Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
• 3 <br />PROPOSED POLICY -BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS POLICY MANUAL <br />MEETING DATE: NUMBER: <br />EFFECTIVE DATE: REVISIONS: <br />POLICY: Toward a Sustainable Community <br />Orange County is committed to the concept of a sustainable community. A sustainable community uses and <br />protects its human and natural resources to meet the. current needs while insuring that enhanced <br />community assets are available for future generations. It seeks improved public health, an informed <br />citizenry, and a better quality of life for all of its residents while promoting effuiency, conservation, <br />pollution prevention, and developing local resources to strengthen the local economy. <br />Sustainable Community Principles <br />Sustainability is a fundamental organizing concept against which to evaluate proposed programs and <br />policies in the areas of land use planning, environmental protection, economic development, housing, <br />transportation, solid waste management, health and social services, and public safety. Such programs and <br />policies should therefore be prepared in a manner which addresses the following principles of sustainability: <br />• Interdependence: Integrate long-term economic, environmental, and social considerations into all <br />decisions to reflect their inherent interdependence. <br />Partnership: Invite cooperation and unify efforts between governments, business, <br />environmentalists, non-profit organizations, citizens, and others to address <br />interdependence. <br />Stewardship: Balance resource use and conservation between present and future generations <br />so that future generations are not compromised. <br />Diversity: Maintain diverse biological, economic, and social systems. <br />Prevention: Anticipate and prevent social, economic, and environmental problems rather than <br />attempt to solve them after the fact. <br />Equity: Insure all community members equal opportunities to contribute to the economy, <br />et}joy the environment, and participate in decisions that affect them. <br />Responsibility: Ask all community members to take responsibility for sustaining their community <br />and environment. <br />• <br />