Agenda 05-05-2026; 8-a - Minutes for April 7, 2026 and April 14, 2026

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27 1 Slide#18 Discussion Questions Draft Orange County Trails Plan April 14,2026 3 The Board began discussing the presentation and asking questions from staff and Mikayla 4 Hernandez. 5 Vice-Chair Fowler said she was pleased to hear the coordination of bicycle and pedestrian plans 6 for the county. She thanked staff for their work. 7 David Stancil said they were excited about the possibility of working with NCDOT. He said there 8 are some projects that are"low-hanging fruit,"and some that might take a really long time, but they have 9 a vision of what people want to see. 10 Commissioner Carter thanked staff for their work. She praised the community engagement and 11 the comprehensive perspective on the plan. She said they will continue to hear community input, and 12 she supports taking it through the process because it builds in different perspectives. She said one of the 13 great things about Orange County is the support for recreational opportunities. 14 Commissioner Portie-Ascott thanked staff for their work and engagement with the community. 15 She asked if they heard requests for additional recreational opportunities beyond trails. 16 David Stancil said there were people in the workshops and on the survey who would like to see 17 spin-off opportunities for the trail connections. He said Cedar Grove Community Center is at the end of 18 one of those trail segments, and this might be a way to bring people to the center. He heard a desire to 19 maximize existing facilities. He said there is interest in seeing what other things can develop at trail that's 20 not just recreational, but other kinds of development. He said this came up in discussions to convert the 21 rail line to a trail. 22 Commissioner Bedford asked which segment is part of the Millhouse Road property. 23 David Stancil said trail 1. He said a section of the Millhouse Road property would need to be 24 reserved as a corridor. He said it is possible that trail and the one that connects to Hillsborough and Cates 25 Creek Park might need to use the Millhouse Road corridor until the rail trail question is resolved. He said 26 they might see a connection through the Millhouse property, through the town's operations base to the 27 Greene Tract and connecting south into the town's network. 28 Commissioner Bedford said having this plan is helpful as they consider other developments and 29 projects. 30 Chair Hamilton said by having a trails plan,they know to protect or ask for easements. She had a 31 concern about the plan and referred to page 37 of the agenda packet. She said the text includes a 32 reference to the Orange County Land Use Plan 20250, but it needs to be clear that the land use plan has 33 not yet been approved. 34 David Stancil said they've been using where they are to date as something to gauge against with 35 the trails plan, but acknowledged that the land use plan isn't done.