Agenda - 08-20-2002 - 8s - Laserfiche WebLink

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4 long-term interest area. Craig Benedict said that we have looked at what areas and what watersheds can be most easily served by a utility authority. In this case, the area is presently served in part by OWASA. For fiscal efficiency, it was best that OWASA would be the best entity to continue services to this area. He will provide a copy of this agreement to Mr. Katz. Commissioner Gordon said that her recollection is the same in that the idea was to have the long-term service area be the nearest utility provider. Chair Jacobs said that since the County is not in the water business, the County yields to the water utilities. That is the simplest way. Commissioner Brown made reference to the urban services boundary and said that it has an aspect that the utilities were possibly in a position of creating the future for Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Orange County by extending water and sewer. This water and sewer boundary agreement puts the, responsibility on the elected boards to create the future in terms of land planning, etc. Craig Benedict said that the JPA agreement is a land use document and a coordination document. He said that what we are suggesting is to link these two existing agreements and make both of them stronger. There was no one from the public who wished to speak to this item. Pat Evans said that in the last year our nation, our state, and everyone else have seen changes. She suggested that we might want to think about an additional issue, which would come as an exception to this agreement. She is very supportive of urban boundaries because she thinks it is a way of controlling sprawl. At the Chapel Hill Town Council's last meeting they adopted the SAPFO memorandum of understanding. She said that our school district is greater than our municipality districts. She said that if we were to make an exception only on the basis of schools and make it with some restrictions, she thinks it would have several benefits. The land outside of an urban boundary is valued for what it can be used for. If the school system could purchase land outside of an urban boundary, the land would be cheaper. She does not feel it will cause sprawl. She feels there are going to be additional problems with trying to locate schools and parks together. There is a site being considered for a school that is now inside of the urban boundary. However, if this amendment is adopted, it will be outside of the urban boundary. Chair Jacobs responded by saying that several work groups have been set up with the two school boards. He said that the County Commissioners have the same concerns that the land acreage that is recommended by the state promotes sprawl and it pushes the schools to the edges of the urban service area because the land is cheaper. There will be conversations in the worts groups about acreage requirements. He said that we could add to the discussion putting schools in the rural buffer. He pointed out that this is not the direction that the County Commissioners are going, but they are willing to discuss it. Joal Broun asked about the size of the high schools and if this was based on the number of students or the acreage. Chair Jacobs said that there would be a committee made up of the chairs and vice-chairs of the Board of County Commissioners and the two school boards. This committee is going to look at the assumptions about the projections, the type of facility (500, 700, 1500-student), and the acreage. Joal Broun asked at what time the public would be able to comment on the potential location, type, and size of high schools. Chair Jacobs said that a schedule would be developed to have the issues resolved by the end of this year. Commissioner Gordon said that she thought this high school group was going to try to make a recommendation before the end of June so that it could be included in the Capital Investment Plan (CIP). Chair Jacobs said that they will probably make a recommendation by the end of the year. He feels that there is a proposal that will be included in the CIP. A motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis , seconded by Commissioner Carey to refer this item to the Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro to refer this as appropriate under their land use regulations and to refer it to the Orange County Planning Board for a recommendation to be returned to the Orange County Commissioners no sooner than June 4, 2002. VOTE: UNANIMOUS