Agenda - 12-10-2002-9a - Laserfiche WebLink

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3`~ Chapel Hill Carrboe~o am er 104 S. ESTES DRIVE • POST OFFICE BOX 2897 CHAPEL HILL, NC 27515-2897 November 19, 2002 Orange County Board of Commissioners Chair Barry Jacobs Government Services Center 200 S. Cameron St. Hillsborough, N.C. 27278 Deaz Commissioners: Every day, we here at the Chamber heaz two messages loud and cleaz from our members: We love our schools, and it's getting more and more expensive to live in Orange County. These are competing concerns of which you aze well awaze. We applaud your dedication to funding a quality education for Orange County's children because exceptional schools are a cornerstone of economic success for our community and a key to attracting high- qualitybusinesses and ahigh-quality workforce. We understand that the principle behind the Schools Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (SAPFO) is based on this notion of balancing school growth needs with othei community needs, but we worry about the unintended consequences of the ord~nance- Chamber members, like Chris Moran of the Inter-Faith Council, aze concerned about whether this ordinance will drive up the cost of housing to the point where many of our employees will be unablesv~fwd-hams 'fie lack of "workforce" housing is a critical need in this community. We aze concerned that this ordinance will constrain the market even more than it already is, forcing employees making the same amount as teachers, firefighters and police officers to live in Alamance, Chatham, Durham and Wake counties. The Chamber also has technical concerns about the ordinance. If the Level of Service recommendations stay the same, the ordinance could place a de fay+^ **~^*atn~+nm on development as soon as1lext year if growth in the Chanel Mill-Cazrboro fLl~ schools Beeps on its steady pace. We also aze concerned that future Boards of Commissioners could, by cutting fundin¢ of the Capp+a? Improvement Program- usP this ordinance to intPntionaily stop gr~wtfi-. You have shown your dedication to funding school construction through your support of bonds last yeaz to ouild two elementary schools in the towns and a middle school in the county. But by placing these restrictions into code, you leave open the door for future Commissioners to further their political agendas in a way that could dramatically damage Orange County's future. ~ (919) 9E7-7075 • (919) 968-6874 FAX ~.~ htt~alwww.chapelhillcarrbo•o.org • E-MAIL: chamber@chapelhillcarrecrc.org