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198 <br />"Encourage the provision of a range of quality, energy-efficient affordable and suitable low and <br />moderate income housing by..." <br />p. 5-40, Objective LU6-1 <br />Active citizen engagement may be difficult to bring about if there is little confidence that the input will be <br />heeded. Provide mechanisms to ensure that public input will be incorporated into the planning processes <br />it is solicited for, or, at minimum, that it is made clear how the input was considered and what aspects <br />were incorporated. Call for standards to be established on how long before public hearings documents <br />under consideration must be made available for public review. Establish a Task Force to evaluate how <br />the County could better inform, involve, and engage citizenry, and implement its recommendations. <br />Chapter 6 Natural and Cultural Systems Element <br />Overall <br />Despite the initial statement that these elements are put in a single chapter to facilitate their collective <br />understanding and cross-pollination, the only notable result seems to be a very long chapter. We do not <br />see cross-pollination among the elements or multi-objective solutions. <br />p.b-51 (Internal Po-icy Conflicts) <br />The discussion of how new development may conflict with existing structures and preservation at historic <br />crossroads in terms of scale and vernacular should mention these concerns as considerations and state <br />how they might be overcome, e.g:, by the implementation of form-based codes or review by a <br />professional urban designer or advisory board <br />p. 6-62, lines 3-6 <br />"The conversion of natural lands to urban or suburban uses results in habitat loss for native <br />plants and animals, and can result in loss of native species." <br />What about rural residential development? Its effects on habitats and species should be specified, since it <br />is such a dominant zoning designation in the County. <br />p.6-64 (Land Protection Efforts) <br />So, land acquisitions have focused on agricultural lands and lands for public parks, but~what about the <br />need for better connectivity between them, for both human and non-human mobility? Land protection <br />efforts should include greenways and wildlife corridors. <br />p.6-64, line 50 (Land Protection Efforts) <br />Preserves should most certainly NOT be "surrounded by low-density development" (also in NA-11). <br />They should be contiguous foremost with ONE ANOTHER. When not contiguous, they should be <br />connected by greenways and wildlife corridors, and located adjacent to areas developed in a smart growth <br />fashion where they can be utilized as recreation areas by residents. Low-density development is far from <br />the most, suitable choice for locating near preserved areas. <br />p.6-65 (A Monitoring Program for Orange...) <br />The need for field work and cost constraints are noted, but couldn't some of this be done by volunteers <br />and supervised/data compiled by staff? <br />p.b-67, Objective NA-9 . <br />This objective should be stated as flexible/optional for development taking place within an EDD, TDR <br />receiving area, or that is infill, in order to allow for greater densities in areas deemed suitable for growth <br />The Village Project a PO Box 685 ~ Carrboro NC 27510 ~ 919-942-6114 ~ www thevillageproject.com 8 <br />