|
Approved 4 - 5 - 23
<br /> 985 Vernon Davis- When I first got the property , it was just on a quarter of an acre , and it had no bathroom . When they
<br /> 986 moved the building back , they took the privy , and it was done away with . I could never get septic for the building , so 1
<br /> 987 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 /> 988 antique store there , they sold mattresses there at one time . I didn ' t realize when I purchased the property from the
<br /> 989 Masonic Lodge , that it was going to create this many problems .
<br /> 990
<br /> 991 Beth Bronson - How could you know? The zoning did not exist at the time you made that purchase . Thank you very much
<br /> 992 for clarifying .
<br /> 993
<br /> 994 Taylor Perschau - This is open for further planning board deliberation , of course , but I did want to close out the
<br /> 995 presentation portion to highlight what staff analysis determined with the application , how the site-specific plan and the
<br /> 996 conditions attached to this application align with the comprehensive plan , and as a reminder, this is from the planning
<br /> 997 staff. This is also in coordination with all of our interagency review partners that have looked at this , so the determination
<br /> 998 is that the proposal is consistent with the allowed zoning districts for the comprehensive plans ' rural community activity
<br /> 999 node . You 've seen this definition before , but I think it' s worth repeating that the rural community activity node is defined
<br /> 1000 as land designated in the comprehensive plan that' s focused on designated road intersections , which serve as a notable
<br /> 1001 crossroads first surrounding rural community and is an appropriate location for any of the following : church , fire stations ,
<br /> 1002 small post office , school , or other similar institutional uses , and one or more commercial uses . So , we' ll bring it back to
<br /> 1003 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 /> 1004 and discussion amongst the board and then when you feel ready , it' s time for a recommendation .
<br /> 1005
<br /> 1006 Randy Marshall - These commercial activity nodes were placed on the map in Orange County to try to help generate
<br /> 1007 taxable income other than residential property taxes . Orange County has done a particularly poor job of actually
<br /> 1008 attracting and continuing to hold on to commercial activities . For those of you who are too young to remember, there was
<br /> 1009 a very thriving Lowes store where Whole Foods is now . They wanted to expand , and Chapel Hill wouldn ' t let them
<br /> 1010 expand , so they went across the bridge , and they've got a nice Lowes that generates lots of tax money for Durham
<br /> loll County . Mayor Ellie Kinnaird of Carrboro worked very hard to try to get Walmart to put a store in the Carrboro Plaza
<br /> 1012 Shopping Center . She was unsuccessful . Wal Mart went across the line into Chatham County , where Walmart is making
<br /> 1013 a lot of money for Chatham County . We continue to miss opportunities , and this may not be one , but we continue to miss
<br /> 1014 opportunities where we could help relieve some of the pressure on property taxes . It' s not just property taxes , the houses
<br /> 1015 are too expensive . People who can 't live here have to drive out to Chatham County , out to Alamance County , that' s why
<br /> 1016 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 /> 1017 might be attractive to them because those are the places that these people , these commuters can shop . I don 't think this
<br /> 1018 business is designed or put into place in White Cross to serve the community . As such , regardless of what they say , I
<br /> 1019 think it' s put there to try to capture commuter traffic going back and forth . The commuters are people who patronize
<br /> 1020 these stores because they have prices that they can afford and we' re never going to get any relief from property taxes or
<br /> 1021 the cost of housing if we keep turning down commercial activities . You have to start somewhere , and we should have
<br /> 1022 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 /> 1023 especially can 't afford to live there anymore because the taxes go up because there's no other source of income that's
<br /> 1024 substantial that can support the Orange County schools , other activities that we have in Orange County from just
<br /> 1025 property taxes , the only way you could improve that is to raise property taxes . I ' m not saying that this is going to
<br /> 1026 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 /> 1027 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 /> 1028 generated lots of tax income for Orange County to relieve their property tax burden on our citizens are always turned
<br /> 1029 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 /> 1030 industrial complex next to you . But if you don 't start somewhere , in these areas , which the commissioners in Orange
<br /> 1031 County have designated for these purposes , we ' re never going to get the diversified tax base that we need to try to hold
<br /> 1032 these other costs accountable .
<br /> 1033
<br /> 1034 Lamar Proctor- With all due respect , I would somewhat disagree in that I think that Chapel Hill and Carrboro are growing
<br /> 1035 phenomenally fast and are having a renaissance of commercial activity . As one of the speakers said , one of the most
<br /> 1036 appealing parts of Orange County is that it has been able to preserve its rural county character and its natural
<br /> 1037 surroundings by effectively preventing urban sprawl , box stores , and impervious surface that seem to crawl across other
<br /> 1038 counties and destroy the rural character and the bucolic and peaceful nature of it . My biggest concern with this is in
<br /> 1039 hearing from the residents is that changing the zoning from AR in an NC - 2 to a Non residential conditional district within
<br />
|