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

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273 development is the critical nexus. of transportation and land use and it needs to be highly emphasized and cross-referenced frequently in our Comprehensive Plan. In my view and the Coalition's view, this needs to be written right into the Overarching Goal as the most important change in transportation and land use, agame-changer for our future. I am also going to emphasize a couple of other objectives that our Coalition recommends to be added to the Comprehensive Plan. We recommend a new Objective T-4.4 to implement the Special Transit Advisory Commission's recommendations for regional transit (including. light rail, passenger/commuter rail, expanded bus and transit-oriented development at a future Orange County train station in Hillsborough). Being very involved in Safe Routes to School Initiatives I am also very interested in our Coalition's recommendation .to add Objective T-1.8 to coordinate with Orange County Schools to provide safe walking and biking routes within 1.5 miles of all schools for children during school hours and residents after hours. Connectivity for our communities between key public institutions, commercial areas and neighborhoods will bring the vitality and foot traffic back to our community lives that we have lost over years of exclusively accommodating King Car. Our County's Comprehensive Plan is our way. to receive gratitude instead of disdain from the next generations for our foresight. Let's make a difference now. Thank you." Adam Klein read a prepared statement: "My name is Adam Klein, I am the Director Government Relations and Economic Development at the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce and member of the Orange County Comprehensive Plan Coalition. I am here to offer a few brief remarks on the second draft of the Comprehensive Plan, specifically the economic development section. In my professional opinion and the opinion of our Coalition members, the economic development section is missing a major strategy -namely working with UNC-Chapel Hill to retain many of the businesses created at the University. UNC ~in many ways is our business incubator. In the words of Chancellor-elect Holden Thorp, UNC's challenges in the coming years will be to "Cure diseases....find and invent clean energy...feed seven billion people" to name a few. As UNC strives to tackle-these issues, researchers are generating cutting edge products and devices that are spinning off into new businesses. These businesses are based on innovation, pay good wages, and have little environmental impact - in a nutshell businesses we want in Orange County. Yet, out of 29 UNC businesses spawned since the year 2000, only 3 are located here. The majority go to RTP because they can find readily available office and lab space and a welcoming business environment. We can do much better than this and it can start with our Comprehensive Plan. I ask that you consider including a new objective of "working closely with UNC's Office of Technology Development to identify commercial space needs of businesses created by UNC research, promote development of such space within the County, and actively encourage UNC businesses to stay in Orange County after leaving the University."- This should be one of our primary strategies for economic development. Lastly, in order for the County's commercial tax base to expand and for more businesses to locate in Orange County, it is paramount that water and sewer be extended to all of the Economic Development Districts. In the current Comprehensive Plan draft, extending water and sewer to these districts is listed as a long-term goal. The Coalition strongly urges that this objective be reprioritized as a short-term goal as so much of the other objectives within the Economic Development element hinges on having the necessary infrastructure in place to allow commercial and light industrial development. Please consider these changes as you review and edit the Comprehensive Plan. I thank you for your time and for the opportunity to give comment on this important document." r. ~ ail\~ ~~{ t'•> -e;h° ~iq{u r,.l `~t.{I't { ~L,,.