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1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: November 14, 2023 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 6-a <br /> SUBJECT: Approval of a Professional Services Contract with Gensler to Provide Community <br /> Engagement Services for a Greene Tract Master Plan <br /> DEPARTMENT: Planning and Inspections <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> 1. Gensler Community Engagement Services Cy Stober, Director, 919-245-2592 <br /> Proposal Perdita Holtz, Deputy Director, 919- <br /> 245-2578 <br /> PURPOSE: To provide a historical perspective on engagement activities related to the <br /> development of the Greene Tract and to discuss and approve a new community engagement <br /> proposal to inform the site design process. <br /> BACKGROUND: The Greene Tract is located east of the Rogers Road community within the <br /> Town of Chapel Hill's extra-territorial jurisdiction (ETJ). Of the 164-acre parcel, 104 acres is jointly <br /> owned by Orange County/Chapel Hill/Carrboro and 60 acres is owned by Orange County <br /> (Headwaters Preserve). Over the last 20+ years, the three jurisdictions have invested significant <br /> resources to identify and support the goals for the Greene Tract as a resource for the Rogers <br /> Road community and the residents of the two towns and Orange County, all of which can be found <br /> on the County's dedicated Greene Tract project page and dynamic StoryMap, but featuring the <br /> following- <br /> - In 2006, the Town of Chapel Hill initiated and led a Rogers Road Small Area Plan Task <br /> Force with the Greene Tract partners, resulting in a final report in March 2009; <br /> - In 2012, the Historic Rogers Road Neighborhood Task Force led its own small area <br /> planning efforts, resulting in a final report in September 2013; <br /> - In July 2015, the Jackson Center co-led the Mapping Our Community's Future Report with <br /> the Historic Rogers Road Community, which was completed in May 2016; <br /> - In June 2016, Orange County purchased 60 acres for preservation from the Solid Waste <br /> Enterprise Fund ("Headwaters Preserve"); <br /> - At the 2016 Assembly of Governments (AOG) Meeting, a suggestion was raised to ask the <br /> elected officials of the three jurisdictions to participate in discussions on the Greene Tract; <br /> - In 2017, staff examined a potential reconfiguration of the jointly-owned tract and the <br /> County-owned tract for the purposes of environmental preservation, potential affordable <br /> housing development, and a possible school site; <br />