Agenda 05-16-2023; 8-a - Minutes

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38 1 items that are not currently available. She thanked the developer and the Board and asked them 2 to support the proposal. 3 Marita Matigue waived her time to speak. 4 Carol Rigsbee said she owned the property across from the parcel. She said she supports 5 the first four paragraphs of the rezoning to commercial. She said it will make it more usable and 6 bring in more tax money. 7 James Davis said he has spent most of his life in the White Cross area and lived there for 8 75 years. He said his family has been in the area since the 1800s. He said he has seen change 9 and it predominantly has been positive and beneficial. He said this change will be beneficial and 10 will give a wider variety of goods available. He said it will not put people out of business. He said 11 he had a small cattle farm down the street, which he believes will not be negatively impacted by 12 the rezoning. He asked the Board to approve the rezoning. 13 Marvin Davis said he has lived in White Cross for 21 years, has owned property, and 14 graduated from the Orange High School. He said he served as a city manager throughout North 15 Carolina for 35 years. He said that Bingham Township is growing, and the request is to meet the 16 needs of a growing community. He said that he feels this application does just that. He said the 17 census shows a growth of 13% over 20 years in the area. He said that population is about 71% 18 of the population of Hillsborough. He said the economic investment will serve as a retail option 19 for the 6,972 persons for goods they currently cannot get in White Cross. He said that businesses 20 have separated and occurred in a reasonable way. He said that there is about a 6-9 year 21 separation between the businesses and has served the community. He said the professional 22 planning staff has recommended it and he encourages them to approve it. 23 Amanda Griffin said she lives in White Cross. She said there are seven homes on her 24 street and she is representing several neighbors. She said they are concerned about the 25 application. She said this structure would be the largest structure in the area and almost four 26 Bravo's Markets would fit in the building. She said that they feel this application does not conform 27 to the Comprehensive Plan. She said that it allows them to circumvent the commercial maximum 28 acreage. She said that her area is supposed to only have 20 acres of commercial available and 29 that this puts it at 24.3 commercial acres because they are outside of the 20 acre maximum with 30 this rezoning. She said that it sets a dangerous precedent. She said if developers can get 31 conditional zoning approved then what is the point of the limited commercial nodes at all. She 32 asked the Board to deny the application. 33 John Griffin said rural Orange County remains a sanctuary from the suburban sprawl from 34 the Triangle. He said that the 2030 Comprehensive Plan speaks to maintaining this. He said that 35 every neighboring county is saturated with Dollar Generals at intersections. He said Orange 36 County has none. He said this would set a precedent for rural Orange County. He said there is a 37 ton of literature from across the country that speaks to the social and economic costs of corporate 38 box retail. He said they offer non nutritious processed foods, low pay, single use products that fill 39 the landfill, and a heightened opportunity for armed robbery. He implored the Board to join the 40 Planning Board's rejection and vote against oversized, out of character, and predatory retail in 41 Orange County. 42 Lynne Jaffe said she had been living and working in Orange County for 40 years. She 43 said that the word rural becomes less meaningful, with constant pushing. She said she doesn't 44 have a problem with inviting retail to the area but she has one with Dollar General. She said it is 45 not a good business to invite into the community for all of the reasons that have been stated. She 46 said there is a Dollar Store and a Food Lion right down the street. She said the idea of 47 convenience for a few items will devour the county if they keep saying yes. She said that this is 48 not the best option for White Cross. 49 Cory Oliver said he has lived in the White Cross area for 6 years. He said White Cross 50 has some businesses and resources that his family supports, but they must go 8-12 miles to get 51 groceries. He said they must go to Mebane, Eli Whitney, and Pittsboro to get goods. He said