Minutes 11-21-2025-Retreat Meeting

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131 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if Commissioners Greene and Fowler were saying the county would deny rezoning because the Board would not allow housing to be developed in the county. Commissioner Greene said no, the Board is talking about conservation subdivisions and other ways to create housing. She said that the municipalities are creating plans to grow densely, and to provide affordable housing within those boundaries. She said a house located in rural Orange County, far from a transit line creates a less affordable living situation than an identical house in Chapel Hill on a transit line near services. She said they have to remember they are in a county with municipalities that are well equipped to absorb a lot of this growth. Commissioner Carter said they don't have enough data to say that the municipal plans will meet the housing needs in the county, and that the county should keep their options open. She said the county should look at strategic, targeted areas that are proximal to the things the Board talks about with smart growth and look at what we can do with conservation subdivisions. She said they should think about how they position those in targeted, strategic ways enabling the county to learn how they work or don't work. She said out in the county where the goals are for farmland preservation, they should think about a different type of conservation subdivision approach. She said this conversation might create changes to the comment draft land use plan. Commissioner McKee said farmland preservation and development is diametrically opposed. He said you can't have both. He said farming in Orange County is going to be small scale in the future and won't be widespread. He said he wanted to understand what is affordable. He said that he also wants to know how they will achieve it, how the county will pay for it, and what the county will not do as a result. He said he wants the Board to focus and define what they are trying to accomplish. Commissioner Greene said each year she attends the farm tour, and she sees more small- scale farms. Commissioner McKee explained how farming will be very different than what he grew up with. Commissioner Greene said that it will be difficult to get affordable housing in Orange County given the price of land. Commissioner McKee said he wants the Board to remain focused on the endpoint. Vice-Chair Hamilton said the Board will have to hash some of this out, but in the retreat today they needed to focus on the topics at hand. Kelly Guadalupe reviewed what the Board agreed that they still wanted information on: 1) Affordable housing market analysis; 2) Municipal housing units as part of a Board discussion Kelly Guadalupe reviewed the steps for engagement window three, which will last 8-10 weeks. She said that Clarion will take the feedback from engagement window 3, and incorporate into another draft of the plan. She said it will go back to the Board and that will be the time to go through the plan page by page. She said after the Board reviews it, the plan would go to the Planning Board and back to the Board of County Commissioners for formal action to adopt the plan. Kelly Guadalupe asked what parts of the draft plan should be removed or revised before it goes out for the next round of engagement. She showed two charts, pictured below: