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16 <br /> o Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA) is not at capacity, but, per the terms <br /> of the Joint Protection Agreement, cannot run services through the Rural Buffer, <br /> thus limiting OWASA's ability to provide services to parts of the county outside of <br /> Chapel Hill/Carrboro. <br /> o Mebane Water and Sewer and Orange-Alamance Water supply water to some of <br /> western Orange County. The remainder of the unincorporated portions of the <br /> county are served by on-site septic systems. <br /> • Many different organizations would like to be included before a development proposal is <br /> nearing approval. Utilities companies, partner jurisdictions, various committees, etc., <br /> especially those who have a say in whether or not a development occurs, feel like they <br /> are often left out of these discussions, and that a lot of time gets wasted pursuing <br /> projects for which the resources do not exist to make them happen. <br /> • The State government is not viewed as a partner but as a hindrance to County objectives. <br /> COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS <br /> Provided here are insights from stakeholder interviews regarding public engagement <br /> approaches that should be used in the planning process. To the extent possible, specific DEI <br /> groups identified during stakeholder interviews were included in the DEI database and will be <br /> notified and encouraged to share planning engagement opportunities with their communities <br /> and members. <br /> • Stakeholders mentioned many different community groups that the project team should <br /> reach out to because of the unique perspective they would bring to the planning <br /> process. These included the Chapel Hill/Carrboro NAACP and Northern Orange NAACP <br /> branches, the Burmese immigrant community, the Eubanks/Rogers Road community, the <br /> Efland community, the Hispanic/Latino communities in Chapel Hill and Hillsborough and <br /> EI Centro Hispano, and the Marion Cheek Jackson Center which does a lot of work with <br /> Black community members, etc. <br /> • Indigenous Occaneechi tribe members exist and do not want to be forgotten about in <br /> conversations regarding their ancestral lands. <br /> • Stakeholders also emphasized that while racial equity is important, there is a substantial <br /> portion of low-income white residents in the county who have challenges and need <br /> representation in the process. <br /> • The Handy Andy's northeast of Schley is a key gathering point in the northern part of the <br /> county for a lot of rural residents. This is an important location for advertising <br /> community events. <br /> Orange County, North Carolina - Land Use Plan 2050 1 Stakeholder Interviews Summary 13 <br />