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

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8 1 2 The push for industrial development in the Buckhorn Area Plan requires the rezoning of 3 agricultural and residential land, the extension of sewer and water to that land, and the 4 annexation of that land by the city of Mebane. Industrial development in this area will threaten 5 the same water supply that you wanted to protect by vastly increasing the amount of impervious 6 land in the Buckhorn Area and by creating ground water runoff which will carry immense 7 amounts of sediment into Seven Mile Creek, eventually polluting the Eno River and the water 8 supplies of communities downstream. Annexing by Mebane will create a way around the 9 existing water and sewer agreement signed by Orange County, Chapel Hill, Carrboro, 10 Hillsborough, and OWASA in 2001, the Water and Sewer Management, Planning, and 11 Boundary Agreement. This plan was created in order to share water and sewer obligations and 12 to protect the rural buffers of all of the communities in Orange County. The limits to the 13 extension of water and sewer provisions for these communities, and the protection of Orange 14 County's rural buffers agreed to in this plan need to be upheld. 15 16 Residents of Efland and northern Orange County have been promised water and sewer service 17 for a long time. The decision about whom to serve, however, has been decided by County 18 Planning in favor of industrial development and tax dollars instead of equitable service to all of 19 the residents of this county. Orange County residents need to be involved in the process of 20 deciding what kind of development should be undertaken in Orange County, where it needs to 21 be located, and who should benefit. 22 23 We hope that the Commissioners will take the time to learn about all of the issues involved with 24 the Buckhorn Area Plan. The protection of clean water, agricultural and rural buffer zones, and 25 residential zones; equitable access to water and sewer service for all Orange County citizens; 26 freedom from air, light, and noise pollution and from traffic congestion for nearby residents- all 27 of these issues should be considered and debated by citizens of Orange County and the Board 28 of County Commissioners. 29 30 We hope the BOCC will insist upon public input regarding the plan, will uphold the already 31 agreed upon Comprehensive Land Use Plan, Efland/Mebane Small Area Plan, Unified 32 Development Ordinance regulations, and Orange County Water and Sewer Management, 33 Planning, and Boundary Agreement, and will enter into a binding agreement joint-area plan with 34 Mebane so that both parties will be required to agree to any rezoning. The decisions made now 35 about development in Orange County will impact the environment and citizens of Orange 36 County for generations to come. We look forward to being able to engage with you on this 37 important area plan. Thank you. 38 39 Tim Spruill read the following statement: 40 41 Hello. I am Tim Spruill and a resident of Efland in Orange County. I am here today to bring your 42 attention to the Buckhorn Area Plan which this Board will focus on at the upcoming March 9th 43 meeting. I was not aware of the BAP, the plan that is being considered between Orange County 44 and the City of Mebane, until this last November. This plan has, before any public discussion or 45 comment, unofficially already been implemented, with the construction of Medline. In its current 46 form, it is a poorly thought-out plan that has in my opinion, severely ignored physical and 47 biological impacts on the primary water-supply for Hillsborough (the Eno River and the 48 contributing tributary, Seven Mile Creek) and on groundwater that provides local well-water 49 supplies and baseflow to Seven Mile Creek. Extensive creation of impervious surfaces will 50 ultimately severely damage Seven Mile Creek and potentially cause siltation and flooding issues 51 downstream. Most of the land within the Plan boundaries is in agricultural or rural residential