Agenda - 04-29-2003-7c - Laserfiche WebLink

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We pride ourselves in Orange County on our commitment to public education, the rigor of our land use planning and environmental protection, and our creative and collaborative approaches to problem - solving. Our Orange Water and Sewer Authority is perhaps unique in North Carolina in its structure, which provides a mechanism by which Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Orange County may jointly plan, share and control water and sewer service within the framework of local land use regulations. The recently adopted Water and Sewer Boundary Agreement, which involves Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough and Orange County, is another example of collective effort to key public resources to support defined land use goals. The Joint Planning Agreement between the county and the towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro is yet another such partnership. The JPA created the rural buffer and placed voluntary limits on municipal powers of annexation. These powers are granted by state statute, yet were circumscribed in the interest of achieving a greater good -- the orderly and publicly organized growth of southern Orange County. That willingness to look beyond protecting institutional turf in order to achieve broader goals is at the basis of my proposal to restructure our method for siting schools. The time has come to look beyond old prerogatives to new realities. Given the importance of land use planning in our community, and given the heightened need for timely and orderly provision of educational facilities, I propose we direct county staff to develop a draft memorandum of understanding that would engage both school systems with the municipalities and the county in a comprehensive school siting process. Such a process, unlike current practice, would bring to bear the considerable planning and information resources of four jurisdictions. Planning entities could work in partnership with the boards of education, employing growth models and school population projections to identify specific parcels or areas best suited for siting schools in the coming decade. This approach would allow us to plan in a deliberate manner. Early involvement by those elected officials charged with land use decisions would be assured prior to taking proposals to the public for comment. We might then consider including in our next county bond package monies sufficient to purchase the necessary, identified sites, lending an element of surety that is currently lacking in our school planning process. The ultimate result would be an enhanced process that minimizes conflicts with land use goals and provides parents and taxpayers with the knowledge the siting of schools can be achieved in a well- conceived and expeditious manner. Barry Jacobs 3 -3 -3