Minutes 06-23-2022 Retreat - Laserfiche WebLink

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20 there are people coming into the state for a variety of reasons, and is relevant to keep in mind for short-term and long-term planning. To Chair Price's point about how quickly the area is changing, Commissioner Bedford said the strategic plan has to be a living document. She asked if there is a way for the strategic plan to center on Orange County, but also keep the surrounding region in mind. Lydian Altman said that would be a decision for the Board to make, and would be a smart decision because of the connectedness of Orange County and the rest of the Triangle. Commissioner Greene said the Orange County Transit Plan will be revised in the fall, and is very much a call for land use planning and transit planning. She said even the towns don't do a good enough job thinking about that, and in a discussion about a growing population, the towns have to be included. Commissioner Greene said she would not support expanding the rural buffer and just because the idea is 20 years old does not mean it's a bad idea. She said it is more worthwhile than ever because it supports the idea that population needs to be centered on areas where there can be public transit and there are advantages to having a rural part of the county. She said the population growth should happen in the towns, so the county needs to communicate with the towns about more connected planning. She shared that at a TJCOG meeting, the executive director talked about doing a much better job of connecting regionally about these issues. She said one issue is that not all counties are like Orange County in terms of values and priorities so it will always be a challenge, but in a changing environment it's important to think about how to target and manage the growth. In reference to comments about an aging population, she noted that Orange County has an excellent master aging plan. Commissioner Fowler said she is in favor of developing a strategic plan for many of the reasons mentioned. She said it is clear that many things have changed, especially throughout the pandemic, and priorities have changed. She said the increase in mental health needs is an issue, and it is time to update the priorities and include the community's input and what they value. She said she appreciates Commissioner Greene's point about combining land use with transportation planning, because even if each department has its own great plan, there may need to be more collaboration between departments. Commissioner Richards said it would make sense to take pieces of things like the master aging plan and the transit plan and not re-invent the wheel for the strategic plan. She said she recalls there are around four consultants working on other plans for the county as well. Bonnie Hammersley said operational planning is different than strategic planning, which is related to policy. She said the plans Commissioner Richards is talking about inform staff how to operate underneath the broader strategic plan. Commissioner Richards asked if the master aging plan would be something to consider for the strategic plan. Bonnie Hammersley said that is also an operational plan for the Department on Aging. She said the COVID recovery plan would be an example of an outward focused plan, while most of the plans the county has are inward focused on how to operate to meet the outward need. Lydian Altman said there may be other plans even at a regional level where it's important to synthesize and pull out information and determine implications for the strategic plan during the planning process. Chair Price said the Board should be looking at policy rather than operations because it can't interfere with what the departments are doing. She said updating the comprehensive plan 12 years ago was a very involved process that included a lot of people, and that's not something the Board should get deeply into. Lydian Altman agreed that is the Board's role. She said that envisioning is the heavy part. She referred to the below slide: