Agenda - 03-18-2025; 8-a - Minutes

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58 1 development are all antithetical to this agricultural and residential community and similarly 2 zoned nodes within Orange County. Thank you for your time and attention." 3 Barbara Warren read an email her daughter, Dr. Paige Warren, sent to the Board: 4 1 am writing in opposition to the proposed H4D housing development and the requested 5 zoning changes. My parents own land adjacent to the proposed site, having a long common 6 boundary on the site's eastern side. I grew up roaming the woods and creeks, from my childhood 7 through my college years at UNC-Chapel Hill. While I now live far away, I feel a deep tie to the 8 land and community. I return home several times per year with my children, walking the land and 9 teaching them about its history and stewardship. The values I learned from life in a rural and 10 agricultural setting and experiencing the "hands-on" work ethic existing throughout the Morrow 11 Mill community was key to forming who I am today. My family and those in the surrounding rural 12 community have invested effort and care to maintain a rich farm and forest environment 13 throughout southwestern Orange County. Both the multi-generational and the newer landowners 14 have been effective stewards of this rural area, maintaining healthy forests, clean water, and 15 abundant wildlife habitat as well as a mutually supportive residential community. My training and 16 expertise are in urban ecology, and I am also committed to making a world in which people can 17 be housed affordably, live sustainably, and enjoy high environmental quality. I recognize the 18 intense pressure the growing population is putting on Triangle area cities and towns, as well as 19 the critical need for affordable housing. However, the H4D housing development as currently 20 designed is not providing a solution in keeping with sustainable urban planning principles. To 21 contribute to sustainability, high density development should be clustered with the infrastructure 22 to support it — transportation, food, and walkability. My chief concerns with the H4D housing 23 development are the mismatch between it and the surrounding community, the high impact it is 24 likely to have on water quality, and its lack of connection to the infrastructure to support its 25 population. Decades of Orange County land use plans and successive boards of commissioners 26 have wisely maintained this vital community setting. I add my voice to those asking you to continue 27 that history by denying the application for this dense urban development and the zoning changes 28 required for its implementation. Thank you for considering my concerns." 29 Ralph Warren referenced a packet of information he prepared for the Board. He thanked 30 the Board for the opportunity to speak. He said there is data to support the community concerns. 31 He said he hopes the information supports a vote against the changes that are being requested. 32 He said it will be drastically inconsistent with the current community. He said many questions have 33 been raised around water and sewer. He said there are private wastewater failures in the data he 34 has. He said that the application proposes a dense urban development in an area that it does not 35 fit. He said it will encourage urban sprawl and lead to farmland losses. He said that data from the 36 USDA includes Orange County farming activity and defines the farmland that is at risk if the rural 37 nodes are modified to allow the proposed expansion. 38 Alan Julich said he is a 46-year resident of Orange County. He read an email from Sherri 39 Rosemond, retired director of UNC's Partnership on Aging, about benefits to the county. He said 40 she wrote asking the Board to vote to approve the application because this development will only 41 scratch the surface of the colossal need for senior housing in Orange County and it is fully aligned 42 with the Master Aging Plan. He said the email also noted that she said she has been following the 43 development since it was conceptualized, and it is built around the model of neighbors helping 44 neighbors. He said that there will be smaller housing and provisions for caregiving facilities. He 45 said the email says this will make Orange County more livable. 46 Galen Kirkpatrick said this can go a long way to address senior housing needs in Orange 47 County. He said this is a non-profit that wants to build this community which is also a model that 48 can be useful to Orange County going forward. He said this is not a commercial development, 49 for-profit developer. He said it is a complete alternative to that and would be helpful moving 50 forward. He said that he understands there is strong opposition to large scale commercial 51 development in rural Orange County and that as a person that has had family here for 80 plus