Agenda - 09-02-2021; 8-a - Minutes

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20 1 through the Flint water crisis, and it is imperative to answer these questions before 2 development. 3 Del Ward said Orange County is full of smart people and is continuing to grow. He said 4 area B seems like a great place for a new elementary school, not something the size of Medline. 5 He said area A sits within EDD, but Area B does not. He said there has been a loss of faith in 6 the community. He said at the May 17th meeting, someone asked if people in area A would be 7 displaced, and the Planning Department director responded that he had dinner with someone 8 21 years ago. He said that is not thoughtful community engagement, and public meetings must 9 continue. He said he is confused as to whether this is a plan or a study, and this all seems a bit 10 much. 11 Commissioner Hamilton said the name change was discussed at a previous meeting. 12 She said a plan is something that County commissioners agree on after there has been input 13 from the community and environmental agencies. She said she wants to know when the Board 14 will create a plan, and which areas will be targeted. She said the BOCC is in a process where 15 things are not being taken off the table. She said the BOCC needs to communicate what it 16 wants to Mebane. She said she would like more community input prior to determining a plan, as 17 well as a clear understanding of the costs and benefits for developing this area. 18 Commissioner Hamilton said the County should communicate to Mebane that it is going 19 to work on a timeline to make a clear plan on how the County wants to move forward. She said 20 it is important for this to be clear, so that the BOCC is not constantly picking at this, 21 understanding that things can always change. 22 Commissioner Greene said she understands how staff got to Areas B, C, and D, but she 23 cannot support changing anything for Area B. She said it would be better to stick with the 24 original EDD north of West Ten Road. 25 Commissioner Dorosin said whatever the plan looks like, at some point there is going to 26 be commercial development near to residential development. He said it would be helpful to talk 27 to Mebane about its goals for corporate development. He said he would push back against free 28 for all annexation. He said looking at the map, there are two large areas already annexed by 29 the City of Mebane, which are mostly north of area B. He said Mebane has already said it does 30 not want to go to C. He asked if the BOCC should encourage economic development from 31 areas to the east of the City, and similarly those other areas east of A are in consideration. He 32 said it would be helpful to determine areas where economic development should be 33 concentrated. He said areas on the map that are already purple would not require changes to 34 the County's land use map, and it may make more sense to have some contiguity in an 35 economic development area. He said there should be renewed focus on the existing EDD 36 areas, and if there are already services in the annexed areas, it makes sense to begin there. He 37 said there ought to be some reasonable expectation where economic development should be 38 concentrated. 39 Commissioner Bedford agreed with focusing on parcel A, including water and sewer 40 installation, and the area with the flea market. She said there might be a possibility for a school 41 site in Area B, but it will depend on growth and other potential sites. She referred to Area B, 42 and said she would prefer to keep the rural buffer and keep the agreement. She said Mebane 43 was invited to participate in the WASMPBA, and declined. She said she would like to continue 44 exploring this area with the community, as there might an opportunity to do mixed use with a 45 hotel and shops, businesses, restaurants, and residential. She said Mebane did listen when 46 the County said please do not put just residential there. She said she does not want to shut off 47 creative thinking. 48 Chair Price said Mebane was concerned about not having major residential in that area. 49 Commissioner Bedford said yes. 50 Chair Price said Mebane's water capacity will not allow major residential development.