Orange County NC Website
4 <br /> 1 Instead the task was handed off to county and city staff and we have yet to hear anything about <br /> 2 next steps. <br /> 3 So I ask again, what is the plan for public engagement? When will the board of commissioners <br /> 4 and Mebane City Council be in the same room again and be able to hear the public speak on <br /> 5 the matter? If this plan is truly to help those in the area and those that might one day move to it, <br /> 6 we need a plan soon. Moving slowly, and by default not having a plan, would be even worse for <br /> 7 residents. It would mean that City of Mebane will continue to annex properties as buyers come <br /> 8 along and County residents will be surrounded by Mebane city zoning and UDO. Conflicting <br /> 9 UDOs mixed together in the same area will lead to many headaches for not only the residents <br /> 10 and developers, but also the board of commissioners and Mebane city council. <br /> 11 <br /> 12 In respect to the commissioners' and public's time I will not rehash any of my previously made <br /> 13 points in my past public comments, you can read those on the ocbocc public email. I ask that <br /> 14 today you hear one thing, we need a plan for public engagement and fast. This plan needs to <br /> 15 happen in some fashion, and to talk about land use without public input is irresponsible. The <br /> 16 drafted Buckhorn Area Plan itself says, "Public input is important to the success of any planning <br /> 17 effort." When will Orange County residents have the time to speak outside of 3-minute public <br /> 18 comments? <br /> 19 <br /> 20 Janine Zanin read the following comments: <br /> 21 <br /> 22 My name is Janine Zanin and I live in Efland. It is no secret that our community has been <br /> 23 extremely frustrated by the lack of public engagement by Orange County around the Buckhorn <br /> 24 Area Plan. After months of public comment begging to be heard, it was very disappointing to be <br /> 25 relegated to the sidelines, with no voice in the conversation, when you met with the city of <br /> 26 Mebane last week. It was downright aggravating to listen in on that conversation and hear you <br /> 27 receive misinformation. And the fact that some of the misinformation you received was related <br /> 28 to Mebane's public engagement process thus far is just infuriating. <br /> 29 <br /> 30 It is our sincere hope that one of the actions you will take after last week's meeting is to put forth <br /> 31 a clear plan for public engagement. Until that happens, we will keep showing up at your <br /> 32 meetings, three minutes at a time, and we will be holding our own public information sessions. <br /> 33 We invite you to attend to get a more well-rounded and accurate view of the land use issues in <br /> 34 our community, as well as a clear picture of the process as it's been thus far. There is <br /> 35 information on the slide behind me about how you can join us. <br /> 36 <br /> 37 Janine Zanin showed a slide on a community information session regarding the <br /> 38 Buckhorn Area Plan, which will take place on March 20, 2021 from 12:00 pm to 1:15 pm. <br /> 39 Janine Zanin continued reading her comments: <br /> 40 <br /> 41 With my three minutes tonight, I want to make two points: <br /> 42 1. The public engagement process that actually happened bore little resemblance to the <br /> 43 process that was described at your meeting with Mebane. <br /> 44 2. In spite of the annexation rules, you DO have some say in what happens within the future <br /> 45 growth areas because you have a say in how Orange County invests its revenue. <br /> 46 PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT <br /> 47 When Cy, Jesse, and Craig were asked about public engagement they said: <br /> 48 "We did mail to the entire area and expanded area outside the study area for that public <br /> 49 involvement meeting." No, they did not. They only mailed property owners whose property lay <br /> 50 within the boundaries of the five future growth areas. I have a copy of the letter here on the <br /> 51 screen behind me. <br />