Agenda - 04-06-2021; 8-a - Minutes

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5 1 My name is Janine Zanin and I live in Efland. If you are considering adopting any part of the 2 Buckhorn Area Plan, I'm asking you to please follow your own agreements and governing 3 documents before taking any action on expanding the existing utility service agreement with 4 Mebane. The Mebane City Council has said that the ball is in your court and they are waiting 5 for direction from you. I'd like to re-acquaint you with the plan from an Orange County 6 perspective because at your information session, you were presented with Mebane's maps, not 7 Orange County's. 8 9 This map here is a zoomed in version of the Orange County Future Land Use Map. I've drawn 10 in the "Future Growth Areas" proposed by the BAP so that you can see them in the context of 11 our land use map. As you can see, area B is currently zoned Rural Residential; areas C & D 12 are zoned Agricultural residential and are also predominantly located within critically protected 13 watershed, as is a portion of E. Area A is zoned Economic Development Transition. 14 By its own terms, the BAP recommends the expansion of manufacturing, wholesale, distribution, 15 and service uses in the "future growth areas." It recommends that Mebane expand the 16 Buckhorn Economic Development District and incorporate a new zoning district that encourages 17 documented research, office and manufacturing facilities in these "Future Growth Areas." 18 19 THIS IS A CHANGE TO OUR FUTURE LAND USE MAP AS WELL. To amend the Orange 20 County Future Land Use Map our own rules provide that the following must happen: 21 Signs are posted and notice is mailed to area residents. 22 The development advisory board considers the plan. 23 The planning board reviews the plan (and receives public comment). 24 A public hearing is held before the BOCC. 25 The BOCC makes a decision. 26 27 NONE OF THAT HAS HAPPENED. 28 29 The BAP also recommends extending sewer and water to the future growth areas. The county 30 is a signatory to the Water and Sewer Management, Planning and Boundary agreement in 31 which it has made collective promises with Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Hillsborough and OWASA. 32 Here's a close up of the map that goes along with that agreement. 33 34 Areas B, C, D & E all contain land where the county has previously agreed NOT to extend water 35 and sewer. That's the light yellow area. To change this agreement, requires the consent of 36 ALL PARTIES TO THE AGREEMENT. To withdraw from the agreement requires a public 37 hearing and written notice to all parties to the agreement within 30 days of the hearing. 38 39 NONE OF THAT HAS HAPPENED. 40 41 1 heard the planning department staff characterize the BAP as a "study" at your information 42 session. It also represented that no action had been taken yet. That isn't true. This plan was 43 presented to the Mebane City Planning Board on November 9th with a request to "Adopt the 44 Buckhorn Area Plan and Amend the Mebane Comprehensive Land Development Plan." Craig 45 Benedict, our planning director, was present at that meeting and participated in that meeting. 46 The Mebane Planning Board voted to adopt the plan and amend the Mebane Comprehensive 47 Land Development Plan. This was before ANY PUBLIC INPUT HAD BEEN RECEIVED ON 48 THE PLAN. The public information session was scheduled for the following day and the lucky 49 few who received notice (only those landowners who owned land within the proposed future 50 growth areas), only received a few days' notice of what was happening before the planning 51 board took a vote.