Agenda - 12-10-2002-1 - Laserfiche WebLink

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/ ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: May 6, 2002 Action Agenda Item No. SUBJECT: Justice Facilities Development DEPARTMENT: Purchasing and Central Services PUBLIC HEARING: (YIN) No ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Pam Jones (919) 245-2652 9-4-01 agenda abstract recommending the facility planning process TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough 732-8181 Chapel Hill 968-4501 Durham 688-7331 Mebane 336-227-2031 PURPOSE: To provide information regarding the evolution of the County's Master Plan for the Downtown Hillsborough campus. BACKGROUND: The Town Commissioners have previously received information about the County's master plan for court facilities expansion. In order to provide up-to-date information, the County Commissioners have asked their consultant, Freeman-White Architects, to present an overview of the expanded master plan of the downtown Court/Government Services Center campus during the joint Town/County work session on May 6, 2002. The County Commissioners received the information during a work session on April 30, 2002. The information is intended to provide a point of departure for discussion about issues whose solutions may fall under the jurisdiction of the Town and/or other regulatory agencies. In order to lend historical perspective to the discussion, it is helpful to recall that the County Commissioners have, for the past several years, been presented with various options for the expansion of Justice Facilities. For a variety of reasons and with the support of the Town of Hillsborough, expressed through a resolution from the Town, it was determined that the Court facilities should remain in the downtown area rather than being relocated elsewhere. Understanding that expansion of either the Courthouse or the Government Services Center on this campus would have significant visual impact on the Town, the Board commissioned the master plan of the downtown site to determine the extent of development that could occur. The completed master plan results, that included Justice Facilities expansion, potential expansion of the Government Services Center and the required parking for the expanded facilities was presented to the County Commissioners on April 30, 2002. In the context of the overall build out potential of the site, the Board expressed preference toward a more sustainable level of development. Not surprisingly, even with the diminished scope of development on the County's downtown campus, traffic and parking were identified as two important impacts of the expansion of the Court facilities. Solution to these issues will likely require the collaboration of the Town, County and the Department of Transportation.