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12 <br /> including zoning actions. He said if a community wants to have zoning, it must have an adopted <br /> land use plan, and to make any land use decision, it must refer to the adopted plan. Cy Stober <br /> explained that the Board can make a decision that does not follow the plan, but by consequence, <br /> that would change the plan. <br /> Commissioner McKee said, technically, the rural buffer doesn't prevent building, but it <br /> prevents dense development. He stated the side effect of that is that to build there, you must have <br /> a larger lot, which means larger homes, which means very few people can afford them. He said <br /> this goes back to the question of housing affordability and the question of how Orange County <br /> will grow compared to neighboring counties. <br /> Commissioner Fowler said she did the math regarding Commissioner Hamilton's earlier <br /> comment about absolute population numbers vs. the percentage. The number of African <br /> Americans in Orange County remained stable from 2010-2022 at 16,000, while the white <br /> population increased from 95,000 to about 105,000. <br /> Cy Stober said staff will update the Fact Book to show the actual numbers in addition to <br /> percentages. <br /> Tom Altieri continued his presentation of the current slide. He said the map on the bottom <br /> is a screenshot of the preliminary draft FLUM for the 2050 Land Use Plan. While there are <br /> similarities to the existing FLUM, there are also some differences. He pointed out that economic <br /> development areas were retained, and some were expanded around the Mebane area. He said <br /> the rural buffer was also retained, as well as the concept of activity nodes. A key difference he <br /> mentioned is the introduction of rural conservation neighborhoods, shown on the map in brown. <br /> He said those types of neighborhoods can only be implemented through changes to the LIDO to <br /> accommodate those types of subdivisions. He said staff is working with Randall Arndt to present <br /> to the Board on this type of conservation subdivision. <br /> Commissioner Fowler asked if rural conservation neighborhoods would be allowed in the <br /> Rural Buffer as it currently stands. <br /> Perdita Holtz said she will get to that during her presentation. <br /> Slide#16 <br /> c)Should we change the policy document(Land Use Plan 2050)(Comprehensive Plan)to include <br /> proposed changes that could take years to work out?Or do not do that;make sure the Plan is current <br /> policy? <br /> • In the Orange County—Chapel Hill—Carrboro Joint Planning Area, the <br /> Agreement and policy changes should precede changes reflected in <br /> the County's Land Use Plan. The preliminary draft LUP 2050 reflects <br /> this cadence. <br /> • For the remainder of Orange County's planning jurisdiction, there is not <br /> a simple, one-size fits all, right or wrong answer. <br /> • Historically(1981 and 2008 Plan adoptions), the County's 10 and 20- <br /> Year Transition Areas, Economic Development Areas, and <br /> Commercial-Industrial Transition Activity Nodes were reflected in the <br /> County's Land Use Plan prior to the implementing, multi-party policies <br /> and agreements needed to achieve the vision. There have also been <br /> cases when agreements and Plan changes have been completed <br /> concurrently(e.g. OC-Hillsborough Joint Land Use Plan and County <br /> Future Land Use Map changes for expanding the Hillsborough EDD). <br /> • Ultimately, it is up to the BOCC to decide the cadence for relative <br /> aspects of the LUP 2050. �1� <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> NORTH CAROLINA <br />