Minutes 04-20-2021 Virtual Business Meeting

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31 rural character of the place, tells me that its time for the BOCC to establish a new direction for the Orange County Planning Department. I ask that you, the Orange County Commissioners, prevent the current BAP from moving forward and encourage Mebane to cooperate on a new plan for a more sustainable and appropriate development of the Sevenmile Creek Watershed and a plan that does not violate watershed protection laws of North Carolina. Daniel Nuttall read the following statement: My name is Daniel Nutall, I'm an Orange County resident, and I'd like to ask the Commission not to move forward with the Buckhorn Area Plan as it currently exists. Our county does need economically viable development plans, but this particular plan carries far too many environmental risks to critical watersheds and poses too great a threat to the Gravelly Hill school community to be the right plan for Orange County. Gravelly Hill serves more minority students than any other school in our system, and it is vital we not commit the mistake of asking our working families of color to bear the burdens of increased development that does not align with our county UDO. More broadly, this discussion, like several recent discussions before it, show how urgently we need to reimagine our county development priorities to better align with our UDO guarantee we can remain a progressive community a long time into the future. To my eye, this development is simply more unsustainable sprawl that will serve to inconvenience working families while moving us further back on our climate goals. I hope the Board can consider more plans that prize sustainable transit, access to housing, and environmental benefits that can live up to Orange County's reputation and goals. Chair Price said she is concerned about Growth Area B. She said the Board had determined there would be no development below West Ten. She said she can understand Medline purchasing the property across from it, but does not understand why the County would aggressively go after other parcels in this area. She said serious public outreach is missing. She said, in the early days of the timeline, there was a lot of work with the community, and she would like to see more of that now. She said there are discussions with people in specific areas, but not with Commissioners or those who will be directly affected. She said she would like to see discussion, rather than a presentation, moving forward. She said there should be more than one meeting with the public. She said if Commissioners plan on attending the public meeting, please let the Clerk to the Board know, so she can provide public notice. Commissioner Hamilton commended the past actions in Orange County for protecting watersheds. She said this demonstrated forward thinking, and she would like to continue that thinking. Commissioner Hamilton said the Buckhorn Area Plan Study seems to be a technical study, and she does not understand why it is being called a plan, if it has not been approved. She said it is a proposed plan, and the current language makes it seem like it is a done deal. She said different language should be used. She said she looked at the study, looked at SWOT analysis, and it is a technical study on one narrow facet of water and sewer. She said an area plan is about everything that is valued about land use: the environment, land use, the underserved and vulnerable communities, etc. She said the Buckhorn Economic Development District already has the areas on which the Board is focused, and she does not see the need to go beyond that. She said growth Area B is not in the original plan. She said the Board can refuse to promote growth in an area that is not in Orange County values. She said she wants to clearly determined what a plan is, as it will help the public feel that things are not being done