|
174
<br /> DRAFT
<br /> 330 of Hillsborough's water and sewer resources to this non-contiguous parcel.They will be forced to do so by state law.As
<br /> 331 one town board member put it,"this will rip Hillsborough's Comprehensive Sustainability Plan to shreds." It should also
<br /> 332 be noted that if Orange County decides to permit this rezoning request, that it will be breaking the WASMPBA planning
<br /> 333 and boundary agreement signed by Hillsborough, Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Orange County.That agreement
<br /> 334 ....signatories to growth management....resolve and preclude conflicts about future service areas and also provide
<br /> 335 predictable planning and financing. Rezoning will also result in tax and service fee hikes for Hillsborough businesses and
<br /> 336 residences over time.Without bringing any new tax revenue to the town regardless of who pays for the initial extension
<br /> 337 of services, it is alarming to me that these costs to Hillsborough are not mentioned or addressed by the applicant or by
<br /> 338 the Orange County Planning Department.At the last planning board meeting on April 5, Hillsborough's mayor and a town
<br /> 339 board representative, signed up for 3 minutes to address this board on these and other concerning issues with this
<br /> 340 proposal. Three minutes,for the jurisdiction that would be held responsible for servicing this project, paying for the
<br /> 341 consequences,and the jurisdiction that should be making these decisions. Please, listen to our town representatives and
<br /> 342 vote unanimously to not recommend this rezoning proposal to the Orange County Board of Commissioners.
<br /> 343
<br /> 344 Margo Lakin: I'm for schools and ball fields and tennis courts and pickleball and skateboards and walking,what I'm
<br /> 345 against is this spot zoning that will disenfranchise Hillsborough voters and compromise our water and sewer capacity.
<br /> 346 We have been told that rezoning decisions are based on land use, not on traffic patterns, not on who will occupy the
<br /> 347 development. This rezoning doesn't promote Hillsborough's future land use plan. It will rip the town's comprehensive
<br /> 348 sustainability plan to shreds. It doesn't even support Orange County's Comprehensive Land Use Plan that serves as a
<br /> 349 guide to county growth and development through 2030.The rezoning will not efficiently use existing capacity, it will
<br /> 350 create light, noise, and air pollution. I haven't heard one mention of...ratings for buildings. It will destroy federally
<br /> 351 recognized habitat for five protected species, it will threaten two watersheds, and compound the stress on the town's
<br /> 352 finite water and sewer capacity.There are eight planning principals in the 2030 plan that have been the foundation for
<br /> 353 development, this proposal meets none of them.We heard that conditional zoning only allows for this project and no
<br /> 354 variations but according to the planning department presentation, at the April 4 Board of County Commissioners
<br /> 355 meeting,where another conditional rezoning proposal was voted on,we were told that conditional zoning does allow for
<br /> 356 negotiation between applicant and staff or appointed board,or the elected body of Orange County. If rezoned,this
<br /> 357 proposal could change and Hillsborough would not be part of those closed door decisions.We haven't heard from the K-
<br /> 358 8 charter school proposal because it doesn't exist.At the neighborhood information meeting,the developer failed to
<br /> 359 mention that he is also the landowner. He told the room that the sports fields were place holder ideas only. Two weeks
<br /> 360 ago,we heard for the first time in a public forum ,that well and septic can now support this project and Hillsborough
<br /> 361 Water and Sewer isn't needed. So why was there an annexation request to Hillsborough in the first place? If rezoning is
<br /> 362 approved, are we to believe that the new state law forcing towns to provide water and sewer to charter schools won't be
<br /> 363 invoked by the developer? Hillsborough government officials elected as a legislative body in establishing town policy in
<br /> 364 law, denied the original annexation. That should have been the end of it but here we are. I ask you to listen and honor
<br /> 365 the decisions of those who we voted for to decide what is best for our town. Please deny this rezoning application.
<br /> 366
<br /> 367 Susan Swafford: I'm a board member for West Triangle High School, as well as a local parent. I have lived here since
<br /> 368 1994. 1 have concerns with this planning process. In the last meeting, Mr. Stokes specifically discussed state statutes
<br /> 369 that prevent considering traffic, utilities and school type in deciding on a zoning application.This makes allowing the
<br /> 370 mayor to read her letter aloud concerning water and sewage, problematic.The content of the letter regarding utilities, is
<br /> 371 also questionable.Two things to consider:our school is asking for 6,000 gallons of water daily or.15%of current city
<br /> 372 water usage.WTHS will pay to hook up the utilities costing and estimated one million dollars during construction, and
<br /> 373 pay around $30,000 annually for water service. How is it that the city can not handle that minute amount of water?The
<br /> 374 mayor is trying to attach a$42 million price tag to hooking up sewer for the school?What I found most concerning was
<br /> 375 the mayor's use of the word"equity." I believe the mayor is presenting a red herring fallacy. She wants us to pay
<br /> 376 attention to a sewer problem, however where is the data supporting her claim? I believe the mayor and others actually
<br /> 377 oppose charter schools.Tonight I present a real matter of equity driven by actual data.These numbers come from the
<br /> 378 state board of education recording system used for all public schools across the state. For black students in Orange
<br /> 379 County last year,there is a 43%/33%/40%achievement gap in Math, English and Reading, respectively. Meaning that
<br /> 380 the average test scores for black students is 43/33/40% below the average score for white students. Just 5%of black
<br /> 381 students in the county attempted an AP class. For Hispanic students, there is a 34/37/23%achievement gap across
<br /> 382 Math, English and Reading. In Orange County, in high poverty schools, 20%of teachers are new to teaching. This
<br /> 383 compares to only 3% of new teachers in low poverty schools. Our school leader, Joey Webb, has a track record of
<br /> 384 closing large achievement gaps. Our board chair,Alex Quigley, works tirelessly, with success to close the achievement
<br />
|