3-6-24 PB Agenda Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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haven't looked at it in the past, and noticing, and of course, the focus in this conversation is land use, but it 497 stood out that some of the community priorities, and perhaps the community priority that stood out at the top, 498 was our schools, or near the top, was our schools. And we know that our commissioners are discussing a 499 school bond that will need to be funded, and while that is not the purview of the land use planning, I think 500 there's going to be implications, perhaps, big implications for land use planning, and of course, funding that 501 and how we consider in our economic development discussions, even if the community didn't rate economic 502 development as high, we know that we're going to need to identify ways to grow sustainably so that we can 503 fund those school infrastructure improvements, so this is more of an observation that perhaps steps outside of 504 the bounds of what this committee does, but certainly it's perhaps, on many of our minds as we think about 505 those tradeoffs. So, just an observation. 506 507 Steve Kaufmann: I just want to make one little comment that I appreciated seeing on Page 49— the 508 statement about the limited utility services in the area. Hillsborough sewer utilities are at capacity, likely to 509 shrink without extra funding. This is something that we had to deal with this past year. Is this going to affect 510 the availability of sewage for the rest of the people? Is it going to increase their rates? It seems to be an 511 ongoing concern, has been ever since I moved to Hillsborough. I think when I first moved here, it was the 512 water supply, and they've expanded the water supply, but now it's the sewage. And so, that really affects the 513 ability to expand economic development, and how do you have affordable housing if you don't have water and 514 sewage for the people? And people that live in town that have the water and sewage, their rates are really high 515 and they're complaining about the rates, and they're just going to go higher, possibly. So, I just wanted to 516 throw that out there. 517 518 Lamar Proctor invited members of advisory boards to provide comments. 519 520 Michael Hughes: I'm on the Transportation Advisory Board and the Agricultural Preservation Board. 521 Previously been on the Commission for the Environment and the OWASA Board of Directors. No comments 522 or questions. Just here to listen. Thanks, guys. 523 524 Lamar Proctor invited members of the public to provide comments. 525 526 John Dempsey: Hello, John Dempsey from Hillsborough. Good evening. The Comprehensive Land Use 527 Plan 2050 process offers both an opportunity and a threat. Opening up the County's land use plans and 528 policies for review and reform presents an opportunity to bring land use policy in line with Orange County's 529 Environmental Sustainability Goals. It is an opportunity to set policies that address Urban Stream Syndrome 530 and reduce the current negative impacts of rapid urban development on the streams feeding our watershed. 531 The Orange County Climate Action Plan and the Falls Lake Interim Alternative Implementation Approach, as 532 well as a variety of overlay areas of a special concern, such as the New Hope Corridor Open Space Master 533 Plan, are just some examples of efforts to protect and improve water quality in Orange County. The County 534 should be focused on reforming our UDO to better align with such stated County environmental efforts and 535 initiatives. The Rural Buffer is an example of land use policy that has done exactly that. Since being adopted 536 by a joint planning agreement in 1988, it has been helping to protect the invaluable streams that feed our 537 freshwater resources and drinking water supplies. This is in addition to helping block urban sprawl, and 538 contributing to reinforcing the new agricultural economy that is now helping to supply our restaurants, 539 groceries, and farmers' markets. This is the time during the Comprehensive Land Use Plan 2050 review 540 process, where the County should set a goal of watershed neutral planning and development and begin 541 working towards that end. Much of the current independent science research on water system health and 542 management focuses on that specific topic. The destructive effects of urbanization on water resources, 543 particularly on the health of those streams within areas of rapid growth. The science-based field researches, 544 those with boots-in-the-water, are who should be heard from for a clear understanding of the conditions that 545 need to be addressed during our Comprehensive Land Use 2050 process. There are many public and private 546 16