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126 <br /> 1 suitability for every lot. He said it will help determine the yield plan number by doing a 10% <br /> 2 sample. <br /> 3 Commissioner Carter asked Cy Stober if that is how it works in the county now. <br /> 4 Cy Stober said only the yield plan part, but the county requires a total comprehensive soil <br /> 5 suitability analysis of the entire site and well and septic locations. He said that is for applying for <br /> 6 administrative approval by staff, or if it goes to hearing. <br /> 7 Chair Bedford asked for clarification. <br /> 8 Cy Stober said there are no initial screenings of soil suitability as part of the yield or <br /> 9 concept plan. He said there are no preliminary evaluations of the soils; it's all or none. <br /> 10 Chair Bedford said that some applicants have brought soil analyses. <br /> 11 Cy Stober said if they come to hearing, they require a soils analysis. He said Randall <br /> 12 Arendt is proposing a soils analysis earlier in the process, during a site visit with the boards. He <br /> 13 said developers should know what they are buying or putting an option on. He said he's worked <br /> 14 with builders that never bothered to know what they've purchased and regretted it. <br /> 15 Commissioner McKee said gave an example of subdivisions he's been involved in and <br /> 16 said that it doesn't make sense for developers to not do their due diligence. <br /> 17 Randall Arendt said he's worked with some inexperienced developers that don't do that. <br /> 18 He said smart developers will. He said the best person to ask is the landowner who has been on <br /> 19 it four seasons a year for decades and knows the property better than anyone else. <br /> 20 Commissioner Carter said that Orange County has a reputation for being very difficult to <br /> 21 work with. She asked if putting things up front in the process would reduce frustration. <br /> 22 Randall Arendt said a developer needs to know more information than what the yield plan <br /> 23 provides. He said a yield plan will have no information on whether lots will perc. <br /> 24 Commissioner McKee said that in his lived experience the process in Orange County is <br /> 25 long and onerous and probably in the long run provides for a better outcome. He said that the <br /> 26 cost would be a minute factor in the total cost of preparation for a subdivision. He said even in a <br /> 27 minor subdivision, a developer will spend $30,000450,000 before you ever buy the land. He said <br /> 28 it is an extra step and expense, but there are other things that are just as onerous in the process. <br /> 29 Randall Arendt gave an example of how soils are analyzed in Maine. He said a 10% <br /> 30 sample is not onerous and it gives a much deeper insight. He said that the soil types in Orange <br /> 31 County can be difficult to work with. <br /> 32 Chair Bedford asked James Bryan, Staff Attorney, what rights does the county have to ask <br /> 33 of HOAs. She asked if the county could demand that HOAs include language about pumping <br /> 34 septic systems and general ownership requirements. She said she would like that information in <br /> 35 the future. <br /> 36 Commissioner Fowler asked how the communities with affordable conservation <br /> 37 subdivisions made it happen. She asked if it is something that can be put in the UDO or if the <br /> 38 developers were incentivized. <br /> 39 Randall Arendt said the development of Battle Road Farm in Massachusetts was planned <br /> 40 by the community to be an affordable development from the beginning as a response to a <br /> 41 requirement from the state. He described how Battle Road Farm was planned. <br /> 42 Commissioner Fowler asked if the developer bought the land. <br /> 43 Randall Arendt said yes. <br /> 44 Commissioner Greene said they can't require developers to have housing for residents at <br /> 45 a certain percentage of average median income. She said that the county would need to own <br /> 46 land. She said if they don't own the land, they can possibly talk the developer into working with <br /> 47 Habitat for Humanity, for example. She said they can provide subsidies to housing non-profits. <br /> 48 Vice-Chair Hamilton said she appreciated having the differences between flexible and <br /> 49 conservation subdivisions clarified. She said when thinking of the land use plan to the Board <br /> 50 should consider the goals of a conservation subdivision and the other goals of the county. She <br /> 51 said there are areas of farmland the county may want to preserve, but they may consider <br />