of us-- mayor, council, residents—realized there was no plan to bring the proposal to the Orange County Board of Commissioners. Fortunately the Mebane City Council postponed any decision. The BAP Overview only considers M-2 zoning (research, office, manufacturing, warehouse, etc.). It mentions walkability but makes no mention of other options such as housing (owner and or rental) that Orange County needs, especially but not only places for employees of Medline and Neyer (6016 West 10) to live in the county where they work. Area B could be zoned for homes with public trails through the property to the proposed park, Seven Mile Creek, Gravelly Hill and the soccer complex. Think beyond more warehouses. There are at least 100 dwellings along West 10 between Mt. Willing Road and Buckhorn Road if you include the roads that end at West 10, such as Squires Road (with 14 homes and 3 unbuilt lots) and Coleman Loop (more than 20) and Bushy Cook Road. Also two churches and Gravelly Hill Middle School. Two warehouses on West 10 are already more than enough light manufacturing. Instead focus your attention on areas already designated as economic development zones. I ask you to delay any decision about the Buckhorn area plan until Orange County, Mebane and most importantly the residents who live here can assess traffic, water runoff, noise and pollution from the two warehouses already approved for West 10. Let's work together and think strategically about the needs of the Buckhorn Area. Thank you. Chair Price returned to the virtual meeting at 10:20 p.m. Patty O'Connor read the following statement: My name is Patty O'Connor and I live on Squires Road, directly across from the Medline Distribution Center and adjacent to the recently re-zoned Neyer property at Buckhorn and West Ten Roads. With the completion of Medline and the 500,000 square foot warehouse to be built on the Neyer land, there will be 1.7 million square feet of warehousing on a quarter mile stretch of road. When Medline develops their rezoned property on the south side of West Ten, the sweet, wooded Squires Road community will sit embedded in a rural industrial park with hundreds of estimated daily truck trips around us and all of the accompanying congestion, noise, and diesel fumes. And let's not forget to mention the environmental and aesthetic degradation. This part of Mebane is absolutely NOT going to be charming. Our ways of life, our homes and land values stand to be negatively impacted. I am asking tonight, that you, the BOCC, assume a larger role in partnering with Mebane for the Buckhorn Area Project. The residents living along this corridor chose their homes for a reason and most probably believed that the zoning of the lands around their homes would offer some protections. After all, that's the purpose of zoning. The Buckhorn area, even if some rezoning takes place, does not have to be a stretch of warehouses from one end of the road to the other. There is other development more suited to these rural areas and I ask that you task the planning department with being more creative in their thought processes and seeking citizen input when considering any development of these areas. In addition to pursuing sources of tax revenue, the goal should be to seek useful development that enhances a community while preserving its character. The residents at the western end of end of West Ten Road stand to pay a terrible price for the lack of thoughtfulness in planning for these semi-rural lands. Andrea Riley read the following statement: My name is Andrea Riley and I have lived in Efland for thirty years. I want to talk to you tonight about the desire of Orange County residents to be involved in Orange County's future planning