2.7.24 Planning Board Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Approved 3-6-24 497 haven't looked at it in the past, and noticing, and of course, the focus in this conversation is land use, but it 498 stood out that some of the community priorities, and perhaps the community priority that stood out at the top, 499 was our schools, or near the top, was our schools. And we know that our commissioners are discussing a 500 school bond that will need to be funded, and while that is not the purview of the land use planning, I think 501 there's going to be implications, perhaps, big implications for land use planning, and of course, funding that 502 and how we consider in our economic development discussions, even if the community didn't rate economic 503 development as high, we know that we're going to need to identify ways to grow sustainably so that we can 504 fund those school infrastructure improvements, so this is more of an observation that perhaps steps outside of 505 the bounds of what this committee does, but certainly it's perhaps, on many of our minds as we think about 506 those tradeoffs. So,just an observation. 507 508 Steve Kaufmann: I just want to make one little comment that I appreciated seeing on Page 49—the 509 statement about the limited utility services in the area. Hillsborough sewer utilities are at capacity, likely to 510 shrink without extra funding. This is something that we had to deal with this past year. Is this going to affect 511 the availability of sewage for the rest of the people? Is it going to increase their rates? It seems to be an 512 ongoing concern, has been ever since I moved to Hillsborough. I think when I first moved here, it was the 513 water supply, and they've expanded the water supply, but now it's the sewage. And so, that really affects the 514 ability to expand economic development, and how do you have affordable housing if you don't have water and 515 sewage for the people?And people that live in town that have the water and sewage, their rates are really high 516 and they're complaining about the rates, and they're just going to go higher, possibly. So, I just wanted to 517 throw that out there. 518 519 Lamar Proctor invited members of advisory boards to provide comments. 520 521 Michael Hughes: I'm on the Transportation Advisory Board and the Agricultural Preservation Board. 522 Previously been on the Commission for the Environment and the OWASA Board of Directors. No comments 523 or questions. Just here to listen. Thanks, guys. 524 525 Lamar Proctor invited members of the public to provide comments. 526 527 John Dempsey: Hello, John Dempsey from Hillsborough. Good evening. The Comprehensive Land Use 528 Plan 2050 process offers both an opportunity and a threat. Opening up the County's land use plans and 529 policies for review and reform presents an opportunity to bring land use policy in line with Orange County's 530 Environmental Sustainability Goals. It is an opportunity to set policies that address Urban Stream Syndrome 531 and reduce the current negative impacts of rapid urban development on the streams feeding our watershed. 532 The Orange County Climate Action Plan and the Falls Lake Interim Alternative Implementation Approach, as 533 well as a variety of overlay areas of a special concern, such as the New Hope Corridor Open Space Master 534 Plan, are just some examples of efforts to protect and improve water quality in Orange County. The County 535 should be focused on reforming our UDO to better align with such stated County environmental efforts and 536 initiatives. The Rural Buffer is an example of land use policy that has done exactly that. Since being adopted 537 by a joint planning agreement in 1988, it has been helping to protect the invaluable streams that feed our 538 freshwater resources and drinking water supplies. This is in addition to helping block urban sprawl, and 539 contributing to reinforcing the new agricultural economy that is now helping to supply our restaurants, 540 groceries, and farmers' markets. This is the time during the Comprehensive Land Use Plan 2050 review 541 process, where the County should set a goal of watershed neutral planning and development and begin 542 working towards that end. Much of the current independent science research on water system health and 543 management focuses on that specific topic. The destructive effects of urbanization on water resources, 544 particularly on the health of those streams within areas of rapid growth. The science-based field researches, 545 those with boots-in-the-water, are who should be heard from for a clear understanding of the conditions that 546 need to be addressed during our Comprehensive Land Use 2050 process. There are many public and private