Agenda 04-07-2026; 8-a - Minutes for March 5, 2026, March 10, 2026, and March 17, 2026

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20 1 Commissioner Portie-Ascott said she supports setting a price and negotiating from there. 2 She asked if duplexes, triplexes, or quads are permitted in the rural buffer. 3 David Stancil said they are not. He said the minimum lot size is 2 acres, which he thought 4 would preclude duplexes or multi-family units. 5 Cy Stober, Planning and Inspections Director, said duplexes are permitted if you double 6 the lot area that is otherwise required. He said if you have four acres, you could have one duplex. 7 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if someone wanted to put a quad there, they would 8 need eight acres. 9 Cy Stober said they would need eight, and at this time, zoning does not permit more than 10 duplexes. 11 Commissioner Carter asked if potential statutes would change zoning. 12 Cy Stober said in the last two General Assembly sessions there were bills to align zoning 13 requirements with building codes, but it is not yet law. 14 Commissioner Carter asked what the implications would be if the legislation passed. 15 Cy Stober said it is hard to say, and that the bills did not pass to crossover, to his 16 recollection. 17 Commissioner McKee said he would like for the Board to set a minimum price. 18 Commissioner Greene said she would like to set a price, but with the ability to accept a 19 lower offer. 20 Commissioner Bedford said she would like for the documents to state that they don't have 21 to accept any price. 22 Commissioner McKee said he would like an appraisal of the property. 23 24 PUBLIC COMMENTS: 25 Delores Bailey of EMPOWERment said Orange County is 111" in the state for housing 26 permit growth. She said that employers are looking for solutions for affordable housing so they 27 can recruit employees. She listed possible options for providing housing on this property. She 28 encouraged a collaboration between municipalities, non-profits, and for-profit developers to 29 address Orange County's housing needs. 30 Mike Hickey of Rainbow Soccer said there were two events in the last 10-15 years that 31 lead into this process. He said they had a public-private partnership with chapel Hill to renovate 32 the fields on Homestead Road. He said they helped raise the funds to put turf on the fields in 33 exchange for rental fees. He said the second was the purchase of the Rainbow Soccer fields in 34 Chapel Hill. He said it was 54 acres at$220,000, which is shocking, except that it was essentially 35 a lake, and it came with use restrictions. He said the county may be surprised with how the 36 appraisal comes back because of the use restrictions. He said that a public-private partnership 37 would be a better way to go. He said if the county sells it, make sure the restrictions are in line 38 with the Orange County and Chapel Hill restrictions for renting fields so that local groups can rent 39 them at a reasonable price. 40 Mike Strand of Triangle United Soccer said they are the competitive side of youth soccer 41 in Chapel Hill. He said that it will be difficult to sell the property at a high amount and then ask 42 the purchaser to turn it into a park with the caveat that the county can take the land back if 43 something goes wrong. He said the fields will not generate a profit unless someone charges 44 $200-300 an hour to rent them, which will exclude many groups. He said they have a clear vision 45 of what a public-private partnership looks like. He described the number of participants in Triangle 46 United Soccer and the economic impact of bringing in tournaments and events. He said the way 47 the proposal is laid out, it's a tough business model to maximize the sale of the property and then 48 ask someone to spend $4-6 million to create a park. 49 50 David Stancil said there was an appraisal done on the property a year earlier, and he 51 recalled that it was just under$25,000 an acre.