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resources (it spent $52 million on its Operations Center). We may also assume that the Town would have chosen its location in a responsible way. What entity, after all, has a greater interest in the responsible use and management of the land surrounding Chapel Hill? So, out of all the districts and zoning the Town might have chosen, it selected a portion of land in the Rural Buffer also on Millhouse Road. Aerial imagery shows that in 2004-2005 the Town cleared approximately 3.5 acres of Rural Buffer for uses very similar to those that we are proposing for our land, though on a significantly larger scale. The Town continues to use this Rural Buffer location for trucks and machinery parking, materials staging and loading, and parking spaces for associated staff vehicles. It also makes sense for us to locate our more modest operation off Millhouse Rd where we are even less likely to disturb neighbors. 21 It would be a waste for the Treeist to use any of the scarce commercially zoned properties. To keep these scarcer commercial zoning open for higher uses means that Orange County is more likely to achieve the vision it has for these development districts, including “compact and higher density development” (Objective ED-2.1; LU-3.9), and “a clustered, walkable development pattern” and avoiding “strip development” in non-residential nodes (Objective LU-3.7). A business that profits from the unique features of the commercial districts will also be in a better position to pay a premium for such amenities, thereby keeping these locations available and attractive to “major corporate users” who will more significantly “build and expand upon the County’s economic base” (Objective ED-2.6; ED-1.8). 9. An Appropriate Compromise in the Rural Buffer Our plans for rezoning the 10-acre property are favored by a wide range of the Comprehensive Plan’s directives for Orange County. In particular, progress would be made on 14 separate goals and 34 separate objectives. This alignment between our company’s plans and the directives of Orange County is not accidental. We are a locally owned and managed company, servicing local clientele, and we stand or fall by our local reputation. At a most general level, our basic function as a company is to offer and improve services that are valued by Orange County residents and that strengthen our rapport within this community. When we succeed in making necessary improvements in 21 If anything, the land that the Town of Chapel Hill selected to park its equipment and stage its materials is less suitable than the land we are proposing to use. The Town’s Rural Buffer land is much closer to residential properties, of which 6704 Millhouse Rd is the closest at approximately 200 feet from the clearing created by the Town’s facility. Aerial imagery suggests that, within 360 feet of the house on this property, the Town regularly uses heavy machinery to move and load gravel and associated materials. For comparison, our loading and staging area is about 1,725 feet from the nearest residential house (at 1550 Bruin Trail). 21 38