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3 t~ <br />POSITION STATEMENT <br />SCHOOLS ADEQUATE PUBLIC FACILITIES ORDINANCE <br />Adopted by the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors <br />Position Statement: <br />The Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce fully supports the Chapel Hill, Carrboro and <br />Orange County schools. Strong schools are critical to the success of our community and are a <br />large component of our valued quality of life. Consistent with the Chamber's adopted mission <br />statement, the Chamber supports proactive measures that will ensure that our local schools <br />continue to be recognized for their outstanding quality and that they continue to serve as an <br />example of superior education for the state and nation. <br />The Chamber is supportive of the goals of the Schools Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance and <br />associated MOU, and supports an ordinance linking school construction with the growth of our <br />community including a strong commitment to, and requirement for, the public funding necessary <br />to achieve that end. While supportive of a Schools Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance, the <br />Chamber does not support the current MOU and Model Ordinance as drafted. The Chamber <br />believes that a well crafted MOU and SAPFO can be of community benefit, and will work with <br />community leaders to craft the best SAPFO possible. <br />The Chamber has some concerns about the current drafts. Once adopted, both the MOU and <br />SAPFO will be very difficult to modify. <br />Concerns and Suggestions: <br />1. The funding of the Capital InvestrnendImprovement lan (C1P) remains unclear. The <br />MOU makes mention of a CIP, but is not sufficient specific about how it will be funded <br />or that it must be sufficiently funded. The CIP has' not been produced for public <br />comment or discussion. <br />iecommendation: llefine the CIP to include a Capital Funding Plan or create an <br />additional subsection to Section 1(c) of the draft MOU requiring the parties to agree on, <br />and publicly commit to, implementing a Capital Funding Plan. No action should be taken <br />on the MOU until the CIP and Capital Funding Plan have been made available to the <br />public and elected leaders for consideration. <br />The requirement for the County to appropriately fund school construction is not <br />sufficiently specific. Section 7 of the draft MOU says the County "will use its best <br />efforts" to provide funding to carry out an adopted CIP. <br />Recommendation: Strengthen the language in Section 7 of the MOU with regard to <br />County funding and planning responsibilities by striking "will use its best efforts" and <br />insert "shall" in Section 7 of the MOU. <br />3. The Chamber remains very concerned about how SAPFO and potential delays will <br />impact affordable housing proposals and subsidized projects' ability to secure and <br />maintain resources with their often-complicated funding mechanisms. The Chamber is <br />also concerned about how delays caused by SAPFO will impact the affordability of <br />