Orange County NC Website
32 <br /> Commissioner Hamilton referred to slide#46, that showed a planned community that kept <br /> open space while achieving density. She said that there is a tension of being in an urban area <br /> that does not have open space. She said they also must keep in mind the diversity of people's <br /> preferences. She said it really makes the conversation about smart growth and urban sprawl very <br /> complex. <br /> Cy Stober said that can be part of the comprehensive land use planning because they can <br /> add Orange County's definition of modern urban sprawl. He said that could be a critical part of <br /> the plan. He said it can be added by a deeper dive and be available in the spring and summer so <br /> the commissioners can discuss. <br /> Vice-Chair Greene asked how they would get input from the municipalities. <br /> Cy Stober said they have already surveyed the planning directors. He said that they could <br /> reach back out to the managers or the planning directors to have the conversation but if you look <br /> at the activity nodes in the county, they have not been developed. He said that most people are <br /> still coming to the urban centers because the land use plan has not been fulfilled. <br /> Vice-Chair Greene said that all the commissioners were interviewed as stakeholders in <br /> the process. She said that municipal elected officials are also stakeholders and asked that they <br /> be included. <br /> Commissioner Richards explained her confusion with the transitions between slides 45 <br /> and 46. She said that there is a challenge shown and then the next slide is straight to smart growth <br /> without dealing with the stuff the red x's were shown on. She said that the answers were given <br /> without a conversation about how to answer those challenges. She said they have competing <br /> needs which must be addressed. She said it is telling of the dichotomies. She asked how the <br /> nodes will be developed when people have moved to a location for the existing environment. <br /> Commissioner McKee asked at what point the changes in current regulations come into <br /> this. He said that he has experienced a business in one of the nodes that was almost impossible <br /> to rebuild due to regulations. He said that it was no fault of the owner, but they had to rebuild or <br /> abandon, and the regulations made it almost impossible. He said that he understands the <br /> attractiveness but noted the denser developments would require sewer and water. <br /> Vice-Chair Greene said she thought that smart growth would occur in municipalities and <br /> that this type of development would not occur in the rural areas. <br /> Leigh Anne King said that it is the industry expectation. <br /> Vice-Chair Greene said that she was not saying that this would be done in rural Orange <br /> County. <br /> Commissioner McKee said that still creates a problem. He said that if you have a piece of <br /> property on any of the major thoroughfares or are close enough to get infrastructure it creates a <br /> two-tier property value system and that is an inequity in itself. <br /> Vice-Chair Greene said that Orange County has demonstrated that they value preserving <br /> farmland. <br /> Commissioner McKee said that his point is that there is always a cost. He said that one <br /> cost of the direction Orange County has been in a long time is that they are losing lower and <br /> moderate-income people, and he does not know how to address it. He wants to be careful not to <br /> price out lower and moderate-income people. <br />