Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
2 <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 /> Between 2018 and 2019, the three jurisdictions considered multiple iterations of a joint <br /> resolution for the development of the Greene Tract and accompanying Conceptual Plan; <br /> Between 2019 and 2020, the three jurisdictions discussed and approved the Greene Tract <br /> Resolution for a Path Forward and Interlocal Agreement, identifying land use acreages for <br /> the Greene Tract, initiating staff to seek professional services to conduct an environmental <br /> assessment, and initiating the drafting of an Interlocal Agreement between the three <br /> jurisdictions to provide a decision-making process for the three jurisdictions moving <br /> forward; <br /> - In April 2020, Orange County contracted with SynTerra to complete the Greene Tract <br /> Environmental Assessment, to be delivered in July 2020; <br /> In 2021, the Interlocal Agreement (ILA) between Orange County and the Towns of <br /> Carrboro and Chapel Hill Regarding the Current and Future Use of the Jointly Owned <br /> Greene Tract was executed by all three parties. Among other commitments, it directed staff <br /> from all three jurisdictions to work in good faith to "develop a work plan that includes, among <br /> other things, a decision point timeline regarding development" of the Greene Tract; <br /> - In November 2021, the three local governments adopted a resolution approving a <br /> conceptual plan, which identified land uses and acreages to be used as schematic for <br /> future planning purposes, including the development of a Master Plan. The 45 acres with <br /> frontage on Purefoy Drive and Lizzie Lane were identified for "Development" and the 16 <br /> acres with frontage on Merin Road were identified as"Public School and Recreational Site"; <br /> and <br /> At its November 14, 2023 meeting, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners <br /> approved a contract for Gensler and VHB to provide community engagement services to <br /> support and realize the Greene Tract Master Plan, with the understanding that a second <br /> firm would partner with these consultants and the Greene Tract owners to provide the civil <br /> design services for this project. <br /> In January 2023, a staff work group operating at the direction of the ILA identified the need to <br /> separate the master planning needs for the Greene Tract into professional design services and <br /> community engagement services, allowing trained professionals to focus on the respective <br /> deliverables and allowing the planning staffs to coordinate their efforts. This would allow the <br /> community engagement efforts to focus on a shared vision and mission for the design <br /> professionals to utilize in the delivery of a master plan that recommends development footprints, <br /> designs, and intensities for this acreage, as directed by the 2021 Greene Tract ILA. <br />