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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 197710045', Ci 1~ '• 1 h F' - MrNUTES - .. • ORANGE COUNTX BOARD OF CQMMZSSIQNE125 - . a OCTOBER 4, 1977 • The Orange County Board of Comtnissibners.met joiri~ly on Tuesday, - October 4, 1977_, with members of the Orange County .Planning Board, members of the. Chapel Hi1T Board of Aldermen, and members of.'the ChapE,' Hill Planning Board, for the .purpose of conducting a public hearing tc_ hear input from citizens regarding Chapel Hil1's xequest far.an exten~-: . to. its planning jurisdiction. The meeting was held at. the Chapel Hill Senior High School, in the Cultural Arts Building at 7:30 p.m., _ •County:Commissioners present were Vice-Chairman Norman~Gustaveson„ Jan Pinney.•and Donald Willhoit. ~ ~ - . Members from the Chapel Hill Board of Aldermen were Mayor James Wallace,'Shixley Marshall,, Jonathan Howes and Marvin Silver. - M~mbers vf.the orange County Planning Board present were Chairmar: Robert Bonar, Marilyn Riddle, Jean Anderson, Art Cleary, and Hilliard Caldwell. Members of the Chapel Hi11 Planning Board present were Chair--PerM Peg Parker, Don Francisco, Jane Stein, and ~garie Mann. Chairman Gustaveson called the meeting to order and asked Michae=~ Jennings, Chapel Hill Planning Director, to present a brief .descriptio.. of the request of Chapel Hill to extend its planning area. 24r. Jennings stated that this particular action is allowed for in the General Statutes. That municipalities can extend their planning jurisdiction aver 3 miles of the City limits, if the population is ove::_ T'. .- 4 ., 25,000. Mx. Jennings showed on a map the existing planning azea of the Town of Chapel Hill which is about 19.8 square miles, and of that about 10 square miles is in the corporate limits. This existing planning area was established in 1955 and has been in effect for 25 years to this date. The effect of this extension would permit the Town of Chapel Hill in its planning far this area, to implement zoning and subdivision regula- tions. This action would not be an annexation of the area. People in this area would not pay any additional taxes. The people living in this area would receive representation on the Town's Planning Board. Mr. Jennings presented a map of the proposed area to be extended. He stated that one hope of the Town of Chapel Hill is to provide for a Green Belt around the developed areas of Chapel Hill. .- Chairman Gustaveson then asked Ervin Dobson, County Planning Director, to speak of the County's Land Use Planning for this area. Mr. Dobson explained that dura.ng the past year, the County Planning Staff has been working with the Chapel Hill and Garrboro Planning Staffs and various community groups to devise a Land Classification System, which was adapted by the County Board of Commissioners this past Spring. He stated that this plan was a broad blue print for sound land manage- ment and not a mechanism for zoning. Mr. Dobson pointed out the developed areas in Chapel Hill Township, the transision areas, which are capable of becoming urbanized over a l0 year period. This area should be provided with urban services within the next year., This is an 8.6 square mile area. He pointed out the community areas which are cluster of rural develo~• ments. Water and sewer would not be available for these areas, but a variety of uses which would compliment each other for this rural setting. Mr. Dobson pointed out the rural transistion areas on the map. He stated that these areas could possa.ble become urbanized over the next 20 years. Therefore, there .is a need to have good coordination of roads, utilities, and etc. in terms of subdivision development. He last of all pointed nut the green belt areas of Chapel Hill Township. He stated that this land was classified as conservation land used for recreation, and scenic re- - Sources. All streams in the Township should be treated as critical areas. Mr. Dobson pointed out the rural areas on the map and stated that these _ areas would be low density, residential/farm living. Chairman Gustaveson turned the meeting over the Gounty Planning Board Chairman, Dr. Robert Bonar. Dr. Bonar stated that the meeting would be open for public input and that the Board would hear from the proponents first. He asked if there were those persons who wished to speak in support of the extension. No one came forth. Dr. Bonar asked if there were those who wished to speak in apposi- tion to the extension. B. B. Olive, a resident of Mt. Sinia Rcad, spoke against the exten-- Sion. He stated that he spoke in two capacities. (1) As a resident of the Mt. Sinia Road Community and (2) as coordinator in opposition to the X-40 alternate through Orange County. Mr. Olive stated that not many cf the residents of his area were aware of the public hearing tonight, and he wondered if the meeting had been well advertised. He stated that he was unsure of whether it was wise at this point in time to shift the land use control o£ this area, which is directly related to I-40, from _ the Orange County Planning Department to the Chapel. Hill Planning Depart- ment. He stated that he felt he must object to the extension on the grounds that the shift is unwise at this particular time. Dr. Jane Gaede spoke against the extension request of Chapel Hill "since Chapel Hill has discriminated against individual mobile homes by banning them from its entire twenty square miles of planning area". She asked that "the Gounty Commissioners reject Chapel Hill's proposal until Orange County receives an absolute iron-clad guarantee from the Town of Chapel Hill that all individual mobile homes on individual lots in the extended zoning area will be treated as conforming single-family dwellings, and that all future individual mobile homes located on individ- wally owned lots will be allowed in all the extended district as are to permit site-built single-family residence. _. ~ ,~ i ~ . . Dr. Gaede quoted a statement of Rev. William Richardson, which said that people should be given an opportunity to live where they want to, whether in a mobile home or in a site built home. Gerry Soldi, a resident .of Mt. Siani Road, stated that she felt the area under discussion should remain under the County jurisdiction. She stated that as County residents, the people in the proposed extended area could vote for the County Commissioners whereby they would not be per- mitted to vote for the Chapel Hill Board of Aldermen. She stated that during the past year, the County had spent time, money and energy to develop a land use plan in the County's townships. Public hearings have been held in the New Hope area by the Planning Staff, and presently Town- ship Advisory Councils are being established which will give people from the various areas of the County a voice as to what happens to their town- ship. She asked that these Advisory Councils be given an opportunity to work and to keep the areas of authority sharply defined. The New Hope area would like to stay under the County's jurisdiction. John Kline, a resident of the New Hope area, and a member of the New Hope Fire Department, spoke in opposition to the request for extension. He stated that on October 3, 1977, at a meeting of the New Hope Volunteer Fire Department, the Department had voted to oppose the request. He added that serious democratic problems would arise if this request was granted. Charles Johnston, a resident of Whitfield Road, spoke against the request. He stated that if the area must be zoned, it should be zoned under the authority of people for whom we have a vote. He added that there was no justification for the extension for this large. an area of extension. Richard Sparrow who lives in the Southern Triangle area, which is proposed to be taken into the extension by Chapel Hill, stated that he was personally opposed to the request. Mr. Sparrow stated that many older families lived in this area and were opposed to the extension. He respectfully requested the request be denied. Ellen Cheek of the Southern Triangle area presented a petition to be filed with the Chapel Hill Planning Board and to the County Commissioners, of 119 signatures opposing the request for extension. Ms. Cheek stated that residents in her area wanted to maintain their rural setting. Ray Sparrow who has been a life long resident of Chapel Hill, and now lives in Carrboro, with plans to go back to the Chapel Hi11 area spoke. Mr. Sparrow stated that the policies of Chapel Hill tended to attempt to create an "elite" Town. He stated that because of the planning policies of Chapel Hill, many of the older families have moved out of the Town into other areas. Some of the planning policies have caused financial burdens for people who cannot affort to oppose the policies. He added that the - people in his area could not vote for or against the Chapel Hill hoard of Alderman. However, they do have a vote for the County. Mr. Sparrow ended his remarks by stating that the Chapel Hill Planning Board and the Board of Alderman wanted this area for their purposes, and not for the good of the people living in this area. Ellen Cheek asked that the members of the Planning Boards identify the areas of the County in which they live. This was done and Chairman Boaar explained that the County Planning Board was made up of persons from each township within the County. Lise Price asked that the Planning Director point out on the map the areas which would be urbanized over the next ten years. Mr. Dobson stated that the areas started at the Durham County line and moved along the Weaver Dairy Road and down Hwy. 86 and past State Road 1777 and then met the present Chapel Hi11 Planning line. Then down into the area paralleled with the Horace Williams Airport to about 2000 feet above the Carrboro City limits to a point along Hwy. 86. Ms. Price, a resident of North Forest Hills, stated that currently the planning. district line ran through the North Forest Hills and that it does not make sense to divide the area, but to include the community in the planning district of Chapel Hill. Charles Johnston pointed out that Ms. Prase was not in favor of extended the planning area in all the. proposed locations. 2: ~; :.: Don Wells, a resident of North Forest Hills, spoke in favor of extending the planning district in all areas. He stated that this action would benefit the residents iri the long run, that the areas would eventually be a part of Chapel Hill. He stated that this action would allow Chapel Hill a chance to extend to other parts of 'the County and would make Chapel Hill more beautiful. Joy Bonar stated that the people who live outside of Chapel Hill and who appreciate the County as a whole and not just as a township are concerned with growth of the entire County and are looking at the County as a whole and not at just Chapel Hill. B. B. Olive raised the question of a joint Chapel Hill-Orange County control over this area requested to be included in the Chapel Hill Plan- ning area. Dz. Bonar stated that he felt there was a desire on both parts of bath Boards to cooperate, and that perhaps this suggestion could be pursued by the County Attorney. Tom Freeland who presently does not live in Chapel Hill, but has in the past and plans to return to the area soon. Mr. Freeland asked how much publicity did this extension receive before being sent to Raleigh. He also spoke of the problems he had encountered with the Planning Boards in regard tv a 2 acre tract cif land Mr. Freeland owns in this area. Dr. Bonar explained that the Legislature had in April of 1977 granted Chapel Hill the authority to request of the County an extension of its planning area. Commissioner T~lillhoit stated that the reRUest to the Legislature was to bring Chpael Hill and Carrbaro under the p.~~wision of 160-A which governors the extraterritorial jurisdiction. This action puts Chapel Hill and Carrboro in the same category as other Towns. Hilliard Caldwell asked how much publicity did the public hearing _ tonight receive? Dr. Bonar stated that the legal requirement of the native w.3;;n~et. That maps of the proposed extended areas were printed in the newspaper as yell as spot announcement on local radio stations. Chairman Bonar informed those present that the County Planning Board would meet on the third Monday in October and would make a recommendation to the County Commissioners at that meeting. The meeting was then turned over to Commissioner Gustaveson. Chairman Gustaveson asked if there were other matters tc be brought before the Boards, and hearing none the public hearing was declared con- eluded. is rd Whi ted, hairman Agatha Johnson, Clerk