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<br /> 875 had to go across the street. I was able to purchase more property and get a permit for a septic system.There was an
<br /> 876 antique store there,they sold mattresses there at one time. I didn't realize when I purchased the property from the
<br /> 877 Masonic Lodge,that it was going to create this many problems.
<br /> 878
<br /> 879 Beth Bronson- How could you know?The zoning did not exist at the time you made that purchase. Thank you very much
<br /> 880 for clarifying.
<br /> 881
<br /> 882 Taylor Perschau-This is open for further planning board deliberation, of course, but I did want to close out the
<br /> 883 presentation portion to highlight what staff analysis determined with the application, how the site-specific plan and the
<br /> 884 conditions attached to this application align with the comprehensive plan, and as a reminder,this is from the planning
<br /> 885 staff.This is also in coordination with all of our interagency review partners that have looked at this, so the determination
<br /> 886 is that the proposal is consistent with the allowed zoning districts for the comprehensive plans' rural community activity
<br /> 887 node. You've seen this definition before, but I think it's worth repeating that the rural community activity node is defined
<br /> 888 as land designated in the comprehensive plan that's focused on designated road intersections,which serve as a notable
<br /> 889 crossroads first surrounding rural community and is an appropriate location for any of the following: church,fire stations,
<br /> 890 small post office, school, or other similar institutional uses, and one or more commercial uses. So,we'll bring it back to
<br /> 891 y'all now.You've had the opportunity to hear from the applicant, staff, and the public.You know it's still open for review
<br /> 892 and discussion amongst the board and then when you feel ready, it's time for a recommendation.
<br /> 893
<br /> 894 Randy Marshall-These commercial activity nodes were placed on the map in Orange County to try to help generate
<br /> 895 taxable income other than residential property taxes. Orange County has done a particularly poor job of actually
<br /> 896 attracting and continuing to hold on to commercial activities. For those of you who are too young to remember,there was
<br /> 897 a very thriving Lowes store where Whole Foods is now.They wanted to expand, and Chapel Hill wouldn't let them
<br /> 898 expand, so they went across the bridge, and they've got a nice Lowes that generates lots of tax money for Durham
<br /> 899 County. Mayor Ellie Kinnaird of Carrboro worked very hard to try to get Walmart to put a store in the Carrboro Plaza
<br /> 900 Shopping Center. She was unsuccessful.Wal Mart went across the line into Chatham County,where Walmart is making
<br /> 901 a lot of money for Chatham County. We continue to miss opportunities, and this may not be one, but we continue to miss
<br /> 902 opportunities where we could help relieve some of the pressure on property taxes. It's not just property taxes, the houses
<br /> 903 are too expensive. People who can't live here have to drive out to Chatham County, out to Alamance County, that's why
<br /> 904 the roads are so busy.All of these people can't afford to live here. They can't afford to pay rent here and a dollar store
<br /> 905 might be attractive to them because those are the places that these people, these commuters can shop. I don't think this
<br /> 906 business is designed or put into place in White Cross to serve the community.As such, regardless of what they say, 1
<br /> 907 think it's put there to try to capture commuter traffic going back and forth. The commuters are people who patronize
<br /> 908 these stores because they have prices that they can afford and we're never going to get any relief from property taxes or
<br /> 909 the cost of housing if we keep turning down commercial activities.You have to start somewhere, and we should have
<br /> 910 started 50 years ago. You know it's just troubling to me that even long term people who live in Chapel Hill and Carrboro,
<br /> 911 especially can't afford to live there anymore because the taxes go up because there's no other source of income that's
<br /> 912 substantial that can support the Orange County schools, other activities that we have in Orange County from just
<br /> 913 property taxes, the only way you could improve that is to raise property taxes. I'm not saying that this is going to
<br /> 914 generate much in terms of the tax base, but at some point, you've got to start somewhere. I won't be on the board in the
<br /> 915 future but all of the projects,whether it's Bucky's or one of the other places that we've talked about that could have
<br /> 916 generated lots of tax income for Orange County to relieve their property tax burden on our citizens are always turned
<br /> 917 down because the people don't want it next to them, and I can't blame them.That's natural,who wants a business,or
<br /> 918 industrial complex next to you. But if you don't start somewhere, in these areas,which the commissioners in Orange
<br /> 919 County have designated for these purposes,we're never going to get the diversified tax base that we need to try to hold
<br /> 920 these other costs accountable.
<br /> 921
<br /> 922 Lamar Proctor-With all due respect, I would somewhat disagree in that I think that Chapel Hill and Carrboro are growing
<br /> 923 phenomenally fast and are having a renaissance of commercial activity.As one of the speakers said, one of the most
<br /> 924 appealing parts of Orange County is that it has been able to preserve its rural county character and its natural
<br /> 925 surroundings by effectively preventing urban sprawl, box stores, and impervious surface that seem to crawl across other
<br /> 926 counties and destroy the rural character and the bucolic and peaceful nature of it. My biggest concern with this is in
<br /> 927 hearing from the residents is that changing the zoning from AR in an NC2 to a Non residential conditional district within
<br /> 928 the rural community activity node of White Cross is inconsistent with the comprehensive land use plan because you are
<br /> 929 essentially bypassing commercial space limitations and this project proposes having an over 10,000 square foot retail
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