Agenda 01-18-22; 8-a - Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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21 1 he is talking about moving this resolution forward so the governments and community can come 2 together to have discussions about those things. He said he is looking forward to the future, 3 and people would rather have somewhere to live than somewhere to play. He said one cannot 4 live on a bike or on a walking trail, but one can live in affordable, mixed-use, work force housing. 5 He said now is the time to do the right thing and stop dividing the community when the 6 naysayers say they have met with certain people. He said this is about coming together and 7 doing the right thing, and loving one another. He said this resolution should move forward. 8 Margo Lakin said she is a resident of Orange County. She said the three jurisdictions 9 voting for the Greene Tract proposal are holding meetings concurrently tonight, so the public 10 had to choose which meeting to attend. She said there is a real chance the Commissioners will 11 vote without hearing from constituents, and the Commissioners cannot attend the two other 12 meetings where they could learn further information that could influence their vote. She said 13 she does not see how this process equitable and inclusive. She said throughout the community 14 hearings, there has been no voice opposed to affordable housing. She said the Rogers Road 15 plan is transparent and inclusive, and specifically lists the creation of quality affordable homes 16 as its priorities. She said this progressive plan has been replaced with what the Board will vote 17 on tonight with ambiguity and double speak, but more land open for development and has 18 affordable housing as a goal rather than a mandate. She said the public needs to ask itself why 19 the plan includes mixed use and commercial development, and perhaps it is paving the way for 20 commercial and market rate housing development by using the pretext of much needed 21 affordable housing as a means to garner community support and votes no matter how much the 22 public has been gas slighted. She said no public questions have been answered. She said she 23 is concerned for the environment, and asked the BOCC to vote no on this plan. 24 Delores Bailey said she is a long time resident of Orange County and the Executive 25 Director of EmPOWERment Inc. She said she is flustered because she has been working on 26 the Green Tract since 2003, so she is assuming that people are just finding out about it and that 27 is why they feel it is being rushed through, but it is not. She said 2003-2021 is a long time, and 28 she urged the BOCC to approve the resolution, as it is in line with the work of the Rogers Road 29 community. She said that the area everyone is so proud of now used to be a landfill and 30 somewhere no one wanted to live. She said the people living on Rogers Road stood through all 31 of that and fought that environmental fight, and what they want should happen. She said this 32 resolution is in complete alignment with what the Rogers Road community has asked for in 33 mapping the future. She said is has not been rushed at all. She said she understands that not 34 everyone understands the terminology, but this plan is very much environmentally sensitive. 35 She said tonight's resolution is just so the next step can happen and planning can continue. 36 She said this did not start last year, and tonight is the night to approve this resolution and move 37 to the next step. 38 Abel Hastings said 167 acres should be enough to do two things, but somehow the 39 debate has been turned into a `this or that' decision. He said affordable housing and preserved 40 green spaces are both important to the community. He said he had first hand experience with 41 communities working together, and though he was not part of the 2016 Rogers Road team, he 42 was a member of Neighbors United Around the Green Tract. He said, like the 2016 team, this 43 citizen group took part in an inclusive planning discussion that talked about tough issues. He 44 said this plan does not reflect the community's common themes in 2016 or now. He said the 45 resolution has a few alarming features, such as the reserved land being much smaller than ever 46 before and does not reflect guidance from county's environmental experts. He said roadways 47 and sewer does not sound like environmental preservation. He said development area can 48 include affordable housing which is great, but there is no restriction on the amount of market 49 rate commercial development. He said the Greene Tract is the largest forested area, and while 50 unofficial, it should be acknowledged as a park that is set to turn into development. He said he 51 is sad that the local governments did not follow through on recommendations from previous