1-3-24 PB Agenda Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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7. Promotion of Economic Prosperity and Diversity: Development of a diversity of new businesses and expansion of existing businesses should occur in Orange County. Staff Comment: The applicant will provide an underserved market with needed service, particularly for the nearby municipalities. The applicant is proposing to relocate an existing tree care and consulting company currently operating in Carrboro to this site. Relocation of this business to a rural setting will more appropriately allow for it to operate while continuing to serve the nearby municipal market than it can from its current placement in a municipality. The applicant estimates that approval could create 10 – 20 new jobs. 8. Preservation of Community Character: Future growth and development should occur in a manner that preserves and enhances the existing character of the County, its townships, and rural crossroads communities. Staff Comment: This agricultural support enterprise will be appropriately placed within the Rural Buffer designated by both the 2030 Comprehensive Plan and the Orange County- Chapel Hill-Carrboro Joint Planning Agreement Land Use Plan. It shall be situated such that it is surrounded by an actively-managed forest, a former landfill, and a proposed recreation facility. There will be no disruption to residential quality of life, and the approval will introduce a new business to the area and to the county’s business community. Placement of this business is in harmony with the immediately surrounding area on the edge of the Town of Chapel Hill’s ETJ, and in the public interest so as to conveniently place an arborist near municipal centers while separating it from the residential and commercial activities of those areas for a more rural location surrounded by similar uses. Chapter 5 – Land Use Element, Section 5.6 Goals The proposal is consistent with the 2030 Comprehensive Plan, furthering the following goals:  Land Use Overarching Goal: Coordination of the amount, location, pattern, and designation of future land uses, with availability of County services and facilities sufficient to meet the needs of Orange County’s population and economy consistent with other Comprehensive Plan element goals and objectives. Staff Comment: The application proposes an Agricultural Support Enterprise for an arborist and wood-processing center within an area surrounded by public or quasi-public uses, including the actively-managed Duke Forest. The tree-related operations are consistent with both the rural character of this immediate area as well as the more intensive use to the south of the former county landfill, which is in the Town of Chapel Hill’s ETJ. While, by the applicant’s admission, the operations will generate noise pollution and some odors related to tree processing into wood byproducts, the use is consistent with the “low-intensity agricultural support” uses allowed in the Rural Buffer by the Orange County- Chapel Hill-Carrboro Joint Planning Agreement (JPA) Land Use Plan. The site plan and conditions committed to by the applicant will separate this use from the properties owned Orange County and proposed for a recreational facility featuring multiple soccer fields. The combination of the required screening and setbacks with the natural environmental features of this property and the adjacent ones will adequately minimize impacts to surrounding properties.  Land Use Goal 2: Land uses that are appropriate to on-site environmental conditions and features, and that protect natural resources, cultural resources, and community character. 77