Agenda - 10-07-2008- 7b - Laserfiche WebLink

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Page 2 of 4 164 account for its longer term. and wider impacts ("externalities"), such "business as usual" is not a sustainable path. Orange County can do much better for its citizens and the environment. The Comprehensive Plan should seek and embrace economic activities and patterns that promote sustainability both locally and globally. Such an economy would be substantially locally owned; and would export as much as it imports or more. Implementation of the Comprehensive Plan should bring about a "local living economy" that uses sustainable practices to produce knowledge, goods and services, and offers predominantly high-quality employment opportunities. This vision includes -and will resemble -the County's laudable support of our local agricultural systems. 3) Investing in Public Infrastructure. Public infrastructure, particularly water and wastewater services, is necessary for the compact, mixed-use, economically vibrant, and transit-supportive communities that, in our considered judgment, are the best form. of development for Orange County. The Comprehensive Plan should explicitly state the County's intent to immediately begin to provide the infrastructure and management mechanisms to enable compact and sustainable land use patterns (a.k.a. "smart growth.") and to ensure that areas identified as suitable for growth (such as Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) "receiving areas") are developed sustainably. 4) Zoning for Mixed-Used Districts: Compact mixed-use developments will require new zoning designations; currently, there are no true mixed-use zoning districts in the County. Within these zones a minimum residential density of 8 to 15 dwelling units per acre is necessary to support bus service; 20 to 30 units to the acre are needed to support rail transit. The new zoning districts must effectively "upzone" areas most suitably located for intensive development and should enable uses that are mixed vertically as well as horizontally. Ideally, such zoning changes will be undertaken as part of a larger TDR program, so that upzoning and downzoning do not create inequities among affected landowners. These new zones must be available for application in areas where the County decides to provide new infrastructure to enable compact development to take place. 5) Inclusionary Zoning in Mixed-Use Districts. The goal of increased housing opportunities for our workforce, for lower-income residents, and for special needs households should be addressed by an objective to implement inclusionary zoning requirements iu growth areas with three criteria: price (rent or purchase cost), square footage, and number of bedrooms. Limiting size and requiring minimum densities in growth areas encourages multi-family structures that use land, water, and energy far more efficiently than single-family detached dwelling units. Moreover, such patterns are an important and increasingly demanded form of human settlement because they provide the social benefits of living among a diverse population and increased amenities due to economies of scale. ~ Adaptability as a Key Component of "Community Character." Historically, human settlements evolved at crossroads and other transportation nodes. They were compact, mixed-use, and had local identity. It is therefore ironic to us that the concept of "community character" is sometimes wielded to perpetuate homogenous, low-density, suburban development patterns that isolate neighbors and fragment our rural lands. Such developments do not adequately preserve habitats or viewsheds, and they add significantly to per-capita resource consumption and pollution generation. To be consistent with historical precedent, Orange County should allow more intense development at rural crossroads. Ideally, our economic development efforts would produce local businesses such as markets that generate local income, sales taxes, and jobs and also reduce transportation emissions. The most important historical characteristic to observe in such areas is the ~CUMAN SCALE. Green building and a diversity of uses rriay call for additional flexibility and community involvement in how we conceive of appropriate design. The Village Project offers its assistance to the County in this regard. The County may ultimately wish to follow other innovative communities in adopting form-based codes and having designers participate in the development review process. 6/6/2008