Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
17 <br /> 1 Commissioner Richards said she is glad that they are not limiting where it can be. She <br /> 2 said that they need to be able to look at alternatives. She said they might reject them all, but to <br /> 3 not explore all of the possibilities, would shortchange themselves. <br /> 4 Commissioner Hamilton said for the proposed key question, she would change the <br /> 5 question to read "Which aspects of the unincorporated Orange County land use alternatives best <br /> 6 achieve the balance of sustainable development in Orange County?" <br /> 7 Vice-Chair Greene asked how that helps the question. <br /> 8 Commissioner Hamilton said because it is clear that the question is regarding land use in <br /> 9 unincorporated Orange County but that when they are making decisions about unincorporated <br /> 10 Orange County, they are also considering all of Orange County. <br /> 11 Vice-Chair Greene said her eye is drawn to the three circles and thinking about how to <br /> 12 balance these things in Orange County and she said that she does not think they want to change <br /> 13 their policies to the point of placing affordable housing all over rural Orange County. <br /> 14 Commissioner Hamilton said she sees the suggestion as consistent with what Vice-Chair <br /> 15 Greene is saying but they can only do the land use for the unincorporated area. <br /> 16 Vice-Chair Greene said that they could take out the word unincorporated and all of the <br /> 17 planners would know they were dealing with unincorporated. <br /> 18 Leigh Anne King said it was important to be clear when presenting to the public that they <br /> 19 are not planning for the municipalities. <br /> 20 Commissioner Hamilton said they can discuss the language later. She said the tension <br /> 21 between affordable housing, the environment, and economic development has been going on for <br /> 22 a long time in Orange County. She said that you can increase density in the area, and it does not <br /> 23 increase affordability because of the demand pressures in the area. She said that to be sure that <br /> 24 there is affordable housing, it will take a lot due to demand pressures. She said the data to <br /> 25 understand those dynamics needs to be part of the plan. <br /> 26 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked for clarification for Vice-Chair Greene's earlier <br /> 27 comments because she thought they were essentially dreaming about what could be done but <br /> 28 based on the comments, she heard that there are areas that they want untouched. <br /> 29 Vice-Chair Greene said that she was not going that far but the fact is that they have <br /> 30 policies, and the towns have policies. She said the two biggest housing non-profits have no <br /> 31 intention of developing in rural Orange County. She said they are working to develop affordable <br /> 32 housing in the municipal areas and those policies have been in place for a long time. She said <br /> 33 she does not want to force a question that leads to a confusing direction. <br /> 34 Commissioner Richards said she disagreed with not looking at policies. She said the <br /> 35 reason people do not develop in other areas is because they are told they cannot. She said it is <br /> 36 critical to explore all the options. She said if they do not, this is a very expensive way to do nothing. <br /> 37 <br /> 38 Slide #29 <br /> 39 <br />