HomeMy WebLinkAbout6.7.23 PB Agenda PacketORANGE COUNTY PLANNING DEPARTMENT
131 W. MARGARET LANE, SUITE 201
HILLSBOROUGH, NORTH CAROLINA 27278
AGENDA
ORANGE COUNTY PLANNING BOARD
WHITTED MEETING FACILITY
300 WEST TRYON STREET, SECOND FLOOR
HILLSBOROUGH, NORTH CAROLINA 27278
Wednesday, June 7, 2023
Regular Meeting – 7:00 pm
No. Page(s) Agenda Item
1. CALL TO ORDER
2. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS
a.Planning Calendar for June and July
3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
April 19, 2023 Special Meeting Minutes
May 3, 2023 Regular Meeting Minutes
May 3, 2023 Training Session Notes
4. CONSIDERATION OF ADDITIONS TO AGENDA
5. PUBLIC CHARGE
Introduction to the Public Charge
The Board of County Commissioners, under the authority of North Carolina General Statute,
appoints the Orange County Planning Board (OCPB) to uphold the written land development
laws of the County. The general purpose of OCPB is to guide and accomplish coordinated and
harmonious development. OCPB shall do so in a manner which considers the present and
future needs of its residents and businesses through efficient and responsive process that
contributes to and promotes the health, safety, and welfare of the overall County. The OCPB
will make every effort to uphold a vision of responsive governance and quality public services
during our deliberations, decisions, and recommendations.
Public Charge
The Planning Board pledges its respect to all present. The Board asks those attending this
meeting to conduct themselves in a respectful, courteous manner toward each other, County
staff, and Board members. At any time should a member of the Board or the public fail to
observe this charge, the Chair will take steps to restore order and decorum. Should it
become impossible to restore order and continue the meeting, the Chair will recess the
meeting until such time that a genuine commitment to this public charge is observed.
The Planning Board asks that all electronic devices such as cell phones, pagers, and
computers should please be turned off or set to silent/vibrate.
Please be kind to everyone.
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3-4
5-34
35-42
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No. Page(s) Agenda Item
6. CHAIR COMMENTS
7. COMPREHENSIVE LAND USE PLAN UPDATE – To receive information on the
consultant contract that was approved by the BOCC on May 16, 2023.
Presenter: Tom Altieri, Senior Planner – Long-Range Planning
8. PLANNING BOARD RULES OF PROCEDURE – To conduct a work session on
potential amendments to the Board’s Rules of Procedure. Discussion
will include possibly formalizing time restrictions on applicants’
presentations and formalizing the current policy of limiting individual
comments to 3 minutes.
Presenters/Facilitators: Cy Stober, Planning Director, and Perdita
Holtz, Deputy Director – Long-Range Planning & Administration
8. ADJOURNMENT
Written Comments
Interested persons who cannot attend the meeting in-person are invited to submit written
comments on agenda items to the Planning Board via email at
planningboard@orangecountync.gov no later than 3:00 p.m. on the afternoon of the meeting.
Please include in the Subject line of the email the title of the agenda item your comment pertains
to. Emails sent to this address are viewable on Google Groups:
https://groups.google.com/g/ocplanningboard
Written comments can also be dropped off at the Planning Department’s offices at 131 W.
Margaret Lane, 2nd floor, Hillsborough, NC during normal business hours (8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Monday through Friday). Written comments will be scanned and sent by staff to the email address
indicated above.
Review Process
The Planning Board is an appointed volunteer advisory board which makes recommendations to
the Board of County Commissioners (the elected officials). The Board of County Commissioners
holds a formal public hearing and makes decisions. Section 2.8 of the County’s Unified
Development Ordinance contains a flowchart depicting the review process for rezoning and text
amendment applications.
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44-64
65-87
June 2023
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1 2 3
Notes:
*Planning Board Member Attendance Required
Planning Board meetings are held in room 230 on
the second floor of the Whitted Building located at
300 W. Tryon St., Hillsborough, NC 27278
BOCC Budget
Public Hearing/
Work Session
7:00 pm
Whitted Bldg.
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
BOCC
Business
Meeting
7:00 pm
Whitted Bldg.
Planning Board
Meeting
7:00 pm*
Whitted Bldg.
BOCC
Work Session
7:00 pm
Whitted Bldg.
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
BOCC Staff
Eval Closed
Session
7:00 pm
Whitted Bldg.
Board of
Adjustment
7:00 pm
Whitted Bldg.
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
HOLIDAY BOCC
Business
Meeting
7:00 pm
Whitted Bldg.
25 26 27 28 29 30
BOCC
Work Session
7:00 pm
Whitted Bldg.
3
July 2023
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1
Notes:
*Planning Board Member Attendance Required
Planning Board meetings are held in room 230 on
the second floor of the Whitted Building located at
300 W. Tryon St., Hillsborough, NC 27278
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
HOLIDAY OFFICES CLOSED
Planning Board
Meeting
7:00 pm*
Whitted Bldg.
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Board of
Adjustment
7:00 pm
Whitted Bldg.
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
NACo Conference
Travis Co., TX
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
NACo
Conference
Travis Co., TX
30 31
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MEETING MINUTES 1 ORANGE COUNTY PLANNING BOARD 2 APRIL 19, 2023 3 SPECIAL MEETING 4 CONTINUATION OF THE APRIL 5, 2023 REGULAR MEETING 5
6
MEMBERS PRESENT: Adam Beeman (Chair), Cedar Grove Township Representative; Lamar Proctor (Vice-Chair), Cheeks 7
Township Representative; Melissa Poole, Little River Township Representative; Beth Bronson, At-Large Representative; 8
Charity Kirk, At-Large Representative; Statler Gilfillen, Eno Township Representative; Whitney Watson, At-Large 9
Representative; Steve Kaufmann, Bingham Township Representative; Chris Johnston, Hillsborough Township 10
Representative; Elizabeth Kalies, Chapel Hill Township Representative; 11
12 MEMBERS ABSENT: Delores Bailey, At-Large Representative; 13
14
STAFF PRESENT: Cy Stober, Planning & Inspections Director; Patrick Mallett, Deputy Director – Development Services; 15
Taylor Perschau, Current Planning and Zoning Supervisor; Nish Trivedi, Transportation Services Director; Lauren 16
Coffey, Planning Technician 17
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OTHERS PRESENT: James Parker, Applicant; Lyle Overcash, Nick Kirkland, Joey Webb, Patrick Byker, Eric Silinish, Will 19
Wirt, Patrick Cummings, Susan Wells, John Cates, John Dempsey, Margo Lakin, Clancy Russell, Jenn Weaver, Susan 20
Swafford, Drake Edwards, Gary Rodgers, Amber Bickford, Raul Herrera, John Cox, Earl Tye, Mary Parkinson, Jennifer 21
Bailey, John Hughes, Margo Lakin, John Dempsey, Margaret Cates, Sandra Brown, Thomas Brown, Emilee Collins, 22
Jessica King, Carolyn Robinson, Jamie Burgess-Flowers, Carolyn Cadamski, Rhonda Zack, Wanda Richardson, Edwin 23
Cox, Mei Huang, Maryalice Nocera, Charlie Clouse, Reynald Chatelain, Debra Fields, Jenni Edwards, Meg Kelly, Drake 24
Edwards, Dan Bivins, Steve Kirby, Alison Sommerstad, Robert James, William Brodeur, Sally Brodeur, Aaron Kirk, Vicki 25
Hill, Amber Bickford, Aaron Kessler, Karen Sexton, Cheryl Howard, Alyson Miller, Linda Nathanson, Kathleen Harper, 26
Eric Lindblom, Nick Schumacher, Kathy Bivins, Kiersten Fitzgerald, Jeff Powell, Allan Green, Matt McDermott, Meaghun 27
Darab, Neal Fisher, Melissa Fisher, Bonnie Alexander, Linda Johnson, Tracy Schumacher, Jack Niklas, Rachael Price, 28
Ross Goldbaun, Brandon Welch, Hugo Sequeira, Amy Carabetta, Robert Minton, Ashley Snipes, Daniel Snipes, Scott 29
Comer, Susan Walser, Mark Micol, Jim Hopper, Jay Hopper, Tony Bayless, Delores Bayless, Scott Czechlewski, Hollis 30
Chatelain, Alex Stanford, Rhonda Zack, Crawford Horne, Felicia Horne, Bill Aucoin, Mark Zack, Rachel Hawkins, Allison 31
Nichols, Hank Clapper, Jim West, Donna Clapp, Tiffany Alrefae, Janet Wright-Simpson, Faye Rhode, Kimberly Leary, 32
Marian Adamson, Bethany Kidd, Ashley Anston, H. Nad Worny, Curtis Kelly, Jason Zoladz, Jeff Reilich, Christine Jackle, 33
Virginia Rhodes, Ryan Rigabar, 34
35
AGENDA ITEM 1: CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL 36
Chair Adam Beeman called the meeting to order. 37
38
Chair Adam Beeman gave a short introduction to the schedule of the night’s meeting which is a continuation of the April 39
5, 2023 meeting. 40
41
Agenda Item 3: Zoning Atlas Amendment (Conditional District) – To continue review of and make a 42
recommendation to the BOCC on an applicant-initiated zoning atlas amendment to rezone an 84.9 43
acre parcel from R-1 (Rural Residential) to MPD-CD (Master Plan Development Conditional 44
District). 45
46
Cy Stober, Planning and Inspections Director, gave a short recap about the item then turned the meeting over to the 47
applicant to continue their presentation from Jim Parker. 48
49
Patrick Byker, attorney for the applicant, re-introduced members of the applicant team who will speak about the project. 50
51
John Pelphrey, Orange Tennis Club, spoke about the need for more tennis and pickleball courts in Orange County. 52
53
Patrick Byker submitted to the Planning Board, a petition with approximately 200 signatures gathered by Mr. Pelphrey. 54
55
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Patrick Byker spoke about the project and asked the Planning Board to recommend approval. 56
57
Statler Gilfillen: I have a question about something you just said…you said they will put turn lanes in within two years. 58
During that period, if the schools cause a great deal of congestion or traffic, we have a problem. 59
60
Adam Beeman: We need to wait until the end to ask questions. 61
62
Patrick Byker: I can answer that at the end but either way, it will be fixed. 63
64
Chair Adam Beeman read a public charge. 65
66
AGENDA ITEM 2: PUBLIC CHARGE 67
68
INTRODUCTION TO THE PUBLIC CHARGE 69
The Board of County Commissioners, under the authority of North Carolina General Statute, appoints 70
the Orange County Planning Board (OCPB) to uphold the written land development law of the County. 71
The general purpose of OCPB is to guide and accomplish coordinated and harmonious development. 72
OCPB shall do so in a manner, which considers the present and future needs of its citizens and 73
businesses through efficient and responsive process that contributes to and promotes the health, safety, 74
and welfare of the overall County. The OCPB will make every effort to uphold a vision of responsive 75
governance and quality public services during our deliberations, decisions, and recommendations. 76
77 PUBLIC CHARGE 78
The Planning Board pledges to the citizens of Orange County its respect. The Board asks its citizens to 79
conduct themselves in a respectful, courteous manner, both with the Board and with fellow citizens. At 80
any time, should any member of the Board or any citizen fail to observe this public charge, the Chair will 81
ask the offending member to leave the meeting until that individual regains personal control. Should 82
decorum fail to be restored, the Chair will recess the meeting until such time that a genuine commitment 83
to this public charge is observed. 84
85
Please be kind to everyone. 86
87 Public Comment 88
89
Mark Zack: Lives in the Lawrence Road community. I have lived here for over 30 years and have seen Lawrence Road 90
become the de facto north/south thoroughfare on that side of Hillsborough. Although you’ve done a traffic study and 91
developers have proposed funding some improvements, I don’t think that they adequately address the impact on the 92
intersection of Old NC 10 and Lawrence Rd. I ask that after approval, the developer make improvements to that 93
intersection, namely installing a concrete median on Lawrence Rd. to control people making a left turn from Old NC 10 94
onto Lawrence Rd. This is a dangerous movement, those of us who head that way to Lawrence Rd. know that we often 95
have to avoid collisions with people making that turn onto that less than 90-degree intersection and cutting across our 96
lane of traffic. I ask for you to consider this one simple consideration we have before you give any approval for this 97
project. Thank you for your attention. 98
99
Rachel Hawkins: Lifelong resident of Orange County said that just this week, the superintendent of Orange County 100
Schools called me to say she wants to lock the tennis courts. There are 8 courts at the high school and if they are 101
locked, that would leave only 3 in the area for play. I am a tennis advocate for the community. Orange Tennis Club is 102
great, it has people playing tennis who have never thought about playing tennis. These courts are really nice and haven’t 103
been taken advantage of by people riding skateboards and bicycles, which the superintendent is concerned about. We 104
are at a crossroads, if they lock the courts, we don’t know where we will play on Sundays and after work. We know we 105
can’t play during the day because people at Orange use those courts. We are county taxpayers, and we should be able 106
to play. We hope to be able to play through Orange Tennis Club which will be on Lawrence Road. 107
108
Jim West: I live off 1801 Washington Drive. I’ve lived at my property since June of 1996, I bought the place when I was 109
25 years old. It’s the most beautiful place in Orange County if you ask me, just a wonderful community. Whenever 110
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something happens to my community I want to make sure I know all the rest associated with the type of development 111
and also any type of safeguards that are applied that we may not be aware of. Whenever I hear about tennis courts, 112
baseball fields…. I love baseball, I used to grow up watching my third cousin play for the Yankees. I think we need more 113
baseball fields and tennis courts. However, I do have concerns about the noise and I also have concerns about the 114
lights. I just want to make sure that if they are going to have baseball fields and tennis courts that they are going to have 115
proper safeguards, something to deflect the noise, whether it is trees or whatever. I just want to make sure that we are 116
aware that there is a community that is very peaceful and we get along very well together. It is a very diverse community 117
and we want to make sure that anyone that wants to join our community, fits in. Thank you so much. 118
119
Marian Adamson: My family was drawn to Hillsborough by the lovely people and the great programs. We’ve bounced 120
around from various programs and now I have a son who does baseball at HYAA and my husband is an assistant coach. 121
I have another son who does tennis with the Orange Tennis Club. He told me today that the good thing about tennis is 122
that it is a great sport for people who are not tall. It is really happy for me that he has finally found a sport that he is really 123
happy with but we’ve been working with one of their private coaches and it’s been a struggle to get tennis court time. I 124
took my entire family Monday evening really late because it was the only time we could find available. I know that HYAA 125
is losing some of their fields and we really love that baseball program. On top of that, I have 4 children at the Expedition 126
School, a charter school in Hillsborough that will feed into Triangle West High School if it is able to have a location and 127
we have loved our charter school. The commitment of the people there to our students, the great teaching staff, my kids 128
have really flourished at this charter school. We need options for people of all locations and backgrounds to have places 129
to go to school, places that work really well for their children as this charter school has for me. I just wanted to say that 130
our family would be a huge proponent of this. It would mean that my children would be in the same area instead of 131
having to go to all different locations and driving all over, we would be in one place and that is a beautiful thing to add to 132
the community. I am so glad they are putting in these beautiful neighborhoods in Hillsborough and Orange County but 133
we really do need the schools and the support system and the recreational activities to support these wonderful 134
developments going in. Thank you very much. 135
136
Henry Nadworny: Lawrence Road neighborhood resident since 1998. I am very happy with it. The growth is not 137
something I’m happy with the planning and positioning of where these projects lie and I think it is stopping the properties 138
more than they accommodate. I think there is plenty of other choices that could be made more wisely. I have not 139
researched available properties, but I believe in the area, there are larger potential positioning ….requirements for the 140
project, I am not that familiar with whether they need the water or whether it needs the sewer or not. I’ve heard different 141
things change as this went on. From the meeting last week to this week, I hear now they are going to pay for the turning 142
lanes. What those turning lanes accommodate, I still don’t agree with, that that is not going to stop the flow of things 143
because you have so much going into this, not just at school times but weekends and at night and they are going to 144
stagger the drop off…I just don’t see that flowing. With other projects like the 76 townhomes on the other side of me 145
going in, and the studies that were done through Covid to say, we saw this many cars, I don’t think those figures are 146
correct. I don’t have the knowledge to tell you that you are wrong with thinking that a turn lane will take care of it. I do see 147
historical homes being attacked that people have purchased in this area knowing the zone is residential and now all of a 148
sudden, we can just try and change that by saying it’s not residential anymore, we are going to put a business in there. 149
What give you the right to say that that’s okay for me and not you and you’ve changed things that have been in place for 150
years. I see not having water pressure anymore, I see runoff issues, I see water collection flowing into the drinking water 151
, so now we are going to have tennis court runoff, all the runoff on this…I heard walking trails, I don’t see walking trails in 152
there, I just see them taking all the trees out . It was a walking trail and park facility and made for everybody to have fun 153
and go play tennis and all, that would be great, but you are stuffing a school on top of it and you are into the watershed 154
and killing the area around it. What about the two historical sites that I don’t see anybody addressing that they are going 155
to need to lose road frontage. I don’t know if you are voting on this tonight….I don’t agree, thank you. 156
157
Amber Bickford: I am a STEM professional, a mother of a 12-year-old, and a resident of Orange County. As a STEM 158
research professional, with 25 years’ experience in biotechnology, I can assure you that our 21st Century needs STEM 159
education at the high school level. We need critical thinkers, creative thinkers, problem solvers, and people that work 160
collaboratively. These are skills that are needed to address the many critical challenges of the 21st century, including 161
climate change, and sustainability, something that is very important to this community, as you well know. Why not here in 162
Orange County where the Lawrence Road project directly addresses the UDO and aligns with the greater community’s 163
ideas? On April 5th, you heard Joey Webb, West Triangle High School Leader, explain to you the innovative academic 164
programming that he has led at multiple schools. You learned that West Triangle High is committed to the social and 165
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emotional well being of the student body and the willingness to collaborate with the broader education community. This 166
is the benefit of charter schools in your community. Steps from here where we sit tonight as a charter school here in 167
Hillsborough that is actually been recognized by DPI for its academic growth most importantly the greatest academic 168
growth for socio-economically disadvantaged children and will be working with DPI in the Fall to provide this 169
programming which will be a benchmark and cornerstone for all public schools in the state. This is a real example of 170
equity in education and how charter schools’ partner with public schools in the community despite what you may have 171
been told. As I stand here tonight, this is the 16th anniversary of the Virginia Tech massacre and between April 5 and 172
tonight, you have a room full of parents that want social, emotional programming, access to athletic programming, 173
organizations, fields, because our kids are at risk. I am an alumni of Virginia Tech, I had 3 family members on the 174
campus that day and quite frankly the violence in our schools and threat to our schools every day has not improved, it’s 175
gotten untenable and uncontrollable. Just since April 5th, two schools in our area, have either been in lockdown because 176
there’s a weapon on site or the threat of one. Parents in this community want better, and Orange County can do better. 177
Our kids are hurting, they need a sense of belonging and programs that support their well-being and social and 178
emotional well-being for our community. If you rezone Lawrence Road, this will be available to our community. The 179
fundamental change is not coming from the federal government or the state, its coming from decisions that you have to 180
make tonight, at a local level. 181
Ms. Bickford presented the Board Chair with a petition supporting the project. 182
183
Kathleen Harper: I’ve lived in Hillsborough since 2008 and my husband and I have 2 children in Orange County schools. 184
I respectfully request that the planning board vote no on the Lawrence Road rezoning. The proposed development does 185
not align with the county’s comprehensive plan in which land use should be coordinated with other plans including utility 186
and infrastructure and limited water resources should be managed wisely. The town of Hillsborough leadership has told 187
the developer during several meetings during the last year and a half, that it would be difficult to meet the water and 188
sewer requirements for one or more schools at this site. If the rezoning is approved, the Town of Hillsborough, by law, 189
and the NCDA to provide water and sewer to the schools, even if that means denying other water and sewer to other 190
town priorities. If the developer decides to provide the schools with wells and septic, which was mentioned as a 191
possibility earlier this month, will the septic fields take the place of the ball fields? I do support recreational fields. I want 192
fields for HYAA and more courts for tennis and pickleball players but not this way. Not by forcing the town of Hillsborough 193
to provide water and sewer to schools on the opposite side of the county from where the most growth is predicted, or by 194
sacrificing the ball fields to build a large septic field in Durham’s Teer Quarry protected water shed. At the end of the day, 195
given these infrastructure concerns, this site is not a good site for schools. Also concerning, the applicant team 196
suggested on April 5th that West Triangle High School would be well situated to absorb some of the anticipated growth of 197
Orange County Schools. According to their charter application however, West Triangle intends to establish matriculation 198
agreements with the Expedition school and several charters in Durham. If finalized, these agreements would grant 199
priority enrollment to students from these charters. With approximately 40 students matriculating from the Expedition 200
school and the possibility of more than 100 students from Durham charters, few seats may remain for students not 201
already enrolled in a charter. Please ask the applicant to provide an explanation of their current pending and planned 202
articulation agreements as it relates to the school’s ability to absorb growth in Orange County Schools. The majority of 203
anticipated growth in Orange County Schools is predicted to take place in the Western half of the county, near Mebane. 204
The Lawrence Road parcel is situated between Hillsborough and Durham. This proposal does not benefit the Orange 205
County school district and it does not benefit Orange County at large. Please vote no on the rezoning and please keep 206
this area rural residential. 207
208
Rachael Price: My husband and I own the Rock House which is a historic property at the corner of Business 70 and 209
Lawrence. Tonight, I would love to bring 3 concerns of ours to the board and the developer. First, when my husband and 210
I moved into our home, we both commented on how dark it is at night and how nice it is to clearly stargaze while being 211
so close to downtown Hillsborough. I believe that this project with all its required lighting, including all those with the 212
athletic fields, will create a tremendous amount of light pollution for the residents in the surrounding neighborhood. In 213
addition, the light pollution will also disrupt migrating birds as this area is on a major migration route. I propose that the 214
board take this into consideration in deciding if this is the right location for this particular project. If you decide to allow 215
the rezoning, then an evening curfew be put on all lighting and after-hours activities. Second, my husband and I both 216
work in Durham and drive Business 70 almost every day to and from work. What I appreciate about Business 70 is that 217
you clearly leave Durham, there is space between the two towns and that you clearly arrive into Hillsborough. I believe 218
that Hillsborough has done an impeccable job maintaining and cultivating its historic charm and this sets it aside from our 219
neighboring cities. I worry that this project will begin the urban sprawl of business that will take away from Hillsborough’s 220
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uniqueness. I would hate for Business 70 to become another 15/501, a corridor of business that runs Durham right into 221
Chapel Hill. I believe that this project is not only about the rezoning of this particular parcel of land but represents the 222
direction and future that you, the Planning Board, see for Hillsborough. Finally, while the idea of walking our 6-year-old 223
across the street to a STEM based high school, sounds idyllic, the reality is that a lottery-based enrollment that serves 224
the entire Triangle makes that unlikely. While I highly advocate for more STEM based education, I would rather see a 225
school in Hillsborough that prioritizes the children in our community, as opposed to the Triangle at large. I ask the board 226
if this particular school proposal is the fit for our community. If there is a need for further educational opportunity in 227
Hillsborough, perhaps you should consider a school that first prioritizes the admittance of Orange County students, then 228
once that need is met, opens enrollment to students from around the Triangle. …..have this meeting about how people 229
would address the traffic situation that would be created not just by the school but also by the athletic fields. They are 230
going to be extremely busy after hours and evenings because they are so popular and bring so much of a need to the 231
area. I don’t think we can accommodate that with the improvements on the roads…. 232
233
Jennifer Bailey: I’ve been part of the Hillsborough community since 2005. I am speaking in support of the project. Tennis 234
has been a part of my life since I was 8 years old. My parents thought it would be fun for us to learn how to play tennis 235
so we could not only have family support but so that we could meet other people in our community. My family moved 236
every few years and with each new home, one of the first things we would do was seek out the local tennis community. 237
Many years ago, I moved to Hillsborough with my family which included three young children and as usual, I sought out 238
the tennis community for us. What I found was unique among the fourteen places I have called home. There was a 239
tennis community but there were no courts. Being a part of this vibrant tennis community and hearing the vision for 240
creating a club, I embarked on a journey to help make the Orange Tennis Club a reality. Over the years we have played 241
at private courts, school courts and now we have just three public courts. This community deserves better. We deserve a 242
dedicated facility that supports the local community of new players, young players, older players, and families. Orange 243
Tennis Club is a non-profit that offers affordable high quality tennis instruction but it also offers our community something 244
else. It gives us a place to build relationships with other local people of all ages and backgrounds that may have never 245
otherwise crossed paths. So please give Orange Tennis a home. 246
247
John Hughes: I have been in Orange County since 1972, lived in Cedar Grove since 1974. I empathize with people who 248
are looking at traffic issues and water issues, however I do love to play tennis. I am a founding member of Orange 249
Tennis Club. We started planning in 2006 and became a reality in 2009. We are a 501 c3 organization. Our original 250
mission was to provide tennis to anyone in Northern Orange County who wanted to play tennis regardless of their ability 251
to pay. We have a sliding scale fee, and we offer scholarships to anyone who wants to play. Of the 200 members that 252
John mentioned, 100 of those are children under the age of 18, ages 4-18. We have clinics 5 days a week for all ages 253
and abilities, we have summer camps. Prior to Covid, we had 2 community events every year that invited folks from all 254
over, particularly the Fairview community, we provided 300-400 rackets, 200 cans of tennis balls to people so they could 255
start playing tennis. We have experienced a lot of growth during Covid. The CDC said that tennis was a safe sport to 256
play so our membership jumped. We are at capacity. Hillsborough Youth Athletic Association is faced with a cap that we 257
will have to impose pretty soon because we can not accept anymore people because there is just no space. So I 258
encourage you to support this project for the tennis facilities. I am 74, I figure I have got 15 more good years of tennis 259
and if this one doesn’t happen, then I hope that you put putting tennis courts in Northern Orange County on your agenda 260
as some part of your planning opportunities. 261
262
Raul Herrera: I am a resident of this beautiful town. I am speaking as a member of the business community and the 263
Hispanic community. Our community lacks recreation facilities, our community needs amenities such as baseball, and 264
tennis courts and recreational facilities. When youth are part of athletics and part of a team, they understand how to be 265
productive citizens as they become adults. Accessible and affordable, athletics keep our youths out of trouble. The 266
proposed facility includes schools that are aimed at providing access to quality education and quality sport centers that 267
we so desperately need. The area of concern by neighbors has been addressed by the developer. I believe this project 268
will create more equity for our youth and their families who do not have access in close proximity to these services. We 269
live on the corner of Victoria Drive and Orange High School Road, that is less than a mile from Orange High School and 270
Orange Middle School. In the 17 years that I have lived there, I can hardly feel the traffic. Thank you for voting yes to this 271
rezoning. 272
273
Rhonda Zack: Has lived in the Wyngate neighborhood off of Lawrence Road for more than 20 years. I wanted to support 274
this project because I have been on the side of the developers, I’ve sat in your seats and had Kimley Horne do traffic 275
9
impact analysis for me before, so I wanted to support it. I looked through the information carefully and I have read the 276
traffic impact analysis with great interest. I was really disappointed because I was stunned that the intersection of Old NC 277
10 and Lawrence Road was completely ignored in that analysis. It’s a very dangerous intersection currently and they are 278
looking at adding 15,000 cars in this general vicinity and are saying that hardly any of them will be coming from the south 279
and that is ridiculous. That says that all the people here who are supporting tennis and the baseball fields, and the STEM 280
schools are not going to be coming from Beckett’s Ridge and Waterstone or Joppa Oaks. None of them are going to be 281
coming up Old NC 10 and going up Lawrence Road to the site, that’s ludicrous. It’s a direct route to get there from the 282
south of the site. I don’t understand how that could be so neglected in the traffic impact analysis and I am really 283
concerned about that intersection. My husband, who spoke earlier, who only has one arm, he lost his arm on Old NC 10. 284
This is not a conceptual danger for us. This is reality. It’s a dangerous road now and you are going to add a lot of traffic 285
to it. I am here to say, I support baseball fields, I support tennis, I support STEM schools but not on this site, not on this 286
road. It is the wrong place for it. I ask for you to vote no on this. 287
288
Scott Czecklewski: I am CEO of the Hillsborough Chamber of Commerce and I am speaking tonight on behalf of our 289
Board of Directors. The Chamber’s mission is to promote both economic development and quality of life, so we carefully 290
consider all sides of an issue before we take a position. The applicant created the plans for this site based on needs 291
expressed by the public and for the Hillsborough Youth Athletic Association and the Orange Tennis Club. Even more 292
importantly, the applicant studied the established ….development ordinance and created a project that fits within the 293
scope of the development deemed appropriate for this site. The applicant then determined and carried out everything 294
required to have the school approved according to state and municipal regulations. This zoning change and proposed 295
uses are consistent with the Orange County Comprehensive Plan. The plan identifies this parcel in a twenty-year 296
transition area which means that the county intended for it to evolve in this manner on this land. As the Chamber Board 297
studied this proposal, it was easy to identify the need for the infrastructure that this rezoning will open the door to build. 298
There is a significant lack of baseball, softball fields and tennis and pickleball courts in the area as you have heard from 299
many people tonight. That’s why this project has such strong support from the Hillsborough Youth Athletic Association 300
and the Orange Tennis Club. Youth participating in HYAA play at 3 fields, one, Collin’s Field, will no longer be available 301
once the development of that site begins. Local tennis and pickleball players have expressed concerns about the courts 302
in the area. They are limited to just three courts. Tennis players must travel to Durham and Chapel Hill when they play, 303
supporting businesses elsewhere. While there will always be traffic fears with any new development, the developers plan 304
improvements in the intersections and with the construction of turn lanes at both entrances to the school and the 305
school’s bussing plan will help alleviate those concerns. Something Mayor Weaver said at the last meeting struck me, 306
she noted that many proposals for this property had been made over the past 15 years, and all had been denied. Our 307
area youth will be served in many positive, life-changing ways for decades to come by these proposed charter schools 308
and athletic fields. It’s time that a project that meets the guidelines of the UDO and the comprehensive plan is approved. 309
The Chamber Board of Directors hopes the plan will be approved. 310
311
Steve Kirby: I am the boy’s and girl’s high school tennis coach at Eno River Academy and a parent of kids who like to 312
play tennis. I am speaking in favor of the proposed rezoning request because the kids need more accessible tennis 313
courts, as we’ve heard. Our tennis teams are young having just started playing in the fall if 2021 but interest in them has 314
been growing. We don’t have enough places to play tennis. We have difficulty renting a space to have practices and to 315
play our matches. The only ones in the area are rented by a middle school in Durham because they lack courts as well. 316
Our athletic director has been able to rent courts at Moreene Road Park but we are only able to do so before school gets 317
out. It is interesting to note that when we have home tennis matches, the kids miss their entire last class, which makes it 318
difficult for us to get parental approval and the kids end up leaving school earlier for home matches than they do for 319
away matches. Matches regularly go for two and a half to three hours so we bump up against the 6 o’clock deadline, 320
even with the three o’clock start. Three weeks ago, when we had a tennis match it bumped right up against it and we 321
had to beg the tennis leagues to let us finish playing our high school tennis matches. They kicked us off and we had to 322
beg them to let us play a match point. The earlier afternoon matches aren’t accessible to us. Some schools such as 323
Orange High, Cedar Ridge and Graham, won’t play us at our courts because it means their kids get out of school too 324
early, so we have to play at their courts. The problem with that is the distance of travel. It’s a tough call for parents to 325
make to say twenty minutes each direction is what we will have to travel to practices every day and for matches. With 326
other sports, it’s right there at school. It also impacts our ability to have a thriving middle school program because they 327
involve courts too. So, we are facing competition not just from other Durham schools but from our own middle schools 328
and we can’t get middle schools to have tennis programs because they don’t have a place to put them. Tennis is a great 329
sport; we love it and we want a place to play and that is why you should vote for this proposal. 330
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331
Hollis Chatelain: I support schools, I support athletic fields, I support all of these different sports, but I don’t support them 332
being built here. One of the things that nobody has really mentioned is that the surrounding houses, all around this 333
enormous field, are still on the older wells. On Lawrence Road, there are still people who are still on the older, sixty-foot 334
wells. When we don’t get a whole lot of water, those well have a risk of drying up. This field could take a lot of the water 335
from all of these houses that are on these older wells. A lot of these people are lower income people, who is going to pay 336
for new wells. Nobody seems to be considering that. This is really a big problem. I am just really surprised that nobody 337
has said anything about that. One of the things that they said and the next thing I would like to mention is the traffic. One 338
of the things that they have said is that there were 4,500 cars that went on Lawrence Rd. in February of 2021. This was 339
during lockdown. I live on Lawrence Rd. there are so many more cars when we were not in Covid and now. I do not think 340
it is realistic for one of the only roads that go North/South through Hillsborough. If there were some sort of emergency at 341
the school or somewhere else around there, they could not get emergency vehicles in there. They could not get them to 342
the hospital which is south of there. I am against a facility like this in this spot and I ask that you vote no. 343
344
John Dempsey: The owner has already brought a request for rezoning for this parcel to the town of Hillsborough where it 345
was denied. It was found by the Mayor and the Town Board in keeping with Hillsborough’s future land use plans and 346
would not be in the long-term interest of Hillsborough’s businesses and residents. Their decision was informed by a 347
variety of Hillsborough’s town agencies. Being turned down by Hillsborough, the developer has come to Orange County 348
asking for conditional district rezoning for the same plan. You should be aware that if Orange County permits this 349
rezoning, then it will be triggering a recent North Carolina State Law that requires municipalities to provide water and 350
sewer services to charter schools if they have the capacity to do so. The Town of Hillsborough has been formally put on 351
notice by the developer to reserve water and sewer capacity for this development. If you rezone this parcel, then make 352
no doubt about it, at that point, neither Orange County nor the Town of Hillsborough, will have any say in the distribution 353
of Hillsborough’s water and sewer resources to this non-contiguous parcel. They will be forced to do so by state law. As 354
one town board member put it, “this will rip Hillsborough’s Comprehensive Sustainability Plan to shreds.” It should also 355
be noted that if Orange County decides to permit this rezoning request, that it will be breaking the WASMPBA planning 356
and boundary agreement signed by Hillsborough, Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Orange County. That agreement 357
….signatories to growth management….resolve and preclude conflicts about future service areas and also provide 358
predictable planning and financing. Rezoning will also result in tax and service fee hikes for Hillsborough businesses and 359
residences over time. Without bringing any new tax revenue to the town regardless of who pays for the initial extension 360
of services, it is alarming to me that these costs to Hillsborough are not mentioned or addressed by the applicant or by 361
the Orange County Planning Department. At the last planning board meeting on April 5, Hillsborough’s mayor and a town 362
board representative, signed up for 3 minutes to address this board on these and other concerning issues with this 363
proposal. Three minutes, for the jurisdiction that would be held responsible for servicing this project, paying for the 364
consequences, and the jurisdiction that should be making these decisions. Please, listen to our town representatives and 365
vote unanimously to not recommend this rezoning proposal to the Orange County Board of Commissioners. 366
367
Margo Lakin: I’m for schools and ball fields and tennis courts and pickleball and skateboards and walking, what I’m 368
against is this spot zoning that will disenfranchise Hillsborough voters and compromise our water and sewer capacity. 369
We have been told that rezoning decisions are based on land use, not on traffic patterns, not on who will occupy the 370
development. This rezoning doesn’t promote Hillsborough’s future land use plan. It will rip the town’s comprehensive 371
sustainability plan to shreds. It doesn’t even support Orange County’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan that serves as a 372
guide to county growth and development through 2030. The rezoning will not efficiently use existing capacity, it will 373
create light, noise, and air pollution. I haven’t heard one mention of …ratings for buildings. It will destroy federally 374
recognized habitat for five protected species, it will threaten two watersheds, and compound the stress on the town’s 375
finite water and sewer capacity. There are eight planning principals in the 2030 plan that have been the foundation for 376
development, this proposal meets none of them. We heard that conditional zoning only allows for this project and no 377
variations but according to the planning department presentation, at the April 4 Board of County Commissioners 378
meeting, where another conditional rezoning proposal was voted on, we were told that conditional zoning does allow for 379
negotiation between applicant and staff or appointed board, or the elected body of Orange County. If rezoned, this 380
proposal could change and Hillsborough would not be part of those closed door decisions. We haven’t heard from the K-381
8 charter school proposal because it doesn’t exist. At the neighborhood information meeting, the developer failed to 382
mention that he is also the landowner. He told the room that the sports fields were place holder ideas only. Two weeks 383
ago, we heard for the first time in a public forum , that well and septic can now support this project and Hillsborough 384
Water and Sewer isn’t needed. So why was there an annexation request to Hillsborough in the first place? If rezoning is 385
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approved, are we to believe that the new state law forcing towns to provide water and sewer to charter schools won’t be 386
invoked by the developer? Hillsborough government officials elected as a legislative body in establishing town policy in 387
law, denied the original annexation. That should have been the end of it but here we are. I ask you to listen and honor 388
the decisions of those who we voted for to decide what is best for our town. Please deny this rezoning application. 389
390
Susan Swafford: I’m a board member for West Triangle High School, as well as a local parent. I have lived here since 391
1994. I have concerns with this planning process. In the last meeting, Mr. Stokes specifically discussed state statutes 392
that prevent considering traffic, utilities and school type in deciding on a zoning application. This makes allowing the 393
mayor to read her letter aloud concerning water and sewage, problematic. The content of the letter regarding utilities, is 394
also questionable. Two things to consider: our school is asking for 6,000 gallons of water daily or .15% of current city 395
water usage. WTHS will pay to hook up the utilities costing and estimated one million dollars during construction, and 396
pay around $30,000 annually for water service. How is it that the city can not handle that minute amount of water? The 397
mayor is trying to attach a $42 million price tag to hooking up sewer for the school? What I found most concerning was 398
the mayor’s use of the word “equity.” I believe the mayor is presenting a red herring fallacy. She wants us to pay 399
attention to a sewer problem, however where is the data supporting her claim? I believe the mayor and others actually 400
oppose charter schools. Tonight I present a real matter of equity driven by actual data. These numbers come from the 401
state board of education recording system used for all public schools across the state. For black students in Orange 402
County last year, there is a 43%/33%/40% achievement gap in Math, English and Reading, respectively. Meaning that 403
the average test scores for black students is 43/33/40% below the average score for white students. Just 5% of black 404
students in the county attempted an AP class. For Hispanic students, there is a 34/37/23% achievement gap across 405
Math, English and Reading. In Orange County, in high poverty schools, 20% of teachers are new to teaching. This 406
compares to only 3% of new teachers in low poverty schools. Our school leader, Joey Webb, has a track record of 407
closing large achievement gaps. Our board chair, Alex Quigley, works tirelessly, with success to close the achievement 408
gap each year in the Triangle. They are both committed to this work. It is not lip service about equity as a political guise, 409
it is grit and determination, with innovative and nimble thinking. Please don’t fall for the red herring trick. The UDO 410
suggests you approve this rezoning. I urge you to see what the county will be getting from it; much needed recreational 411
capacity for our kids and families, and a new school that will soften enrollment and budget challenges and will actually 412
stand for equity by bringing a fresh model to closing the achievement gap. 413
414
Gary Rodgers: I am a board member at West Triangle High School and a board member at Research Triangle High 415
School. That is the replicating public charter school that West Triangle is being based on. I’ve been part of the non-profit 416
Research Triangle school for a number of years so I know first hand what it means to the students in the region. The one 417
thing that Research Triangle has that does not reflect their innovation skills is the facilities. Ten years ago we opened up 418
in an old abandoned shopping center that we had to retrofit to put classrooms in. Today we are in a center that has been 419
converted into a school. There are things it doesn’t have, important things, it doesn’t have a gym, doesn’t have sports 420
fields, it has awkward eating spaces, doesn’t have an auditorium for big meetings. We haven’t heard enough tonight 421
about why this land is important to West Triangle High School and their families. We have the opportunity to build a real 422
school from the ground up to impact Orange County, Hillsborough, with a gym, fields, large cafeteria, auditorium, all the 423
common amenities that most public traditional schools have. Denying it puts the school in a predicament of making 424
significant facility sacrifices to our students who are out there…any activities we are offering. I want you to think about 425
that, we have the opportunity to bring four baseball fields or softball fields, tennis courts, two soccer fields, parks, ponds, 426
and a school with a gym, a true community center. It needs to be noted that the Orange County taxpayers will not be 427
paying for any building through any bonds or local funds. The school will pay for the building through a private loan like a 428
mortgage like we have done at Research Triangle High School very successfully. When you consider the state of the 429
facilities here in the district and the need to renovate all of them, this is an opportunity to save the district a huge amount 430
of money with a new facility and not costing them a penny. So our students who attend there don’t need to sacrifice the 431
opportunity to play sports or eat in traditional cafeterias. Thank you for considering a very important point that has been 432
overlooked tonight and please know that you will hear from our other board members that we will make sure that we are 433
great stewards of this space and that we make sure that this is a successful school for the community. Please 434
recommend approval of this zoning application. 435
436
Earl Tye: I’m here tonight to ask for your recommendation for approval of the zoning request that is before you. I believe 437
everything in this proposed plan is a much needed and community enhancing asset. I want to speak specifically about 438
the ball fields tonight. I had the privilege of serving as a coach and as a member of the HYAA board for about ten years 439
in the early 2000’s. I learned a lot in that experience and much of what I enjoyed about it then is very much true today. 440
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HYAA is a long-standing institution, it is community built. I rolled off the board in 2009 and I still see people all over this 441
community that I met through our mutual association through HYAA. It is a 100% volunteer run organization. People 442
volunteer to do things they enjoy doing and, in this case, they volunteer because they want to serve and mentor kids. 443
Through that, these kids learn some valuable life lessons; sportsmanship, teamwork, how to handle winning and losing, 444
you can’t put a price on those kinds of things. HYAAers are also a valuable asset in this community just because of the 445
number of kids it serves year-round, Spring, Summer, Fall, boys and girls, a wide range of ages. I think it is relevant to 446
ask the question what would it cost the county or the town to try to provide that kind of recreational experience for that 447
number of kids, year in and year out? I certainly don’t know the answer, but I can guess that it’s a pretty big number. As 448
a member of the board 20 years ago, I had conversations from time to time with officials of the town and county 449
government, we knew at that point that Collins field days were numbered and that is so true today. I understand that 450
there are design engineering plans underway at that site right now. When we had that conversation 20 years ago, it is a 451
lot like it is today. We would say to the town and the county, We are not asking you to pay for it, not asking you to build it, 452
we are saying that we have got great support in this community from the business community, from parents, and from 453
developers and time to time as the opportunity arises for us to secure a long-term location for our fields, we just need 454
you to work with us. That’s the request here tonight. I won’t dismiss some of the concerns that have been raised tonight, 455
I don’t necessarily agree with them, but I do believe that wise and reasonable people are coming from a place of good 456
faith in addressing these concerns and this could be a win-win for this community. 457
458
Mary Parker: I have been a resident of Orange County since 1981, I was a public-school teacher for 35 years and I have 459
seen the importance of athletics for all people. I am an avid tennis player and unfortunately when I want to play tennis, I 460
have to drive all the way to Durham to do so because we can not have the amount of fields that are needed to have 461
USTA tennis and that is something that I thoroughly enjoy. I also love to go out to Orange Tennis and see all the young 462
people who are taking the sport up. There are not many sports that you can still play and have a good time at my age. 463
Tennis is one of those as well as pickleball. This is a great opportunity for us to have some good change and change 464
does come. This is a great opportunity to advance everyone’s lives by having athletic endeavors to get together as a 465
community and offer ways that are good health incentives. I hope that you will consider this and accept this as a great 466
way to improve Orange County. 467
468
MOTION BY Lamar Proctor to allow anyone who signed up to speak on April 5th, and their name was not called, be 469
allowed to speak if their name is on the list. Seconded by Statler Gilfillen 470
MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY 471
472
Matt McDermott : The home in which my wife and I have lived in for 24 years, borders Lawrence Road and is within 473
1,000 feet of the proposed development. My comments tonight go to the subject of equity, specifically with respect to the 474
well water demands necessary to support all facets of the proposed development. In other words, all recreational spaces 475
but not the charter schools which as the applicant has proposed, will be serviced by public water and sewer. I have not 476
seen, nor am I aware of any daily well water consumption projections. Why is this important you may ask? Because the 477
daily lives of those of us neighboring the proposed development site, depends dearly on our wells remaining viable in 478
terms of providing ongoing potable water. Further, no hydrogeological study has been conducted in an attempt to 479
determine if there are any present or foreseeable concerns with respect to supporting the well water demands, not only 480
at the proposed development site but our neighboring ones as well. My strong suspicion is that none of this has been 481
investigated as any state statutes, ordinances or otherwise do not demand this of any conditional rezoning applicant. 482
Here is where the equity issue makes itself abundantly apparent, we have no safety net. We currently have no access to 483
publicly provided water unlike the applicant who ultimately will, and God forbid if any of our wells run dry as a result of a 484
significant increase in well water demands, should this proposed development be accrued. Some of the older wells, 485
those which are shallow in nature, in the neighboring area are already encountering periodic flow and water quality 486
problems/perc challenges. Arguably, we are being asked to simply accept the increased probability of a well failure as a 487
part of this proposed development. For many in this area, who simply do not have the means, the cost of addressing a 488
failed well would be financially catastrophic. That ask of us, patently, is unfair. It speaks to my initial equity comment. We 489
have an online petition against the rezoning, can I provide that to you? 490
491
Beth Bronson: We have an online public email address that you can send it to. 492
493
Drake Edwards: I have lived here for 10 years, I am a physician at Duke. I have a 2-year-old son, my wife and I drive on 494
70A and stop at that 4 way stop at Lawrence Road. I wanted to talk about a story from 8 years ago. I was visiting my 495
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brother and sister-in-law up in DC, my sister-in-law is an Army doctor and was stationed at Walter Reed at the time. My 496
brother-in-law, like most brother in laws when you go visit them, had a project for me, which was to go into an empty 497
building and paint every wall in the place and move way too much furniture for an entire weekend. Full disclosure, my 498
brother-in-law is Joey Webb, he is going to be the director of West….Charter School. I saw him take that empty building 499
and turn it into a place that gave opportunities to kids that just didn’t have opportunities to learn and enrich their lives and 500
I saw him to get kids to take the AP exams that they would have never had access to. He sent this young girl to a 501
Harvard computer science course and put her on a pathway to a life that she would have never had without that school. I 502
saw him work with his community to have a symbiotic relationship where both the neighborhood and school could thrive 503
together. I think that this community having Joey Webb in it and starting this school is like winning the lottery. I spend a 504
lot of my time dedicating my life to serving this community, my sister-in-law has put her life in danger to serve our military 505
and worked so hard and I know that Joey Webb shares that same passion for his community. Thank you for coming here 506
a second night in a row and you have missed two bedtimes to be here, and I know a lot of parents have been in the 507
same situation and I don’t get a lot of bedtimes with my son, so thank you for taking the time. 508
509
Rob Minton: I live off of Lawrence Road in the Wyngate community and one thing I would like to add is that we had over 510
700 petitions against this project. In addition to that, the neighborhood I live in and have enjoyed all these years, is quiet. 511
This will be completely ripped apart with this project. They are talking about numbers anywhere from 800-1200 students. 512
The traffic congestion will be inconceivable, I don’t think you can really plan these things. The comments made about the 513
stress on wells is well taken. Unfortunately, as mentioned previously, I don’t hear any hydrogeologic study that has been 514
done at all. I also hear a lot of athletic enthusiasts and I am one. I love tennis and baseball as well. I just think it doesn’t 515
need to be in this area. Better sites would encompass at least 4 lanes, that would be more reasonable. This, with 2 516
lanes, just doesn’t make sense. With that, I appreciate the time that you have given me to say my piece but it is a big fat 517
no for me. 518
519
Linda Johnson: This is a personal issue for me, I live on Lawrence Road. I have lived here since 2008. I moved to this 520
community because I loved my house in Durham, but I could hear the highway cars. I jumped at an opportunity to buy a 521
house here when I found one. To be in a rural, quiet…..I am kind of a city girl but I loved it out here. Lawrence Road has 522
already gotten way busier. Two of my neighbors have both been hit on Lawrence Road pulling into their own driveway. 523
We have asked the police to park on Lawrence Road because in the mornings they could catch them speeding easily. It 524
is a safety concern for me. I feel like I can’t come up against lawyers and studies and this and that. I am a preschool 525
teacher so when I heard someone speaking the other night about the charter school and I heard all the things that he 526
said, I understand social, emotional and STEM, It’s what I do, it is what I do every single day. I agree and I love all that. I 527
was so excited, and I thought “I would love to work for him, I want to give him my number! He wants to do all the things 528
that I do.” What I don’t understand is why is it this parcel of land? They are trying to make it all rosy and fit an elephant 529
into a show box, when Orange County is huge. It seems like you would want to maintain the small-town city. We have a 530
Sportsplex probably not even a mile down the road from what they are proposing. They are talking about walking paths 531
and tennis and baseball and softball and pickleball and K-8 and High School in this little, tiny area. I would think you 532
would want somewhere further out. One of my concerns is that all of this seems too fast for me, too much of a sense of 533
urgency and I want to know why, why the sense of urgency? I just saw the signs go up less than a month ago on my 534
road. That was when I found out about all this. I don’t have time to read through all these studies to figure out if they are 535
correct or not. I am busy teaching my kids here in the community. 536
537
Jessica King: Lives on US 70A East. I can see the field from my back porch. In the mornings I go out and drink my coffee 538
and I can hear the birds in the trees and see the deer walk through. That is not going to be any longer. My concern is 539
that as I look at the map, my house is right at the parking lot. I don’t know of many parking lots that do not have lights. I 540
know we need baseball fields, I know we need tennis courts, I am not doubting that. But in this area, it is really small. 541
With us being on a well, we are worried that our wells are going to go dry. With the parking lot, it is a hard surface, when 542
it rains, where is that rain going to go? Is it going to be a problem for me now and will we have issues that we have never 543
had before? Our neighborhood is quiet and that is the way we would like to keep it. 544
545
Charlie Clouse- I have been a resident of Hillsborough for 22 years. I have been involved in a lot of situations helping out 546
community members that are in this room. I’ve volunteered for organizations and I understand what the developer is 547
trying to do but I think he is trying to back door us here. He said in the meeting on April 5, I believe, that we are good for 548
well water and septic and we know that is not the case. The state clearly brings it to order that if he gets approved, the 549
Town of Hillsborough will have to give them water and sewage. Mayor Weaver made a good case and it has been voted 550
14
down many times and I just want you to take that into consideration. I think her words were heartfelt from the community. 551
I think you all need to take a look at yourself and see if this is really something that we need in our area. I understand 552
that there are a lot of athletic people. I played football at West Virginia University and I understand the meaning of a 553
team but I don’t think this site is fit for us to develop what we are looking for here. The traffic is a concern for us and a lot 554
of us are on well water. I know the schools are going to get city water because the state requires that. The ball fields and 555
the other athletic courts that will be put in place, it is going to be well water for us. If we have well water then that means 556
they are going to drill down deeper into the wells. They are going to go hundreds of feet deeper than anyone else. I am 557
in the vegetation industry and we know that if the wells go down deeper, that means the ones that have lesser are going 558
to get the muddy and unclear water at the top. Please take that into consideration when you vote on this proposal. 559
560
Margaret Cates: I live on Lawrence Road and have been there since the 1960’s so I have probably been there longer 561
than most of these people have. There are also people who have been in the community longer than I have, they just 562
can’t make it out this late at night. Where I’m at is where the tennis courts are going. That is going to mean a lot of light 563
and I like my dark time at night. It is just as dark as it can be, you can see the stars, you can see the space lab when it 564
goes across. I am like the other woman and like to sit out there and have my morning coffee and hear the birds, squirrels 565
and all that. Also, the traffic on Lawrence Road is terrible, if you try to come out on Laney Drive which parallels 85, you 566
can not see because of the bridge so if you want to go left, you have to pull out almost into traffic to see across that 567
ridge. Also at the end of Orange Road and Old NC 10, there have been in the last year, at least 3 cars that ran across 568
Old NC 10 into my sister’s property. To me, it is not a good place. Myself, would miss that pretty green field. Sometimes 569
it is deer corn or whatever, but right now it is a pretty green field with yellow wildflowers blooming and it is a beautiful 570
place. 571
572
Adam Beeman: That concludes the public comment section. 573
574
Cy Stober shared procedural slides, a tentative schedule and four available actions with the Board. 575
576
Statler Gilfillen: I think you answered one of my questions, that it agrees with the comprehensive plan for Orange 577
County? 578
579
Cy Stober: That is our staff analysis that can be found in the staff report in your packet, yes. 580
581
Statler Gilfillen: I would like to ask the counterpart, the Mayor of Hillsborough, if this is in agreement with the 582
comprehensive plan for Hillsborough. 583
584
Charity Kirk: Can we address the Mayor of Hillsborough at this time? 585
586
Cy Stober: As a member of the public it would be unorthodox…. 587
588
Statler Gilfillen: Okay, if I am not allowed to ask the question then I withdraw it. She was a speaker last week… 589
590
Cy Stober: We did consult the town’s current adopted comprehensive plan, they have a drafted comprehensive 591
sustainability plan that is not yet adopted. The existing comprehensive plan that the town has is reflected in COCA and 592
that is what staff consulted in its analysis and recommendation to the board. 593
594
Statler Gilfillen: So your findings of your board are that this proposal would be consistent with both the County and 595
Hillsborough’s comprehensive plans? 596
597
Charity Kirk: Current, but one of the points that the mayor made was that they have a draft comprehensive plan that is 598
not public….. 599
600
Cy Stober: It is set for public hearing tomorrow evening and public comment on Friday. 601
We can only consider adopted plans. 602
603
Statler Gilfillen: I will assume that the answer to my question is that as the current law stands, this proposal meets the 604
comprehensive plans? 605
15
606
Cy Stober: That is my analysis, yes. 607
608
Statler Gilfillen: The question I have next would be the one that I inappropriately started to ask earlier of the lawyer, you 609
mentioned that within 2 years they would correct a traffic issue, if in the first 3 months you build a development on this 610
property that causes severe traffic problems because you have not finished what you planned in 2 years, what plans do 611
you have? 612
613
Patrick Byker: I would have to take issue with that characterization. The point is that the first year’s student enrollment 614
would be 150 students, that is fairly minor increase in traffic. The timing is important because we need to survey, design, 615
go through NCDOT review, and obtain approval before we can even let a contractor build those turn lanes. That is a time 616
consuming and expensive undertaking and that is why it is not really possible to have done on day one in conjunction 617
with the school being built. However, if we discover going through this process that there is a driveway constraint or 618
another constraint that does not allow the development team to build the turn lane themselves, we will just write a check 619
to Orange County NCDOT for them to build a turn lane since they have ….authority and we would write that check 620
before the school opens. 621
622
Statler Gilfillen: I am the Eno River Township representative. I am probably the closest person to this site. I use 623
Lawrence Road on a ongoing basis. I have a number of specific questions. You or Jim Parker may be able to answer 624
these. A question was raised tonight about specific plans on the corner of NC10 and Lawrence Road. I am not sure what 625
plans you have but I am aware that that is already a difficult intersection . I believe there is a historic house with a marble 626
stone wall around it at the intersection that may get impacted historically. Do you have any plans or comments regarding 627
that intersection? 628
629
Patrick Byker: I would like to bring up our team just so that we make sure we answer your question as thoroughly as we 630
can. I will say on the record, that since this a conditional use zoning atlas amendment, pursuant to NC GS 160D 73B, 631
you are allowed to offer conditions. I will say on the record tonight, subject to NCDOT approval, we will install a median 632
on Lawrence Road at the Old NC 10 intersection. Now to answer your questions as to how we got to that point, Lyle, will 633
you give a background on the study area please? This is Lyle Overcash our traffic engineer who specializes in school 634
traffic. 635
636
Lyle Overcash: A lot of good comments from the neighbors, Old NC10 and Lawrence Road was brought up early in the 637
scoping process, the county asked for that intersection to be included in the study area. The development overall was 638
about 4,000 vehicles a day. NCDOT felt like with such a minor volume it was highly unlikely that they would make any 639
kind of improvements there. The intersection is on the HSIE list so it has an accident history. A gentleman earlier in the 640
meeting made a good suggestion about putting a median on NC10, to prevent folks from cutting the corner. We haven’t 641
studied that. Someone else had mentioned that folks are running through the intersection, maybe not stopping. It sounds 642
like if you added a median on Lawrence Road, just looking at a street view while the meeting was going on, I don’t see a 643
lot of striping that is noticeable, so I think through adding some additional striping, a stop bar, possibly adding that 644
median, and what that median would do is allow you to put up another stop sign. So that would give you two stop signs 645
as you approach that intersection so maybe that would help prevent some people from running through the intersection. 646
Again, we didn’t study that intersection in the TIA, those are just some suggestions that came to us. 647
648
Statler Gilfillen: Have you done any studies comparing accident rates with traffic on NC10/Lawrence Rd compared to 649
comparable areas? 650
651
Lyle Overcash: No, we didn’t study NC10. 652
653
Statler Gilfillen: One of the people here in the audience has raised that point that several accidents have happened on 654
Lawrence Road. Being someone that uses it, I am concerned about that. 655
656
Lyle Overcash: The posted speed limit on Lawrence Rd. is 45 mph….when we would build this development, we would 657
petition the DOT to make that area a school zone through that area so we would try to reduce the speed limit during 658
school hours to 35 mph so that would give it at least a window particularly during the AM peak hour to try to reduce the 659
speeds through that area. 660
16
661
Statler Gilfillen: At River Park Elementary at about 8 o’clock in the morning, going in and out of that school, there could 662
be a 15 minute delay and there have actually been people who have been hit. A custodian was once hit by a car. What 663
precautions for entering and leaving this school are you taking, not to slow traffic? People coming are not expecting that 664
delay and they are going to be very upset… 665
666
Lyle Overcash: As we discussed at the last meeting, the most important thing is to make sure that the stacking, the cars 667
are stacking on the campus and not backed out onto Lawrence Rd. or US70. That is the number one thing. Again, we 668
have about a mile of stacking distance on the campus itself and Joey is committed to making the management plan work 669
and keep that stacking on campus, that is the number one issue. The second biggest safety concern would be the left 670
turn lanes that are going to be provided at the school driveways at Lawrence Rd. and US70. There’s no left turn lanes on 671
NC10 and I’m sure there are some accidents associated with that. The center left turn lane is the most critical thing when 672
it comes to safety. 673
674
Beth Bronson: You spoke about 15% of school traffic coming from Nc10 to Lawrence Rd. then 15% coming from NC86, 675
15% coming from the west side of Hillsborough….having the lottery system you will have a lot of students coming from 676
neighboring counties, I know that there are plans for a bus, how much traffic might end up getting routed to NC10 677
because there is so much congestion in the Hillsborough city limits. I think that is something to consider and I do 678
understand the neighbor’s concern about the traffic and the commuters’ concerns about the traffic. Also that this is not a 679
24 hour business or a 1600 student school facility. Did the TIA incorporate the recreational….? 680
681
Lyle Overcash: It did. 682
683
Beth Bronson: I fully support the public nature of it, I just don’t know, is that based on how many members, semi-public 684
members there will be at the recreational fields through HYAA specifically? 685
686
Jim Parker: It was based on the acreage of the recreational space and the tennis facility was calculated separately 687
based on other data. Going back to your original question, it is difficult to ascertain where all the different students will be 688
coming from but the good thing about this site and how it is designed, students can come from all different directions. It’s 689
not all just coming in on one road at one time. There are multiple ways to get into the site, so when you take the 4,000 690
trips per day that we estimated, that didn’t take into consideration traffic. We are going to have 30-50% bussing, then 691
those volumes are conservative and so when you take 4,000 and divide by 4 it is 1,000 in each direction so those loads 692
are not that severe. I understand the neighbor’s concerns and we are trying to do the best we can with the site. 693
694
Beth Bronson: At the same time I don’t understand how conditionally we could make you, as the applicant responsible 695
for something that already needed to be, in the public’s view, already needed to be addressed but I do believe that the 696
safety of adding school children into the mix and creating that type of traffic is paramount. 697
698
Lyle Overcash: We appreciate that point, that is why we wanted to step forward with the turn lanes at US70 and 699
Lawrence Rd. That was based on conversation with DOT and it’s near the … at the back end of your staff package page 700
377 or 378. Highlights that intersection as a recommended. 701
702
Beth Bronson: Would you be interested in. Not would you be interested in. The condition of revisiting this traffic impact 703
given the recreational field as well as the school matriculation of the school being full capacity in three years I believe? 704
705
Patrick Byker: No at least four. 706
707
Beth Bronson: Four years. Okay, so at five years you would be considered to be at full capacity for just the high school, 708
or the high school and the lower school? 709
710
Patrick Byker: I’m not sure … of the lower school is, that’s to be determined. 711
712
Beth Bronson: So, the lower school is not considered in any of this. 713
714
Patrick Byker: Yes, it’s factored in the traffic. 715
17
716
Beth Bronson: OK so something in like five revisiting this issue, revisiting with the traffic impact analysis might be 717
something that might be proven for preparing opening a lower school? As it .. to the planning director, if there’s a 718
mechanism that you can do that, I am not aware of…As the conditional district, yeah? 719
720
Patrick Byker: I’d have to talk about that with the planning director. Though I think we’re certainly willing to evaluate 721
where things are, say if the property moved along, keep it lined up as is stated. We may have increased buses by that 722
time as well, above and beyond is how its projected. Thank you. 723
724
Statler Gilfillen: Could you mitigate how the individuals through the audience erase the question about the wells? Yes, 725
the developer, we’ve been talking about if Hillsborough will or will not be providing service. Under state law, I believe, its 726
recommended, you can’t get a boating permit, you can’t reach the environmental districts. You can’t start to build, so 727
whatever you architect designs won’t matter. However, if you put in wells on this site, and three years goes by and all the 728
sudden, half of those … neighbors and all the wells dry up, what protections do they have? 729
730
Patrick Byker: That’s a good question to have. It is hypotheticals, but here’s the point, there are certainly time honor case 731
to do so, where if there is something that happens where your use of your property detrimentally affects another one, 732
they have a cause of action in Orange County court. As I said that, I think it’s important to recognize that we are talking 733
about a 90-acre, so my understanding is there would not be, correct me if I’m wrong, 90-acre lots single family homes 734
there without having to pursue this reclaiming order and if those are all with wells that would consume just using 735
presidential averages 35,000 gallons a day from the ---- zone. That’s there without any public hearing. Our usage would 736
be a fraction of that, somewhere between a quarter and a third at most. And so, if you look at these as the concerns, 737
look at what the – would allotted, far greater usage of well water and the gallons per day would be astronomically higher 738
than the proposal that proposed today. 739
740
Statler Gilfillen: I want to thank you because I’ve been sitting here trying to listen to what both sides have been saying, 741
and this is a question I .. from the audience asking, it’s a hard question but I believe that it deserves a fair answer- that’s 742
why I ask it. 743
744
Patrick Byker: I already answered it, and it’s a time honor principal of real property. 745
746
Cy Stober: Just to confirm the existing zone it is our one role, as a … a one acre lot development as an estimate, it is 747
safe to assume under Orange County subdivision criteria and by the needs of public road dedication roughly a third of 748
the property would be dedicated for open space and right away as a recreation area so that would leave approximately 749
between 50 and 60 acres, about 54 acres, for homes and 1 acre lots. 750
751
Statler Gilfillen: Thank you, I appreciate the clarification. It still would be a tough greater usage if it were a development 752
simply, right? Those two questions kind of interrelate, several people have raised questions and if I were an adjacent 753
neighbor to the sight, and you come in with tasteful diamonds and all the night lighting, that could be a serious service at 754
10 o’clock at night or 11 o’clock at night, with lights. Teenagers going on and I would happen to like that if I happened to 755
live next to it. Cedar ridge road is not enough. Now, there is also a case that people that have talked about the adverse 756
effect to the neighbors but also the wildlife. Somebody this evening raised a question that this may affect endangered 757
animal. Is there any review of the endangered species adjunct? Does this have any affect? 758
759
Jim Parker: It’s in your staff report, but there is no impact. So that was addressed in the staff report and my 760
understanding is the baseball and softball is not lit, is that correct? Yes, there is no lighting for baseball and softball, on 761
the plan before this evening. 762
763
Statler Gilfillen: Okay so what provisions for the neighbors for the town square are you taking? All lighting would be 764
controlled by the VBO, comprehensive plan. 765
766
Patrick Byker: There are standards that obviously this project would follow but I do want to state for the record that a 767
large area of the baseball and softball field will not have any lights. 768
769
18
Statler Gilfillen: One other question and please correct me if I am not permitted here to ask this question, this is 770
neighborhood you’re talking about building a high school right there because it’s a charter school and it requires a certain 771
lottery, can exemption be made for the neighbors who within a certain walking distance- their children, somebody who 772
has a job who wants to go to this school, they’ll have a first priority? 773
774
Patrick Byker: I believe that would conflict with state law, that’s not my area of expertise. To my knowledge it’s a blind 775
lottery. That’s my understanding. 776
777
Statler Gilfillen: A lot of persons that could be something that could be very favorable to many of the neighbors, and 778
might be positive I just don’t know either. 779
780
Melissa Poole: As a parent with children in charter school, I mean lotteries are done with deputy sheriffs, it is blind it is 781
anonymous and it is a draw. 782
783
Patrick Byker: That’s from Murphy to Manteo. 784
785
Statler Gilfillen: That would affect anybody on our team that their children would want to go to their school, would have to 786
go to the same lottery? 787
788
Patrick Byker: Yes, absolutely, that’s right. 789
790
Beth Bronson: You mentioned that there was going to be 150 students in the first year. Now that we have figured out it 791
would only be the high school, the lower school is pending. However the conditional, master plan development includes 792
a lower school. So the construction would move forward on that school regardless? 793
794
Patrick Byker: No, that would be somewhere down the road. 795
796
Beth Bronson: Okay, but you would have to leave, I’m just wanting to make sure I understand the master plan. You will 797
not be coming back to advisory board or permission of any change? 798
799
Patrick Byker: Unless we change what was shown on the plan today, that is correct. 800
801
Beth Bronson: But not if you don’t build it? 802
803
Patrick Byker: Correct. 804
805
Beth Bronson: And then, last presentation you said that the schools would take up one baseball field and one soccer 806
field, was there any allocation of the schools to the recreational field? 807
808
Patrick Byker: I don’t believe so, I’m sorry Joey couldn’t be here tonight. 809
810
Beth Bronson: Okay, thank you for that clarification. Are you representing HYAA as well as the? 811
812
Patrick Byker: I do not represent HYAA, that is the presidential development team. They brought forward the proposal 813
that incorporates the utility to HYAA. 814
815
Beth Bronson: If you’re not representing the school then that question does not matter. And then, there is no body from 816
the school here today? 817
818
Patrick Byker: We have board members. 819
820
Beth Bronson: I wanted to know from the board members if you can speak to it- were there any other sites reviewed for 821
this high school that you know of? What was that process like? And how did you end up here on this one? 822
823
19
Charter School Board Member: There were a few that were looked at this is such an ideal site for this because of the 824
adjacent fields as well as the parks and recs, this was definitely the main focus. 825
826
Beth Bronson: How about how long did the search go on for? 827
828
Board Member: It was about a year from when we got the charter from the state. 829
830
Beth Bronson: Okay and then do you guys have a representation, like a lawyer. 831
832
Board Member: We do, not here tonight. 833
834
Beth Bronson: I think those are all the questions I have for you tonight. 835
836
Chris Johnston: At the April 5 meeting, Jim Parker mentioned, “We do not need Hillsborough’s water” and I just want to 837
understand what that means. Correct me if I’m wrong, they can’t deny Hillsborough water if they have a school on site, or 838
is that an option? I just wanted to make sure I understand state law on that particular item. 839
840
Patrick Byker: State law as I understand it, requires an allocation to be made for the school based on what is projected. 841
That’s what the Town of Hillsborough’s attorney….this is in the staff report as well…reservation of an allocation does not, 842
if I recall, according to the letter, is not a commitment to serve. 843
844
Chris Johnston: Just so I understand, you said that you don’t need Hillsborough water or sewer, because that seems to 845
be the main contention from the Town of Hillsborough, is that they are required to provide water and sewer, so if you are 846
saying that that is not a requirement, is that actually accurate or is that….. 847
848
Patrick Byker: Let me back up just a bit… the water and wastewater are really zoning issues, those are issues that we 849
deal with as part of the engineering of the site and what we would evaluate, if we are fortunate enough for this to be 850
approved by the Board of County Commissioners, there is a …. map in your staff report that evaluates exactly how it 851
should be done with well and septic. 852
853
Charity Kirk: I’m curious about a direct answer to the question. I don’t feel like you are being direct. 854
855
Chris Johnston: What I am hearing you say is that the site doesn’t require water or sewer from Hillsborough given the 856
needs that you mentioned, by right, the area could support up to 35,000…. 857
858
Jim Parker: The site has sufficient septic soils to support beyond 12,000 gallons a day, so the school does not need 859
public water/sewer but, it is a long term maintenance issue with septic and community wells. So, it is a primary desire to 860
have public water/sewer because it is not a long-term maintenance issue for the school. If we proceed with the rezoning, 861
it is important to know that it is not necessary to have water/sewer from the Town of Hillsborough although we would 862
seek it and proceed with that…. 863
864
Chris Johnston: You say seek it but really, it’s required by law in the State of North Carolina to provide it… 865
866
Jim Parker: It is, if we ask for it and desire it to go that direction. The purpose of the statement is in the decision. I don’t 867
want the fact that you think or the mayor says that we need water/sewer they are not going to allow it. I don’t want that to 868
change your decision. The point is, the schools can be supported by the soils that are on site, and by the water that 869
would be provided by wells as well as the ball fields and the tennis court. The recreational component may be 1,000 870
gallons a day. The school would be 12,000 gallons a day. 871
872
Chris Johnston: This comes back to the point of contention that I understand which is the providing of water and sewer. I 873
don’t know 160D very well as far as requiring the Town to provide the water and sewer, my question is, is that a 874
stipulation where you are saying your site can provide water and sewer without needing the town’s? 875
876
Jim Parker: Yes, that is exactly what I’m saying. 877
878
20
Chris Johnston: Do you have the ability to waive that then in regards to if you were requesting? 879
880
Patrick Byker: I have worked with this team for 10 or 15 years and we have done these charter schools on well and 881
septic in rural communities across central North Carolina so this is not new to us. We can pursue well and septic or if 882
Hillsborough refuses to serve it…. 883
884
Chris Johnston: Is that even an option? 885
886
Jim Parker: We will either do it with well and septic or we will do it with public water/sewer. It’s not really a zoning 887
question. 888
889
Charity Kirk: Cy, can we specify that this property cannot use City of Hillsborough Water? 890
891
Cy Stober: You cannot. This is a land use matter and in addition to considering land, there is this additional limitation on 892
your considerations with regard to related traffic ….usually that would be something you could consider. You can 893
consider the land use and its impacts to the surrounding area. I would add, when it comes to well and septic, should it be 894
pursued, any septic drain fields that would then be significantly added on to or removed, would require a public hearing. 895
896
Charity Kirk: But we can’t make an amendment… 897
898
Cy Stober: No, you cannot. 899
900
Charity Kirk: So it’s a moot point. 901
902
Cy Stober: Correct. 903
904
Steve Kaufmann: If you were to use septic on that site, would it infringe on any of the ballfields in terms of needing that 905
property for septic? 906
907
Jim Parker: You have your package of soil analysis of the whole site and I think there is 8 acres that has been stipulated 908
that the school could be supported by. The ballfields on the school property, could be used as a septic innovative system 909
to absorb that. On each parcel if you note there are areas indicated for ….septic fields, so each parcel could have a 910
shared septic field from the entire development. There is more than enough acreage there for that. 911
912
Charity Kirk: Again, we can’t make any judgement on the septic system, right? Or say that we want something in that 913
regard…. 914
915
Cy Stober: Hillsborough Utilities cannot be the basis for a vote. 916
917
Charity Kirk: I understand that it can’t be the basis for a vote but can we stipulate that they…. 918
919
Cy Stober: No… 920
921
Charity Kirk: Okay, so we can’t do anything to say they have to use septic or they don’t have to use septic. We can’t say 922
that they need to have stormwater retention ponds or improved water… 923
924
Cy Stober: So we have evaluated all that and they have met our standards, if there are additional reasonable 925
considerations related to the land use, that could be something to negotiate a condition on but my point was simply that 926
the health standards of the county reviews have been reviewed as provided by the applicant and they have been 927
reviewed on site plans as well as ….the materials that are in your packet, so that potential shared system was evaluated 928
by staff and the health department. 929
930
Charity Kirk: But if the school wants city water, the school gets city water? 931
932
Cy Stober: That would be a determination between the Town and the school. 933
21
934
Overlapping conversations 935
936
Cy Stober: We have a statute that we have acknowledged in your packet, the school buildings would be required to have 937
waste disposal and water, to get a certificate of compliance. They have a state law that requires an allocation of water 938
and sewer service for schools but the county would not be directly involved in the permitting or regulation. We would not 939
issue a CNC for the buildings, and we could not sign off on the zoning approval for the building construction until we 940
were sure that the water disposal could be served by those buildings. 941
942
Charity Kirk: We work with the Town of Hillsborough… 943
944
Beth Bronson: I would want to address the Town of Hillsborough to at least understand them better. 945
946
Cy Stober: We are not a regulatory body when it comes to water or sewer for the Town of Hillsborough. We are when it 947
comes to well and septic. 948
949
Steve Kaufmann: So this evening I heard a lot of concern from the neighbors about congestion, lights, well water for 950
themselves, but also a lot of enthusiasm from people who want to play tennis and softball, this is great and I’m hearing a 951
lot of “this is going to be a win-win situation” but it didn’t feel like a win-win situation tonight. It felt like us against them all 952
night. How can we make this a win-win situation is my question to you? The reason I am asking is that I have heard that 953
phrase in tennis a number of times, “this is a win-win situation” so I like those situations so go ahead. 954
955
Patrick Byker: I think you have to look at what can be done on this property as a right without this board reviewing it and 956
what is on the table today that has been proposed by our team. So we could build several dozen homes and it would be 957
X number of homes that would consume far more well water than the proposal that is on the table tonight and we could 958
actually do zero for traffic improvements. The proposals on the table today are to build the turn lanes at US70 and 959
Lawrence Rd. or write a check for $400,000 so that NCDOT can build the turn lanes which are needed today and they 960
have probably been needed for a long time. We’ve already committed on the record tonight to do safety improvements 961
subject to NCDOT approval at NC10 and Lawrence Rd. We need to get back to what the community needs…..put that 962
together with Collins Field and it is not a question of if but of when those baseball fields will no longer be available for 963
children to play baseball. Where are they going to go? If not here, where? I am not aware of any other options. Is there a 964
win-win out there? I’m afraid there probably is not. You have to stack up what can be built on the 90 acres that is before 965
you tonight with no public hearings no traffic improvements, far more well water being consumed, versus these 966
improvements that are significant improvements both in terms of recreation and traffic flow. That’s how I look at it. You 967
have to weigh which proposal is in the best interests of the people of Orange County. 968
969
Whitney Watson: I want to follow up on a couple of water questions, I noted in one of the reports that there was a 970
concern about water supply for fire safety, sprinklers, standpipes, hydrants. Could you talk about how that would be met? 971
If you had to use wells? 972
973
Jim Parker: You use wells you have onsite, a storage tank much like a ground tank. It would be a storage tank that would 974
hold fire suppressant water. It would be filled by well, it would be serviced by a pump that would provide the pressure 975
and the flow capacity to flood the sprinkler system in the school and that would be the fire suppressant for the high 976
school and the same thing for the lower school. 977
978
Whitney Watson: So would there be two separate tanks? 979
980
Jim Parker: Yes, they are on your plan. 981
982
Whitney Watson: So if the developer should pursue sewer and water from the Town of Hillsborough would there be any 983
possibility of installing hydrants along that route? 984
985
Jim Parker: That line would be extended along Jefferson from the southwest corner of the subdivision. It will be a 12 inch 986
line and yes there could be fire hydrants along that line. It has the capacity and the volume to do that. 987
988
22
Whitney Watson: Cy, if there are not hydrants currently, in those neighborhoods, can that be a condition that we could 989
attach to this, the installation of hydrants… 990
991
Jim Parker: It is a condition that we would accept if the Town of Hillsborough would allow it. 992
993
Cy Stober: I think that condition is acceptable, recommend that hydrants be provided along water lines that meet town 994
standards with town approval, I think it is an acceptable condition. 995
996
Whitney Watson: If public utilities are extended from Hillsborough, could you talk about the disruption the neighborhoods 997
would incur as trenching and installation work occurs? 998
999
Jim Parker: It is typical construction, a water line might take 2-3 weeks barring weather, it is a 12-inch water line, 4 foot 1000
deep, and it would proceed rather quickly. The sewer line on 70 Business would take longer it would run up the South 1001
side of the highway, it would stay within the right of way, negotiating some driveways, mailboxes and things like that. It is 1002
a deeper line, it would require a little longer time, it might be a month and a half- 2 months, barring weather. There is a 1003
lot of traffic on 70 so it would take longer to install it. 1004
1005
Whitney Watson: I have a question about the timeline for construction of the athletic fields. I see that there is a 4-5 year 1006
timeline for construction of the schools, a similar timeline is in the packet for the athletic fields, is that correct. 1007
1008
Jim Parker: I don’t recall any timelines for the fields themselves. We are rezoning these properties. They will become 3 1009
or 4 properties. It is one property now, it will become 3 or 4 parcels. One for each school, one for the ball fields, tennis 1010
courts, we are ….access to these parcels and we are getting them rezoned which is step one in being able to develop 1011
those parcels as you have seen on your conceptual layout. The supporters for HYAA and the tennis supporters, it will be 1012
up to them to invest and make this happen. We are laying this out for them in order to further their dream. It will require 1013
fundraising, it will require working, them getting their plan together to make this a reality. They can’t raise money, make 1014
investment, without a piece of land that everybody knows where they are going. I hope that answered your question. 1015
1016
Whitney Watson: It sort of does. Those fields could potentially lay fallow for as much as 10 years while the entities are 1017
seeking to raise money. 1018
1019
Jim Parker: They could stay wooded for years, that is correct. 1020
1021
Patrick Byker: But the use can’t change. 1022
1023
Whitney Watson: So the school owned athletic fields, 2 soccer fields, they are multi use and could be for lacrosse or 1024
similar sports? Those would be built at the same pace with the school? 1025
1026
Jim Parker: Yes, that is the high school property. 1027
1028
Whitney Watson: So, the soccer fields, would those be lit for after dark use since they are not the public areas? 1029
1030
Jim Parker: Those are not intended to be lit. The only thing that could possibly be lit could be the tennis courts because 1031
typically there is a lot of tennis played in the evenings. Of course we would have to comply with the comprehensive plan, 1032
the UDO, and your guidelines for lighting, staying on site and there has to be sufficient lighting in the parking lot. All 1033
those things can be controlled with shielding and angles and not over lighting. 1034
1035
Whitney Watson: What about parking lots, I know that was mumbled in the background. The parking lots around the 1036
athletic facilities and the schools, would they have lighting at night? 1037
1038
Patrick Byker: It’s a UDO requirement. 1039
1040
Whitney Watson: And that would fall under the same requirements as control? 1041
1042
Patrick Byker: Yes sir. 1043
23
1044
Whitney Watson: I heard and saw some references to the historic asset on the corner of business 70 and Lawrence 1045
Road. But I was surprised to see in the packet that it is not listed as a historic asset that needed to be considered for 1046
development. Did I misread that letter? 1047
1048
Cy Stober: Yes Mr. Watson, it’s on a property across Lawrence Road, so it’s not on the property itself. It was considered 1049
as part of the traffic impact analysis, but it’s not included in the site. 1050
1051
Statler Gilfillen: Is that something that comes under the purview of the historic review board? 1052
1053
Cy Stober: Yes it does. 1054
1055
Statler Gilfillen: Did Peter Sandbeck make any comments about it? 1056
1057
Cy Stober: He did, and felt that our landscaping requirements would offer buffering requirements… 1058
1059
Whitney Watson: So in the consideration of the staff analysis, one of the things we are asked to consider is whether the 1060
COCAs next residential neighborhood definition supports this use, so I’d like to hear some more about if that really is a 1061
walkable/bikeable from the surrounding residential areas to the sites particularly the athletic sites. And, does that mean 1062
there will be sidewalks put in place if there are not existing bike lanes as well? 1063
1064
Cy Stober: So probably no, not on the public roads, there is a sidewalk provided on the private road network, internal to 1065
the site, but no because these are DOT maintained roads and not connected to a public road network. The DOT made 1066
the determination that the complete streets policy is inapplicable because they would not connect to a larger network. 1067
We did require that the internal site may be walkable, and we had a discussion with DOT about the need for offsite 1068
walkability and safety, and they stuck to their current interpretation of their streets policy. 1069
1070
Whitney Watson: I guess technically it meets the definition of being walkable for residential units, dwelling units… 1071
1072
Cy Stober: It’s arguable that the existing development is not walkable, the proposed development was walkable, as the 1073
regulatory agencies would allow, the county requested sidewalks negotiated with the applicant they were provided and 1074
DOT disallowed them. 1075
1076
Whitney Watson: One final question; I noticed in the packet the page about superfund sites. There are three inactive 1077
ones within a mile of this location, what’s the plan to continue to monitor those and to see if there is any impact and see 1078
if the site has to draw well water for schools as well as recreation? 1079
1080
Cy Stober: Superfund sites are regulated and monitored by the state and not by the county. I do not have that 1081
information at this time, I would have to get back to you. 1082
1083
Lamar Proctor: So, there is an indoor facility proposed, is that correct? 1084
1085
Patrick Byker: For? 1086
1087
Lamar Proctor: Tennis, I believe. 1088
1089
Patrick Byker: In the long run, yes. 1090
1091
Lamar Proctor: So the parcel would be subdivided into three parcels, is that correct? 1092
1093
Jim Parker: Four if you count both schools would have their own parcel. 1094
1095
Lamar Proctor: Two schools: baseball and tennis. So the school’s, baseball, tennis, what is the fourth? 1096
1097
Jim Parker: Each school has a parcel. 1098
24
1099
Lamar Proctor: In the packet, there is reference to Tryon 3 Arden Circle. Do you know what that’s about? Page 225. 1100
What’s the relationship between C4 and the site plan? 1101
1102
Jim Parker: This was the initial routing of the public sewer that the town of Hillsborough wanted to see the proposed 1103
routing of the public sewer and we had two alternatives to the routing. The initial one was through Habitat for Humanity’s 1104
project, and it would piggyback off that sewer system that they would install and it would punch through to Colonial 1105
Heights. Then, we submitted the one I described earlier, about going up US 70. So, you’ve got two options, we prefer the 1106
US 70 route, at this point, and that’s the primary one that is submitted in this packet. 1107
1108
Lamar Proctor: That’s fine. What about water? 1109
1110
Jim Parker: Water would come down Jefferson, there is a water line that crosses I85 at the southwest corner of the 1111
Colonial Heights subdivision the town put in several years ago. It’s already there at the roadway at Jefferson and it would 1112
be extended up Jefferson and cross Lawrence Road to the site and that is a 12-inch line. 1113
1114
Lamar Proctor: So the indoor facility would not be on the school property? 1115
1116
Jim Parker: Correct. That indoor facility could be tennis courts, it could be basketball, it could be volleyball courts, it’s all 1117
in that building. That’s why it’s called the recreational building. 1118
1119
Lamar Proctor: The separate parcels are going to be contingent upon the nonprofits, raising the money and building 1120
them? 1121
1122
Jim Parker: Correct, or anyone who wants to build them. 1123
1124
Lamar Proctor: So the developer is not building those. 1125
1126
Jim Parker: Correct. 1127
1128
Lamar Proctor: I know that land was cleared and the vicinity of Bushy Cook and West Ten Road, well over 40 acres that 1129
were cleared for HYAA ballfields. Do either of you know the status of that? 1130
1131
Jim Parker: My understanding is that’s no longer an option. 1132
1133
Lamar Proctor: So the conditional zoning that is before us is two schools, 1400 students, is that correct? 1134
1135
Jim Parker: That’s correct. 1136
1137
Lamar Proctor: I assume, and one of the board members talked about this, that there would be a cafeteria, a gym, 1138
showers… 1139
1140
Jim Parker: No showers, and cafeteria is a misnomer, they do not have a kitchen, they do not cook food, but the 1141
cafeteria is where they all eat. They have supplemental lunches that are brought in, they have lunch programs, and they 1142
bring their own lunches from home. 1143
1144
Lamar Proctor: On page 246, you should be able to put in here how much water and sewer will be consumed, since you 1145
know there will be 1400 students. 1146
1147
Jim Parker: The reason it is written that way is because we don’t have the full charter, which would only be accepted by 1148
the town. If the charter existed and was asked by the charter, right now the charter ask is 6 thousand gallons and that is 1149
what’s been reserved. It’s going to change if another charter comes along for the k-8, and then that request will go to the 1150
town as well. So, it could be 6 thousand gallons – which is the high school – or it could be up to 12 thousand, if both are 1151
combined. It’s about 10 gallons per student, and that’s based on state regulations and historical data for charter schools. 1152
1153
25
Lamar Proctor: So, at full build out, it will release at least 14 thousand gallons a day. 1154
1155
Jim Parker: That is all together; teachers, staff, students. 1156
1157
Lamar Proctor: So the town said they could only give you 6 thousand. 1158
1159
Patrick Byker: There must be an improved charter. We’re not entitled to ask until there is a charter approved for the k-8. 1160
1161
Lamar Proctor: But, what we are approving is two schools. We have to assume that you are going to get the charters 1162
and that they are going to be fully built out and that you are going to have 1400 students. 1163
1164
Patrick Byker: It could be a private school, for instance. Correct me if I’m wrong director, in the UDO there is no 1165
distinction between private schools and charter schools or public schools 1166
1167
Cy Stober: So, similar to our discussion about the retail store at White Cross last month, you cannot make a decision 1168
based upon the tenants. So yes, there is no distinction between schools, it’s a school. 1169
1170
Lamar Proctor: For our purposes, a school is a school is a school. I did also want to clarify in the packet, page 267, it 1171
mentions an endangered species, a proposed endangered species, the tri-colored bat. Your packet said it anticipates it 1172
will go on the endangered species list, prior to construction. So, you’ll have to deal with that issue, that’s correct, right? 1173
1174
Patrick Byker: Absolutely. As of today, what happens in the future is to be determined. 1175
1176
Lamar Proctor: I just wanted to clarify, because it seems like it’s going to happen. 1177
1178
Patrick Byker: This is something that our team has had to deal with on numerous sites across the Piedmont area of 1179
North Carolina. 1180
1181
Lamar Proctor: It’s a minor point, I just wanted to clarify that. I think Mr. Watson asked about the town’s concern with 1182
insufficient flow. There was also concern about a mixed sewer/septic system. 1183
1184
Jim Parker: The insufficient flow will be fixed with the addition of water tanks if necessary. I don’t really know what the 1185
concern about mixed sewer/septic means. You have many lots across the street that have a combination of public water 1186
and conventional septic systems on their lots so, it is not uncommon to have water service and septic system. I don’t 1187
know what that comment really means. 1188
1189
Lamar Proctor: Hillsborough would be legally obligated to provide water and sewer and then you would pursue that 1190
because that is your right under North Carolina law. 1191
1192
Jim Parker: I want to make sure that it is understood by the board, if Hillsborough provides water and sewer, the cost of 1193
providing that and all of the water and sewer lines would not be borne by the town. 1194
1195
Charity Kirk: I am concerned about Hillsborough not wanting this project. Have you addressed any of their concerns 1196
since they unanimously said no to the project and since we last met 2 weeks ago? 1197
1198
Patrick Byker: We evaluated how to build the project with well and septic in order to move forward without needing town 1199
utilities which I assume would address their concerns. 1200
1201
Charity Kirk: But you are not telling them that you don’t want their water if you are going to use the state law to get their 1202
water it sounds like. So that doesn’t sound like you have addressed their concerns… 1203
1204
Patrick Byker: I don’t mean to speak for the Town of Hillsborough’s attorney but there is a letter in the packet that 1205
states….so we are operating today on the premise that as of 10:01 April 19, we may well have to proceed using well and 1206
septic… 1207
1208
26
Charity Kirk: But that is only if Hillsborough doesn’t have the water. 1209
1210
Patrick Byker: Well, they have the water….it’s just if they will make it available to us. 1211
1212
Charity Kirk: I am confused by that but I am going to let it go. 1213
1214
Jim Parker: Can I make a comment? 1215
1216
Charity Kirk: Yes, please. 1217
1218
Jim Parker: You made a comment about the unanimous vote, it was not unanimous, it was 3-2 vote to not annex and the 1219
request was to be annexed and go through the town’s process or to allow out of town connection and pay out of town 1220
rates which are about twice the rates that are paid by in town residents and the vote was 3-2. 1221
1222
Charity Kirk: Okay, thank you for that clarification. So the recreational facilities, when this is parceled out, who is going to 1223
own the properties with the recreational facilities on them? 1224
1225
Patrick Byker: We will wait until HYAA or Orange Tennis says they are ready to close, so it’s up to the nonprofits to 1226
decide. 1227
1228
Charity Kirk: Then they are going to be responsible for maintaining it? 1229
1230
Patrick Byker: Absolutely. 1231
1232
Overlapping conversation 1233
1234
Cy Stober: Our UDO requires for all regulated subdivisions, property owners associations, maintenance and stormwater 1235
facilities, landscaping ….so we would require that to be recorded with likely the platted road as a non-exempt activity on 1236
land and for that to be recorded we would need that POA or property owner’s association and their maintenance 1237
responsibility for the entire property recorded and on file so we would have an entity to process enforcement actions for 1238
any violations of our ordinance. 1239
1240
Charity Kirk: So if the fields become derelict after they are built and not maintained 20 years down the line it would be… 1241
1242
Cy Stober: So if it fails to meet our …standards, I would suggest landscaping, road maintenance, stormwater 1243
maintenance, buffers, etc. Lighting would also be within our purview to enforce. 1244
1245
Charity Kirk: It sounds like a lot of the recreational facilities in Hillsborough are becoming private and blocked off. Is the 1246
plan for these recreational facilities to be public or are they going to be locked too? 1247
1248
Patrick Byker: They are open to folks that want to use them. There are no fences. 1249
1250
Charity Kirk: Do we know if there is going to be a fence or not? 1251
1252
Patrick Byker: There is no gates or fencing shown on the plan. That would be a significant change. We would have to 1253
come back to this board if we said time out, we want to fence everything off. We would have to come back for your 1254
recommendation or the county commissioner’s approval to put up fences and gates. 1255
1256
Charity Kirk: Can we address sustainability issues and water saving measures and green building concepts? 1257
1258
Cy Stober: No. They are not in our ordinance, for what it’s worth, we are in coordination with the climate …specialist with 1259
the asset management team of the county as well as with the …team to better incentivize those types of architecture… 1260
1261
Charity Kirk: But we can’t stipulate grey water usage… 1262
1263
27
Cy Stober: At this time it is not in our ordinance and if it is not in the ordinance in the comprehensive plan, that is our 1264
purview to regulate. 1265
1266
Charity Kirk: This is zoned mixed residential, and you’ve highlighted small developments that provide only supportive 1267
nonresidential land uses in an info arrangement serving more than 50 dwelling units and a walkable manner may also be 1268
considered. What are the 50 dwelling units that are walkable? 1269
1270
Cy Stober: Again, as I mentioned before, we have addressed more than 50 units in a 1,000-foot radius for notification so 1271
that addresses that requirement. We requested that sidewalks be placed upon the public road network and the DOT said 1272
no. So, we’ve gone to the limit that we have to try to realize this as a walkable community and the regulatory agency at 1273
the DOT will not allow it to become a walkable community. 1274
1275
Chris Johnston: Is the failure of that in our consideration or is that based on the site plan… 1276
1277
Cy Stober: Staff analysis is that the application is consistent with the COCA as described on the slide. If you disagree, 1278
you respectfully disagree. My analysis, staff analysis, is that the allocation is consistent with this description and the 1279
central Orange coordinator for a mixed residential neighborhood. 1280
1281
Charity Kirk: Did you have any discussion with Hillsborough before bringing this to us, to address their concerns? Or 1282
because it’s already in the COCA and that was the law, we can’t address their …for their plans and desires. 1283
1284
Cy Stober: I think that there is correspondence from staff, Tom King, Brian Green, and their stormwater manager in your 1285
packet. We are required to provide a courtesy review by COCA and we did that. The plans were revised through the plan 1286
review element. There are some outstanding comments with regard to water and sewer but the stormwater comments 1287
and many of the planning comments were addressed through that process and that can be found in your packet. So 1288
these were provided to the Town of Hillsborough. With regard to their comprehensive plan of consistency, staff did not 1289
mention any consistency concerns. 1290
1291
Charity Kirk: What is the likelihood that this will be annexed into Hillsborough? 1292
1293
Cy Stober: Annexation in North Carolina now is almost exclusively voluntary. So, it would have to be voluntary from the 1294
property owners. The town would have to consent to that annexation request. 1295
1296
Lamar Proctor: So it will become a non-contiguous part of Hillsborough if they hook up to the water and sewer? 1297
1298
Cy Stober: They would be out of town, they would not be a satellite incorporated area, no it would not be in the town 1299
limits. It would stay in Orange County and pay out of town rates for water and sewer pending utility expansion. 1300
1301
Lamar Proctor: I’m just confused because I know that there is voluntary annexation agreements, so my experience is 1302
with noncontiguous parcels and that became part of Mebane and it was voluntary…. 1303
1304
Cy Stober: Hillsborough historically has not had the policy that the city of Mebane has that they require a petition for 1305
annexation with a utility connection request. Mebane does require that by policy. I believe Hillsborough either just 1306
recently adopted a similar policy or is in the process of incorporating that into their standards. But they have not had that 1307
requirement. 1308
1309
Melissa Poole: Is HYAA represented here? Or tennis? Understanding the resident’s concerns regarding lighting and 1310
such and the fact that there are not going to be fences. Generally speaking, how long do you anticipate nightly for the 1311
lights to be on? 1312
1313
Tennis representative: I don’t have an answer to that. I don’t know what the UDO statute is, I know that we would be 1314
compliant with that. Typically tennis court lights in other cities and towns go off at either 9 or 10 pm and I anticipate ours 1315
to be at a similar time because night time is night time. The intention is to have directional lighting that points down on 1316
the courts. There are LED lights and if you’ve ever seen the public courts in Mebane, those lights point directly down on 1317
the court and they do a really good job of not spreading. They are not pointed out straight ahead so they aren’t going to 1318
28
be in someone’s window, they will be pointed straight down onto the courts directionally. That is something that tennis 1319
players prefer too by the way. 1320
1321
HYAA representative: Without lights, you end when the sun goes down. In the fall it’s about 7:15 and in the spring it’s 1322
around 8 o’clock. Our games all start at 6 o’clock. 1323
1324
Adam Beeman: I am just going to go ahead and assume that you guys will both agree that you are not going to ask 1325
Hillsborough for water and sewer. And I am going to go ahead and talk about water and sewer. I read this septic report 1326
from your soil scientist and he’s shown where it is suitable and not suitable. Then I take your drawing and overlay it and 1327
your buildings and pavements sit on top of all your good sites. Anything that you leave with the exception of the tennis 1328
courts, they are in the bad to not so great septic areas. The last sentence if the soil scientist report was “There appears 1329
to be ample soils and drain field needs for 1,200 students a day school, however once a preliminary site design is 1330
completed, additional site and soil investigation should be conducted to determine the system particulars.” Like I said, if 1331
you lay your site plan on top of this, your buildings cover the majority of your good, suitable septic spaces. I just don’t 1332
understand. 1333
1334
Jim Parker: Those sites are conventional septic so there would be innovative septic systems that would be absorptions in 1335
fields, or sprayed or there’s a lot of ways that are done beyond the conventional septic soils. 1336
1337
Adam Beeman: If you put in 55 houses, the health department would determine half of them have septic issues and they 1338
probably wouldn’t be put there anyway or there would be restrictions on bedroom size and that’s that. I just want to be 1339
clear because I see septic issues. I don’t know why you didn’t go back to the soil scientist after you got a design and go 1340
back through your site plan and what he did and say yes, everything is still acceptable and suitable or no, we need to 1341
shift some things around because to me it looks like you are sitting on all your good space with pavement and buildings. 1342
1343
Jim Parker: The soccer fields could become the septic areas for the school. That is true, and I said that earlier through 1344
the innovative design. 1345
1346
Adam Beeman: Nobody on your team has approached the environmental health department for a consultation? I am just 1347
curious to know if you have actually consulted with environmental health. 1348
1349
Jim Parker: Other than what Cy indicated as far as them reviewing the soils and everything else associated with that. 1350
1351
Adam Beeman: The scientist said “Even though I find suitable places, the regulating authority may find ….Regardless of 1352
what happens between you guys and Hillsborough, if we are going down the septic and well path, I just want to know 1353
that you are going to have suitable space for your schools but I see nothing saying here’s the space for your fields and 1354
here is the space for the tennis courts. 1355
1356
Jim Parker: You’re right, the school is the biggest user. 1357
1358
Adam Beeman: I was just trying to ascertain if it would be good to go forward and ask the soil scientist to look at the site 1359
plans and say you’re good or hey you guys need to shift some things around, this is not going to work. If we move 1360
forward tonight and approve your plan, your next steps through the development process is going to the health 1361
department and getting your permits and all that. If we let you go forward and you spend more money making allocations 1362
and the health department says “eh you don’t qualify”… 1363
1364
Jim Parker: That’s our risk. 1365
1366
Adam Beeman: I am simply asking in my mind why wouldn’t you step back and have them give you a 1367
preliminary….come out and say “yep, you’re right, we agree with the soil scientist report. Everything looks like it should 1368
be moving forward.” I’m just trying to prevent you from….it would assuage me to say that someone has looked at the 1369
septic to say “yes, this is going to be acceptable” I have 11 acres and I only perked for 3 bedrooms. It’s difficult, I get it 1370
and …. 1371
1372
29
Jim Parker: I’ve done a lot of subdivisions with septics and this has got extremely good soil for our town, like you are 1373
saying, the primary goal here is water/sewer from the Town of Hillsborough. That is our primary desire. We know we 1374
could do this with an innovative system like we have other schools… 1375
1376
Adam Beeman: What’s the plan for irrigation? You’re going to have fields and plantings… 1377
1378
Jim Parker: Drip irrigation on the fields and in the plantings. 1379
1380
Adam Beeman: You are just not watering the baseball fields? 1381
1382
Jim Parker: correct. Ms. Kirk made some comments about environmental considerations. There are some stormwater 1383
ponds there that are good sources of irrigation water and good sources for fire protection if we go down the septic route. 1384
1385
Adam Beeman: Why the 60-foot-tall building for the athletic building? 1386
1387
Jim Parker: You’ve got to have height for the tennis. 1388
1389
Adam Beeman: A lot of the industrial buildings top off at 45, I’m just curious. 1390
1391
Jim Parker: If the 60 foot is a concern, we can discuss that. 1392
1393
Adam Beeman: I am looking at your handicap parking. I don’t know what the minimum standards are but your drawing 1394
shows 6 spots and one hash mark and the rest of them are all stacked up next to each other. Being a disabled person, I 1395
find that wholly inadequate. I would like to see hash marks between them or you could do two spaces and hash marks 1396
on either side. 1397
1398
Jim Parker: You are exactly right but understand that these are all the standards that are in the UDO. 1399
1400
Adam Beeman: If you are meeting the minimum we can see if we can agree on the additions of hash lines…that to me, 1401
being disabled it is difficult to get out of a normal sized space. It didn’t seem like they were very user friendly for the 1402
disabled folks. Can we agree that you will put hash marks? 1403
1404
Jim Parker: We can agree to that, yes. 1405
1406
Statler Gilfillen: As an architect with a background in preservation, these plans are very schematic and preliminary. When 1407
you get down to submitting the final architectural plans, there are very detailed sets of laws that you have to follow or you 1408
can’t get a building permit. 1409
1410
Adam Beeman: If that’s the minimum and they’ve met the minimum and we’ve approved it then what’s to say they have 1411
to put hash marks later? 1412
1413
Statler Gilfillen: It might be on the state law… 1414
1415
Adam Beeman: I don’t know the state law, I am simply ensuring that we are on the same page and both agree that we 1416
need hash marks regardless of…. There is no athletic programs at the school, so there is no after school programs 1417
where they are playing soccer or …they just go to classes themselves? 1418
1419
Jim Parker: I don’t think we can speak to the exact programming, but I would say they would have some after school 1420
programming. 1421
1422
Adam Beeman: We have calculated that the school is done at let out time but if they are still filtering in after school time 1423
for athletic programs that needs to be added into the drip calculation… 1424
1425
Jim Parker: Yes, you are right, there are after school programs but it’s not the full peak. 1426
1427
30
Adam Beeman: I understand but in combination with the other fields, as the HYAA representative said, they start at 6, 1428
those folks are going to start rolling in for baseball, it sounds like tennis is going to be happening all day long, I am just 1429
trying to figure out the extra folks after school once school has been let out. 1430
1431
Lyle Overstreet: The trip calculations for the school are based on state wide averages of other, similar schools so it is 1432
baked into the numbers. 1433
1434
Adam Beeman: Okay, I had not heard anything about athletic programs for the school, and I was just curious to know if 1435
they were having athletic programs. 1436
1437
Beth Bronson: Would those parking lots for the upper and lower schools be open to the public after 5? Or would they 1438
remain a private parking lot given that they are on a separate parcel. 1439
1440
Jim Parker: They are going to co-exist together, I’m sure that if the capacity of the parking for the fields is not enough 1441
that sharing parking is a great option but that would be up to the school if they chose to do that. If we can get this 1442
rezoned, then those conversations could happen with those potential owners. 1443
1444
Beth Bronson- My point being that there are 192 spaces by the baseball fields and I didn’t see what the count was for by 1445
the tennis court, I assume it’s similar…. 1446
1447
Jim Parker: A condition that we could set and take with us is that there would be consideration for shared parking…. 1448
1449
Adam Beeman: I had a question about the articulation agreement… 1450
1451
Melissa Poole: I know what this is…there are currently two charter schools in Hillsborough. There is the Expedition 1452
school and there is Eno River Academy. My children went to TEF and once they reached the 8th grade, there is an 1453
articulation agreement for the high school. You can have articulation agreements for charter schools. 1454
1455
Overlapping conversations about seats available for transfer at various schools and articulation agreements. 1456
1457
A letter from Joey Webb was read by a representative from the charter school. 1458
1459
Statler Gilfillen: What are we actually approving tonight? This is about a piece of property with a school on it. It could be 1460
any kind of school on this site. If it is a private school then the developer has rights about who is allowed to go into that 1461
school, right? 1462
1463
Patrick Byker: If for some reason this became a site for Durham Academy, then that private school admission process by 1464
law prohibits discrimination. 1465
1466
Statler Gilfillen: If this were a private school, unlike a charter school then all of the neighbors and immediate property 1467
owners around this property, that school could offer special compensation to them if they had children who wanted to 1468
come there and could walk there. That could be hypothetically possible, right? 1469
1470
Patrick Byker: The down side is they would have to pay. 1471
1472
Statler Gilfillen: Yes but they could also offer a discount to the immediate property owners. 1473
1474
Overlapping conversations 1475
1476
Chris Johnston: We can’t consider that it is a charter school, we can’t consider that it is a public school, all we can 1477
consider is that it is a school, but does that matter for capacity? If the argument is that we are serving capacity for the 1478
local school system and this is a school that potentially pulls from outside the county, is that anything that we can 1479
consider or is that considering a charter school? 1480
1481
Patrick Byker: My understanding is no. 1482
31
1483
Beth Bronson: There was no hydraulic survey done, just the wells…correct? Taking all of this in and taking the public 1484
comments, I have a couple of conditions that I would propose to the board. 1485
1486
Melissa Poole: Don’t forget the conditions outlined. 1487
1488
1. Adding fire hydrants along Hwy 70A where the water line comes in1489
2. Include applying for school zone designation1490
3. Adding a median on Lawrence Rd. to prevent corner cutting on OLD NC10 (where Lawrence Rd. starts)1491
4. Increase hash mark spaces between handicap parking spaces1492
5. Perform updated traffic impact analysis in 5 years or at the completion of enrollment at the Upper School,1493
whichever occurs first.1494
6. Extend buffer zone from 70A to meet at the main entrance off of Lawrence Rd.1495
7. Limit the height of the tennis lights to 35 feet, using the minimum amount of light necessary.1496
1497 MOTION BY Beth Bronson to recommend approval with the 7 added conditions. Seconded by Whitney Watson. 1498
1499
Adam Beeman: Yes 1500
1501
Lamar Proctor: No 1502
1503
Beth Bronson: Yes 1504
1505
Statler Gilfillen: Yes 1506
1507
Melissa Poole: Yes 1508
1509
Whitney Watson: Yes 1510
1511
Charity Kirk: No 1512
1513
Steve Kaufmann: No 1514
1515
Elizabeth Kalies: No 1516
1517
Chris Johnston: No 1518
1519 MOTION TIE VOTE 5-5 1520
1521
Cy Stober: The adopted rules of procedure for the County Advisory Boards require that a majority vote be used in 1522
deciding recommendations to the elected body, so you will need to come up with a majority vote. 1523
1524
Lamar Proctor: I would like to say that I am really torn on this because I really want ball fields, I really want these 1525
services for the county, I know we are in need of them. I specifically asked about a site that had been cleared for HYAA 1526
ball fields but was told that is no longer viable. There needs to be a solution to that. At the same time, under our 1527
comprehensive land use plan, there are certain objectives that we are supposed to consider in making land use planning 1528
decisions. Read Land use objectives 1.1, 1.2, 3.1, 6.2, wastewater goal #5, I am just articulating my reasons for voting 1529
against this. As one of the members of the public stated, it kind of feels like we are trying to stuff an elephant into a box 1530
in this spot. I have concerns by the public, the elected mayor of Hillsborough that this proposed zoning change under this 1531
conditional use with 1,400 students squeezed into Lawrence Rd. and 70 with water and sewer being provided by the 1532
town. I don’t see how that is going to happen without alternative plans on how to get at least sewer to this site and state 1533
law requires the municipality to provide water. Thinking about a 1,400 student school in this spot with the water and 1534
sewer needs of the school that is my concern. This particular site, as much as I want these things is consistent with our 1535
comprehensive plan. 1536
1537
32
Melissa Poole: You referenced the relationship with a municipality and under the current municipality plan, it is aligned. Is 1538
that correct? 1539
1540
Cy Stober: That is correct. We didn’t include it in our consistency statement but we did consult with WASMPBA but we 1541
can provide that in the future. 1542 1543
Lamar Proctor: So it is within the WASMPBA boundary to provide sewer and water? 1544 1545 Cy Stober: The primary service area, yes. 1546 1547
Lamar Proctor: Thank you for that clarification. 1548
1549
Steve Kaufmann: Still, the neighborhood will not be able to get water and sewer, even though it is in that region? 1550
1551
Cy Stober: They would have to voluntarily have to apply for connection and I believe annexation to the Town of 1552
Hillsborough, pay the connection fees as well as any associated annexation fees. 1553
1554
Adam Beeman: They wouldn’t be forced to hop on if the pipe goes by your house, you don’t have to get on the water, 1555
you could maintain your septic and well? 1556
1557
Cy Stober: I have been doing planning since 2007 and the state law changed in 2008 regarding voluntary annexation. 1558
Formerly that would have been an option, the town could have just annexed everyone but no, today you must voluntarily 1559
petition for annexation as an individual property owner or a group of property owners. The town cannot force you to be 1560
annexed to the town of Hillsborough. 1561
1562
Adam Beeman: Even if the pipe runs right by your front door, you have to ask for the annexation? I don’t want to see 1563
anyone be forced… 1564
1565
Cy Stober: Only in the event of well or septic failure which is a state environmental health regulation. 1566
1567
Beth Bronson: What is important though is that if the well fails and the septic fails and there happens to be a pipe by their 1568
house, they are required… 1569
1570
Adam Beeman: The old law was that if the pipe came by their house, they were forced to abandon their well. I want to 1571
make sure no one is forced to abandon what they already have. 1572
1573
Patrick Byker: That is not the case anymore and state law precludes it. 1574
1575
Lamar Proctor: Who is paying to hook up well and septic to the school? The town? 1576
1577
Patrick Byker: No, no, that is all paid for by the private development team. The school pays for every inch of pipe and 1578
everything that is associated with that. 1579
1580
Jim Parker: The cost of the water and sewer from any existing pipe that the town has is paid for by the school. 1581
1582
Patrick Byker: The pipe, the manholes the water line… 1583
1584
Applicant: The fees, permits, testing all of it is paid by the school, the town does not pay anything. They collect double 1585
the water rates for the usage. If you go on the town’s website and look at the amount of water that is treated by the town 1586
and their treatment plan, is on average about 1.2 million gallons per day and they are permitted for 3 million gallons a 1587
day on both plants. You can look at those reports for yourself online, it’s very clear. 1.2 million gallons a day is processed 1588
through the town’s treatment. This is .015 million gallons a day if both schools are there. It is extremely negligible. So 1589
capacity is not an issue. 1590
1591
Whitney Watson: I think a lot of folks on the board are conflicted about this proposal and one of their reasons is that 1592
under land use goal 3 is preserving the community and rural character and land use goal 5.6 is provide the county’s 1593
33
population and economy with future uses, recreation and schools. So those two items seem to be in conflict with each 1594
other. We really as a board have not talked very much about if this will preserve the community and rural character of 1595
this parcel or this neighborhood. We have heard a lot about desirable schools, desirable recreation activities, perhaps as 1596
a board we need to spend some time talking about preserving community and rural character. 1597
1598
Melissa Poole: One of the options is to give extended time to consider…. 1599
1600
Adam Beeman: What do you want to achieve with the extended time? 1601
1602
Charity Kirk: We obviously need to discuss more or throw up another vote…is anyone changing their vote? 1603
1604
Statler Gilfillen: I am very close as the Eno River representative to changing my vote as these people are my neighbors 1605
and live around me. I live on the old Jackson Farm site and if someone were to come in on the 40-50 acres with this 1606
development right next to my house, the old farmhouse on St. Mary’s, I would be very concerned. I am hearing a lot of 1607
serious issues from these people. I also have a great deal of respect for Jim Parker and what he has done and is trying 1608
to do. So I have mixed feelings about it and I have been right on that edge. Up until tonight when I couldn’t think of a 1609
reason not to. What you just commented about the rural atmosphere, it affects all of us. What is the nature of our 1610
community, you are putting a large block of property and are completely surrounded by neighbors. That was part of why I 1611
was asking Mr. Parker earlier about the question of if you put a school in, is there some sort of compensation. Long term, 1612
that type of solution may increase their property values but that is a hypothetical, so I have mixed feelings. I am not sure 1613
that I should be voting tonight. 1614
1615 MOTION BY Beth Bronson to take additional time to review this matter concerning the proposed rezoning Atlas Map 1616
amendment parcel number PIN 9883-19-4355. Seconded by Charity Kirk 1617
1618
Adam Beeman: No 1619
1620
Chris Johnston: No 1621
1622
Lamar Proctor: Yes 1623
1624
Beth Bronson: Yes 1625
1626
Statler Gilfillen: Yes 1627
1628
Melissa Poole: Yes 1629
1630
Whitney Watson: Yes 1631
1632
Charity Kirk: Yes 1633
1634
Steve Kaufmann: Yes 1635
1636
Elizabeth Kalies: Yes 1637
1638
MOTION PASSED 8-2 1639
1640
The next scheduled meeting is May 3, 2023 7:00 pm 1641
1642
AGENDA ITEM 4: ADJOURNMENT 1643
1644
Meeting was adjourned at 11:10 PM 1645
1646
__________________________________ 1647
Adam Beeman, Chair 1648
34
MEETING MINUTES 1 ORANGE COUNTY PLANNING BOARD 2 MAY 3, 2023 3 REGULAR MEETING 4
5 MEMBERS PRESENT: Adam Beeman (Chair), Cedar Grove Township Representative; Lamar Proctor (Vice-Chair), Cheeks 6
Township Representative; Melissa Poole, Little River Township Representative; Delores Bailey, At-Large 7
Representative; Charity Kirk, At-Large Representative; Statler Gilfillen, Eno Township Representative; Whitney Watson, 8
At-Large Representative; Steve Kaufmann, Bingham Township Representative; Chris Johnston, Hillsborough Township 9
Representative; Elizabeth Kalies, Chapel Hill Township Representative 10
11
MEMBERS ABSENT: Beth Bronson, At-Large Representative 12
13
STAFF PRESENT: Cy Stober, Planning & Inspections Director; Patrick Mallett, Deputy Director – Development Services; 14
Taylor Perschau, Current Planning and Zoning Supervisor; Perdita Holtz, Deputy Director – Long Range Planning 15
& Administrative Division; Tom Altieri, Senior Planner – Long Range Planning & Administrative Division; Lauren Coffey, 16
Planning Technician 17
18
OTHERS PRESENT: James Parker, Applicant; Patrick Byker, Kathy Bivins, Daniel Bivins, Clancy Russell, James Russell, 19
Brian Hill, Bethany Kidd, Jack Niklas, Jessica King, Carolyn Robinson, Curtis Kelly, John Dempsey J. Wright-Simpson, 20
Hollis Chatelain, Robb Minton, Matt McDermott, Debra Fields, Kyle Simpson, Jim West, Wanda Richardson, Rachael 21
Price, Nick Schumacher, Scott Czechlewski, Emilee Collins, Kathleen Harper, Brandon Welch, Gregory J. Singer, Maria 22
Perez, Margaret Cates, Sandra Brown, Thomas Brown, Amber Bickford, Rachel Hawkins, Jaine Parker, Scott Ray, 23
Peggy McCracken, Jerry Vinski, Cathy Vinski, Faye Rhodes, June Minton, Linda Johnson 24
25
26
AGENDA ITEM 1: CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL 27
Chair Adam Beeman called the meeting to order. 28
29
30
AGENDA ITEM 2: INFORMATION ITEMS 31
a.Planning Board Calendar for May and June32
b.Comprehensive Land Use Plan Update33
34
35
AGENDA ITEM 3: APPROVAL OF MINUTES 36
April 5, 2023 Regular Meeting Minutes 37 MOTION BY Melissa Poole to approve the December April 5, 2023 Regular Meeting Minutes. Seconded by Lamar Proctor. 38
MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY 39
40
41
AGENDA ITEM 4: CONSIDERATION OF ADDITIONS TO AGENDA 42
43
44 AGENDA ITEM 5: PUBLIC CHARGE 45
46 INTRODUCTION TO THE PUBLIC CHARGE 47
The Board of County Commissioners, under the authority of North Carolina General Statute, 48
appoints the Orange County Planning Board (OCPB) to uphold the written land development law of 49
the County. The general purpose of OCPB is to guide and accomplish coordinated and harmonious 50
development. OCPB shall do so in a manner, which considers the present and future needs of its 51
citizens and businesses through efficient and responsive process that contributes to and promotes 52
the health, safety, and welfare of the overall County. The OCPB will make every effort to uphold a 53
vision of responsive governance and quality public services during our deliberations, decisions, and 54
recommendations. 55
35
56
57 PUBLIC CHARGE 58
The Planning Board pledges to the citizens of Orange County its respect. The Board asks its 59
citizens to conduct themselves in a respectful, courteous manner, both with the Board and with 60
fellow citizens. At any time, should any member of the Board or any citizen fail to observe this public 61
charge, the Chair will ask the offending member to leave the meeting until that individual regains 62
personal control. Should decorum fail to be restored, the Chair will recess the meeting until such 63
time that a genuine commitment to this public charge is observed. 64
65
66
AGENDA ITEM 6: CHAIR COMMENTS 67
There were none. 68
69
70 AGENDA ITEM 7: ZONING ATLAS AMENDMENT (CONDITIONAL DISTRICT) – To continue review of and make a 71
recommendation to the BOCC on an applicant-initiated zoning atlas amendment to rezone an 72
84.9 acre parcel from R-1 (Rural Residential) to MPD-CD (Master Plan Development Conditional 73
District). 74
75
PRESENTER: Cy Stober, Orange County Planning and Inspections Director 76 77
Cy Stober gave a brief update on the item to remind the board of their options and where they are in the process. 78
79
Adam Beeman: I have a question for the applicant about the skate park. We glazed over that part last time and no one 80
really talked about it, so if you could give me a little background on what the intention is for the skate park and how you 81
plan to plan that and build it? 82
83
James Parker: For a long time, we’ve known that Hillsborough has wanted a skate park in the vicinity, we thought it was 84
a good add to the plan even though it’s a small….it’s on the tennis facility property. It would be a condition of that 85
developer to do that, and it would be a non-profit. 86
87
Adam Beeman: I was going to ask if you could invite the community and ask what they would like to see and not just a 88
generic skate park. There is plenty of appetite out there for it. 89
90
James Parker: We would love someone to step up and take ownership of design and vision. 91
92
Statler Gilfillen: It is my understanding right now; you have certain things you plan if this is approved that would start 93
construction very soon. There are other things like the baseball diamonds that are going to rely upon public funding to 94
create them. I’m a little bit unclear about the distinction like what you just mentioned about the skating…what is or is not 95
included with the first build through? 96
97
James Parker: Currently we have a buyer that wants the school site, and they will be responsible for building the school 98
site. 99
100
Statler Gilfillen: Do you have any idea what physical athletic facilities that they will be building with that school? 101
102
James Parker: What’s on the plan for the school site, is what they will be building. That’s the high school that we have a 103
current buyer. 104
105
Melissa Poole: Just to clarify because I do think this was mentioned in the last meeting with regards to if the proposed 106
plan, particularly for the public charter school, were to use municipal sewer and water, then the lines to run that to the 107
school will be paid by whom? 108
109
James Parker: By the school, by the private sector. 110
36
111
Chris Johnston: I have a follow up question about the tennis facility. I understood from the documents that it was going to 112
be a pro-shop or clubhouse, but I also saw recently in one of the narratives that it was going to be indoor tennis courts so 113
could you be clear what that structure is going to be? 114
115
James Parker: The structure is sized like it is on the plan to allow different uses internally that could be accommodated 116
there. Basketball courts, indoor tennis courts, volleyball courts, anything indoor recreation that could be in there and 117
certainly a pro-shop could be in there as well. It is a building that could house all or some of those items. 118
119
Melissa Poole: I don’t have a question but I would like to address the board. I’ve been on the planning board for 5 years 120
now. I’ve heard presentations, everyone imaginable, UDO updates, commercial development, residential development, 121
never in my memory has a project come before us that benefitted across the entire county. The majority of projects 122
brought before us during my time, have been residential developments. Most of the time, those residences have been 123
classified as single-family homes, usually anticipating buyers with children. Families buying homes in Orange County are 124
going to look for extracurricular activities for their kids and with this project, there are a number of options clustered 125
together in one space. With regards to HYAA, they are likely to lose 4 fields due to the town’s train station project. The 126
contract with the town only gives them a 60-day notice when they are going to lose their fields. For the district I 127
represent, I don’t know many people who have not or do not have children involved in HYAA and they have been for 128
years. Some of whom are still involved even though their kids have aged out. Since 2020 they have provided $12,000 in 129
scholarships to children. There are currently hundreds of children signed up and there are waiting lists. I think it is 130
reasonable to infer that with additional residential development in Orange County, the numbers for HYAA and waiting 131
lists due to lack of space will only increase going forward. I apologize to the tennis club; I am admittedly more familiar 132
with HYAA than I am with tennis. I would imagine that their struggles are going to be the same. HYAA has players from 133
Orange, Person, Chatham, and Alamance Counties. That is 3 other counties coming to Orange County and likely 134
spending money in Orange County. I think that investment in the space for them, giving them the zoning to build their 135
fields, is an investment for our county. They have almost 1,000 players per year coming through. The project meets the 136
mission, particularly the ball fields, providing space that reduces the town financial impact of purchasing and 137
maintenance of athletic and park space. The wells versus water/sewer, I know we have discussed that ad nauseum, but 138
I’ve never sat up here and had a project where they had multiple options. Usually, we only hear county proposals and 139
that is strictly well and septic. The state does have a mandate for provision of water and sewer to public schools. If our 140
ultimate concern is the resident’s wells, then I would encourage the developer to pursue the state mandated provision of 141
water and sewer. The other discussion has been around what was presented in our first meeting being the letter that 142
was presented and entered into the record. This still bothers me as what is referenced is their proposed plan, their draft 143
plan, which we cannot consider because it is not legislation. It has not passed, therefore shouldn’t bear on any decision 144
made by us. Regarding traffic, As a parent, I’ve made clear that I have children in charter schools, our charter school has 145
one entrance, in and out, onto Hwy. 57 and we don’t block traffic. There are no busses at our school. This charter school 146
is proposing busses. That is going to reduce traffic compared to what some of the other charter schools in the county 147
have. I would urge that we pass this on and advance it to the BOCC. 148
149
Chris Johnston: I’m new to this board, this is my first foray into this, so I appreciate everyone bearing with me on this. I 150
think, and I am only speaking for myself here, that if this were a presentation for athletics fields and only for athletics 151
fields, that we would have been done on April 3rd. I don’t think anyone here disagrees that we need additional athletics 152
fields and that we need them badly. It is outrageous that we have to go other counties for that sort of thing, tennis 153
players, pickleball players, whatever you may be. I think the question that we are all wrestling with up here is dealing with 154
our mandate of following the planning board thing of considering all the things that we can’t consider…right? We can’t 155
consider the water considerations; we can only consider the plans as they are. We have to consider the WASAMPBA 156
participation as it currently is, we can’t consider the traffic, we can’t consider a number of things. Charter school versus 157
public school versus private school, it’s a school. But at the same time, we do have other considerations as well. We are 158
neighbors with the folks of Hillsborough and the folks of Hillsborough have elected representatives and those 159
representatives have submitted that letter that said they were against this particular development for whatever reasons 160
they have. So, I am struggling a lot with this one just because of all the things we can’t consider. I think we really need 161
the athletic fields, I think those are really important, I don’t know, we had a…..Cy, are you here? In regard to the school 162
and the need that was mentioned, in regards to needs for schooling in this area, in terms of attendance and what our 163
future growth is and that sort of thing… 164
165
37
Cy Stober: The school’s adequate facilities public ordinance annual report has a 10-year forecast using 5 different 166
models for both the municipal school district and the Orange County School District, none of those models forecast a 167
capacity concern for the public school system. 168
169
Chris Johnston: Again, I have a lot of things that I’m considering on my first Orange County Planning Board, and I don’t 170
quite know what to think. 171
172
Melissa Poole: With regards to the capacity issue, while the report does show that there is no 10-year forecast capacity 173
issue, there is a February 8th article in the Daily Tarheel, where the Deputy Superintendent of Orange County Schools is 174
quoted as saying “Overcrowding is a concern for the school district as new growth in the area is leading to class sizes 175
that are exceeding capacity. The district is bringing in mobile units to help with the problem.” The title of the article is 176
“Orange County Schools Employees Bring Concerns of Overcrowding to Board of Education” so it seems as if there is 177
some disconnect between the report and what the superintendent and county employees are saying. 178
179
Chris Johnston: To confirm though, the article was an employee saying something and then the report is what we are 180
supposed to consider. That’s been one of the major things that we keep talking about, is we have to consider what the 181
actual report says, not what we hear. 182
183
Cy Stober: If I may, there are a couple of relevant things to consider. What the 10-year forecast does not consider is the 184
condition of the schools or the facilities. It also identifies over capacity of individual schools that could be resolved 185
through redistricting which the school districts are engaged in at this time. It shows system-wide at the high school, 186
middle school, and elementary school levels that through redistricting the capacity concerns could be potentially resolved 187
because it is just looking at the total amount of capacity for the total number of students enrolled. That is not to say that 188
there are not individual schools that are beyond capacity at this time. 189
190
Melissa Poole: Should we consider capacity at all when a charter school is not districted anyway? 191
192
Cy Stober: I would encourage you to consider whether a school being sited at this location is an appropriate land use as 193
discussed in our adopted plans and in consideration of the land use in the area. 194
195
Charity Kirk: I like the proposal. I don’t think it’s on the right piece of property. We are talking about the mixed residential 196
zoning which states that if it is going to be non-residential, it will be an infill arrangement serving more than 50 dwelling 197
units in a walkable manner. This property is not going to be serving people in a walkable manner. It is a car-oriented 198
property, especially since the Department of Transportation is not going to be doing sidewalks in the area. It is also going 199
to be attracting people from around the county…the tennis and the softball…people are going to be driving there. I 200
believe that Orange County needs it. I would like to see this in a more urban environment. I don’t think this is the right 201
property for it. Now, is there a right property for it? I don’t know. I just feel like the interpretation of what mixed residential 202
is, doesn’t match with what is planned for the property. 203
204
Lamar Proctor: I’ve thought a lot about this, I spoke with the chair of the school board, they are not in favor of another 205
school. They have many repairs that need to be done on the schools. The SAPFO shows that there is capacity for 206
schools in Orange County over 10 years. I agree with Chris, if this was just the ballfields, it would be a no-brainer and it 207
would be done. It’s the school. Orange County does not need another school, we need to focus on the schools we have 208
and making those as good as we can make them. Looking at our Comprehensive Land Use Plan, it encourages us also 209
to do work with the municipalities in a fair and equitable way. They oppose this, Hillsborough opposes it, they indicated 210
that it would put an undue burden on their wastewater system. They considered this and opposed and voted against it. 211
Orange County has to be a good neighbor to its municipalities, the one that is directly affected by this project opposes it, 212
we do not need another school in Orange County, and that’s pretty much it for me. In our land use plan, we are trying to 213
encourage expanded use and non-auto modes of travel. I want those ball fields somewhere, as I asked HYAA, there 214
were over 40 acres cleared in my district in Cheeks that was supposed to be these ball fields and somehow that fell 215
through. That 40 plus acres was within 2 miles of two I-40 exits and was across the street from the soccer fields next to 216
Gravelly Hill. That would be an ideal place for these ball fields as opposed to jammed into a tight residential area with 217
creating traffic concerns. I am not talking about traffic concerns from the school because we are not considering those 218
but traffic concerns for HYAA tournaments, traffic concerns for tennis tournaments, traffic concerns for skate park 219
38
tournaments and ongoing leagues. That is another issue in this tight area. As one of the members of the public said, 220
“They are trying to pack an elephant into a closet here.” Those are the reasons why I am opposing this. 221
222
Elizabeth Kalies: I am also new to the board and not even sure if I am supposed to say something here about how I feel 223
about this, but I am happy to. I have been very torn the whole time as well and agree that there are some good things 224
about this plan. It could be the wrong spot. Every time someone speaks, they nearly change my mind again but what I 225
keep going back to is that the town of Hillsborough, the mayor, and the planning board were all of the same opinion that 226
they do not approve the plan, so I am going to trust local judgment on this. 227
228
Delores Bailey: Good evening, great notes from last time, thank you for sending those to me. I listened and read all of 229
what we went through last time. I thought it was a very thorough discussion of this project. I am going to not agree. I do 230
not like the project. My main cause is the Hillsborough board coming to us and explaining to us that it did not fit into what 231
they were planning. That troubles me. The piece about the water still bothers me. Where are you going to get the water 232
from? You don’t need the water; it can be wells…that concerns me. One of the comments from the notes that I read that 233
there were plans on here for a lower school but that’s not what we are voting on. We are voting on the high school and 234
the lower school is going to get rolled into whatever happens. I believe there was a question about whether we get to talk 235
about the lower school and the answer was “no, we don’t get to talk about the lower school.” For those reasons, that’s 236
unclear to me, and I don’t think that’s a correct way to present this. I’d like to know that we could discuss the lower 237
school and what’s going to happen after the high school gets put there. My vote at this time would be no. 238
239
Whitney Watson: I sort of started this off last time we met, asking us to consider the community and rural character of 240
that area. That is one of the land use goals, it’s number 3. We are supposed to consider whether this preserves that 241
character or not, whether it minimizes land use conflicts and is supported by an efficient and balanced transportation 242
system. I think what we’ve heard is that, yes, it would become a destination, but it becomes a destination for 243
automobiles. There’s not a transportation system that the average member of the county could avail themselves of to get 244
to this site. There’s no bus route or bus stops there. I think the important part is the community and rural character of that 245
area. I did take the time to drive around through that. It is fields, rural. Yes, it’s dense, there are a lot of homes in that 246
area. If this property were to be developed into more residential areas as I think Cy sort of proposed last week, that it 247
might be somewhere around 50-60 residences that could be placed on this property, once you took out for roads, 248
utilities, and easements and so on, that still would not change the character of that community. I think that’s an important 249
consideration as we go forward. The other way I looked at that is, had the community developed up against an existing 250
site with the kinds of recreational activities and school opportunities, we would probably not be concerned at all about it 251
closing in on this site. The fact that we are now talking about the other way of inserting an area of activity of a kind of 252
development, into an area that already has its existing character I think is the wrong way to go about it. 253
254
Steve Kaufmann: It's been a very difficult choice for me also because I have been a public school teacher for many 255
years, and I actually worked at a charter school too. I work in the PE department at Duke now, so I am very athletic. I 256
love the idea of ballfields; I love the idea of tennis but that’s not what is in question here. It’s the neighborhood, and I 257
drove around it several times last week and it’s like what most people on this board have said already, “why here?” It’s a 258
great plan, it looks great on paper. If I were living in a major city and they proposed this plan, it would look wonderful, but 259
we have many more opportunities in this county to do something like this and I hope it gets done. As many of you have 260
said, this isn’t quite the right place for this project. So, I will be voting against it. 261
262
Statler Gilfillen: I have spent a tremendous amount of time since the last meeting trying to reach out to both sides. I met 263
with Jim; he made a comment that surprised me. He said that nobody has bothered to contact him directly. I spent 264
several hours with someone who could not be today but was very outspoken against this development. I am your Eno 265
representative. I take this personally and it is difficult for me. I believe that Jim, as a developer, has done everything 266
possible to try to reach out and work with both sides. That meeting that I tried to arrange this week, never happened, I’m 267
sorry for that. I am still very mixed in many ways. When I look at the state regulations of what our jurisdiction covers, and 268
what this requires, the Town of Hillsborough’s disagreement is not based upon the current laws that they have 269
presented. That’s part of the problem I have. If they were objecting under the new reformed laws that are proposed, that 270
would be one thing, but they are not. If you were a judge sitting on the bench, you are bound by the laws as they are. I’m 271
not happy with this but I can’t see a physical reason to say no to this proposal. I can raise that there are many issues if I 272
were homeowners and I think that Mr. Parker is open at least from discussions with him, to deal with that. One of them 273
that concerned me that was raised at the last meeting; if the town does not provide water and he puts a well in, and that 274
39
well lowers the level of water in the immediate area, there are people who could end up without water. That is a pretty 275
disastrous situation. The lawyer raised the point at the meeting that yes, under state law the developer has to cover it, 276
etc. but by the time you get through the law and you go to the courts, that’s a legal answer, yes but that doesn’t solve the 277
immediate problem of somebody without water, living in a house. When I raised that issue to Jim Parker, he indicated 278
that if you are talking about 5 or 6 wells in there that start to go dry, perhaps because they are drained, then people need 279
to be taken care of because it has happened because the water table lowered. If like 15 years ago, we had a drought, 280
that could happen. If they are just old wells that the equipment needs to be replaced, that’s not what we are talking 281
about, we are talking about a water table. That I think could be verified as an architect. The environmental issues, unless 282
I read it wrong as an architect, you can talk about 65 houses in this unit but if you can not properly support them with the 283
septic system for 65 units and the wells for 65 units, you can’t build that many units on that site either. So, that’s 284
academic, the environmental issues over rural. I’m looking at, in the end, on this board whether I would accept or not 285
accept the idea of the school. From what the county has told me, correct me if I’m wrong Cy, that is not under our 286
jurisdiction. 287
288
Cy Stober: Whether or not the site is appropriate for the land use of a preparatory school as described in our ordinance 289
is well within your purview. 290
291
Statler Gilfillen: In other words, any type of school but not a specific school? 292
293
Cy Stober: That’s correct. And the school size is relevant, so 400 students is relevant versus 200 students. That’s 294
relevant because it has to do with the building footprint and associated activities. 295
296
Statler Gilfillen: Remember your department’s review, this is an acceptable use at this site, of a school. 297
298
Cy Stober: I believe our staff analysis and our recommendation reflects that. 299
300
Statler Gilfillen: That makes it very difficult to vote against when the professionals that are administering the law have 301
made a decision to advise us accordingly. 302
303
Lamar Proctor: Every proposal that you submit to us, you find consistent, is that not true? 304
305
Melissa Poole: Not historically. 306
307
Lamar Proctor In my time on the board, everything that you’ve presented…. 308
309
Overlapping conversation 310
311
Cy Stober: In the 9 months I’ve been here, we have recommended all the applications that have come before this board. 312
313
Chris Johnston: To confirm, it wouldn’t make it to us if it wasn’t recommended? 314
315
Cy Stober: They have a right to be heard. 316
317
Melissa Poole: We have heard proposals that were not recommended by the Planning Department of Orange County. 318
319
Cy Stober: That’s a legal right, that every property owner and every applicant has in the State of North Carolina, 320
regardless of the staff analysis and recommendation. They have a right before the Planning Board and a right to a public 321
hearing. 322
323
Statler Gilfillen: Thank you, I have spent a tremendous amount of time trying to reach out and listen to both sides and 324
this is a very difficult issue before this board for us to vote upon. I hope my neighbors understand, regardless of how I 325
vote. It is based on what I believe will be the best in the end. I just hope that if it goes in Mr. Parker’s favor, that many of 326
you that have objections will finally sit down and try to talk to him about those things that could individually impact you. 327
That might make a difference. I think he’s open. For a couple of years of construction, as a developer, I would want to be 328
open to the people that are surrounding me. 329
40
330
Lamar Proctor: For the record, I spoke with Mr. Parker too. You said no one else spoke with Mr. Parker. 331
332
Statler Gilfillen: He had informed me that none of the opposition had reached out to him. 333
334 MOTION BY Charity Kirk to recommend denial because the proposed amendment does not match the residential 335
character of this neighborhood, it will not meet the walkability standards that we believe describes a mixed residential 336
development, it is not consistent with the Comprehensive Land Use Plan, specifically land use objectives 1.1, 1.2, 3.1, 337
3.2 and land use goal 6.2. Seconded by Lamar Proctor. 338
Motion Passed 7-3 (Poole, Beeman, Gilfillen) 339
340
Cy Stober: There is a tentative public hearing date of June 6, 2023. 341
342
Tom Altieri: There has been a change to the date on which the county commissioners will consider the consultant 343
contract for the comprehensive land use plan. The date has been changed from June 6 to May 16, 2023. 344
345
Charity Kirk: Can I make a motion to have staff review applicant time limits for presentations? 346
347
Adam Beeman: As I said, if you want to discuss that, we can discuss that before we close the meeting so that we can all 348
be on the same page. I don’t know how many of us read the email and got through. If we want to have a quick 349
discussion about what you are proposing, then we can go from there. 350
351
Charity Kirk: Based on a number of the presentations that we’ve had recently, particularly this Lawrence Road 352
presentation, I don’t feel that it was well organized nor respectful of our time nor respectful of the public and all the 353
comments. My suggestion is to require presentations to be no longer than an hour and a half and ask them at the time of 354
meeting scheduling, how long they are going to be. If they are going to be over an hour, make sure that they know they 355
are going to need their own meeting. That is my suggestion. Staff might have something more to say. 356
357
Cy Stober: I have spoken with several of you in the last month about specifically the Lawrence Road zoning case 358
because of applicant presentation length, the limit on public comments to 3 minutes, setting an adjournment time of 10 359
o’clock, empowering you all to change rules as you need by a simple majority vote. Right now, our rules of procedure are 360
those that are assigned to all boards for Orange County. I propose that we actually have a work session. We have no 361
other zoning applications at this time on file, so we have future meetings that outside of trainings, you have an 362
opportunity to have some time to discuss these matters and frankly, we have some concerns that we would like to 363
address and recommend for formal amendment of the planning board’s rules of procedure so that you all have the ability 364
to tell applicants, to tell the public, no, we’ve adopted these rules of procedure, the commissioners adopted them at our 365
recommendation and this is what the rules are when you come to the planning board: presentation length, public 366
comment length, meeting duration, and also giving you the powers to waive those rules as you see fit on a case by case 367
basis. 368
369
Melissa Poole: So you are suggesting that there is nothing on the agenda for June and that we should set June as a 370
work session to discuss that in more depth? 371
372
Cy Stober: The primary feature on the June agenda will be Tom coming back to provide more details on the consultant 373
for the comprehensive plan and give you a preview of what to expect for the comprehensive plan. 374
375
Melissa Poole: You are suggesting that we make a motion to set a work session on the agenda to discuss that in more 376
depth? 377
378
Cy Stober: I think it’s needed. I think as staff it would be to our benefit as well, providing that communication to 379
applicants to say “this is what the expectations are when you come before the planning board and if you are going to 380
need to deviate from that because you have a very complex project, you need to make that clear upfront.” That can be 381
presented to the planning board for consideration. 382
383
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Statler Gilfillen: As you know, I’ve called several times this last week, I’ve got hours of time…for people on the board to 384
know, I met with Jim Parker then I got a hold of and met with someone who was totally on the opposition, I tried as an 385
individual citizen to get them to talk together about it. It didn’t happen. There is a lot of animosity in this decision. I 386
reached you at your electrical number, I went online and got your number. I tried reaching Lamar, but he’s apparently 387
changed his phone number. There are times when I think there is value with a difficult situation. I think what he said 388
tonight was incredibly intelligent, but it didn’t change my vote but sometimes being able to talk about more information 389
that others have, can be helpful. He was a strong opponent last time and I wanted to reach him also. 390
391
Charity Kirk: What does this have to do with developer presentations? 392
393
Statler Gilfillen: It has to do with the fact that is it possible that we on the board, since it’s not listed publicly, could have 394
each other’s phone numbers and emails to contact… 395
396
Charity Kirk: I believe there was a spreadsheet that was sent out with people’s emails. 397
398
Overlapping conversation 399
400
Melissa Poole: I would suggest because I do agree with Charity, that this does warrant further discussion that we set our 401
July meeting for a work session. 402
403
Charity Kirk: If June’s meeting is really short… 404
405
Melissa Poole: They are doing updates on the comprehensive land plan… 406
407
Cy Stober: It’s just the proposal, it will be a brief overview and then we will have a deeper dive later this summer. 408
409
Melissa Poole: So we are not going to discuss it like we have other things? 410
411
Cy Stober: The consultant will not be here; they will be coming later this summer to formally launch the process. The 412
June meeting will probably be a 10-minute presentation on who we chose, what they propose to do, the timeline, your 413
opportunities for participation, community engagement, giving you an overview of the whole project. 414
415
Melissa Poole: I just envisioned 14 UDO update meetings. If time permits in the June meeting, we will take it up, but 416
should we not have time in June then we will definitively, no later than the July meeting, address presentation length? 417
418
Cy Stober: I’ll give you a deadline, we need a motion from you all to make a recommended amendment to the rules of 419
procedure by the August meeting so that we can take it to the commissioners in September for formal adoption. 420
421
MOTION BY Melissa Poole that no later than the regular August meeting, the Planning Board will have had a work session 422
and a vote to recommend changes to the rules of procedure regarding applicant presentation length. Seconded by 423
Charity Kirk. 424
MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY 425
426
Discussion was had about items for discussion at the upcoming work session. 427
428
Adam Beeman introduced Planning Board members and each gave a short biography of themselves. 429
430
AGENDA ITEM 8: ADJOURNMENT 431 MOTION BY Melissa Poole to adjourn. Seconded by Delores Bailey. 432 MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY 433 434
________________________ 435
Adam Beeman, Chair 436
42
SUMMARY NOTES 1
ORANGE COUNTY PLANNING BOARD 2
MAY 3, 2023 3
TRAINING SESSION 4
5
NOTE: A quorum is not required for Planning Board Training Sessions. 6 7 MEMBERS PRESENT: Delores Bailey, At-Large Representative; Elizabeth Kalies, Chapel Hill Township 8
Representative; Chris Johnston, Hillsborough Township Representative 9
10
STAFF PRESENT: Cy Stober, Planning & Inspections Director; Perdita Holtz, Deputy Director – Long-Range Planning 11
& Administration 12
13
14 AGENDA ITEM 1: PLANNING BOARD TRAINING SESSION – Staff will lead training designed for recently appointed 15
Planning Board members on basic aspects of land use regulation in Orange County. 16
17 PRESENTER: Perdita Holtz, Deputy Director – Long-Range Planning & Administration 18
19
Perdita Holtz conducted a training session on basic aspects of land use regulation in Orange County. 20
21
43
ORANGE COUNTY
PLANNING BOARD
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: June 7, 2023
Action Agenda
Item No. 7
SUBJECT: Comprehensive Land Use Plan Update
DEPARTMENT: Planning and Inspections
ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT:
1.Project Deliverables and Fee Schedule Tom Altieri, 919-245-2579
Cy Stober, 919-245-2592
PURPOSE: To receive information on the consultant contract that was approved by the BOCC
on May 16, 2023.
BACKGROUND: The Planning Board received an Information Item in the agenda packet for its
May 3, 2023 meeting. The item consisted of a memo from staff that included background
information about on the existing 2030 Comprehensive Plan and the upcoming Comprehensive
Land Use Plan (CLUP). Staff’s presentation tonight will include a similar overview, plus an update
on the County’s consultant procurement process, scope of services and next steps.
At its May 16, 2023 Business meeting, the BOCC approved the consulting contract with Clarion
Associates, LLC. Following is a link to the agenda materials from this meeting:
http://server3.co.orange.nc.us:8088/WebLink/0/doc/70020/Page1.aspx
Request For Proposals (RFP) Process of Evaluation
In February 2023, Orange County issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to identify a qualified
consultant to develop a new CLUP for Orange County.
Two qualified proposals were received and evaluated by a review committee consisting of the
County’s Chief Equity and Human Rights Officer; Planning Director; Deputy Planning Director,
Long-Range Planning & Administration; and Senior Planner. The committee evaluation was
based on the following criteria:
Criteria
Maximum
Point
Value
1.Consultant experience as it relates to the scope of services of the
RFP and project deliverables 15
2. Technical approach to the project, proposed tasks, and timeline to
complete work 25
44
3. Project Organization 25
4.Consultant’s capability and capacity to perform project 20
5.Total cost of proposed services 15
Total 100
Through the proposal evaluation process, the review committee unanimously recommended
Clarion Associates for contract award. Clarion is a nationally recognized land planning and zoning
consulting firm with offices in Chapel Hill and Denver. The Clarion team is also joined by two
subcontractors: Equinox and Tate Consulting. Equinox brings additional tools and expertise in
the areas of land and water resources protection, implementation of sustainable strategies,
creation of healthy living opportunities, and development of land in an environmentally responsible
way. Tate Consulting will provide additional facilitation expertise to the team and has led
successful community engagement efforts that address diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as
environmental justice issues.
Summary of Project Scope and Approach
The project schedule spans a little over two years from kick-off to Plan adoption and includes the
following phases:
Phase 1: Launch Project
Phase 2: Identify New Issues and Opportunities (1st Outreach Window)
Phase 3: Evaluate Planning Influences
Phase 4: Develop the Plan (2nd and 3rd Outreach Windows)
Phase 5: Adopt the Plan (Public Hearing)
Public Outreach: A cumulative approach to public outreach will be utilized consisting of three-
waves:
Wave 1: Confirming Community Aspirations - testing and confirming critical planning issues,
defining community aspirations for the County in 2045, and sharing data and
trends.
Wave 2: Pairing data and trends analysis with related policy questions and present draft
conservation and growth framework.
Wave 3: Presentation of draft Comprehensive Land Use Plan.
Planning Board and BOCC: The project scope includes three rounds of meetings with the
Planning Board and BOCC to be held at strategic points in the planning process. Generally, these
meetings are to occur at the beginning, mid-point, and near the end of the process. The purpose
of these meetings is for the consultant to brief the boards on project status and findings and
engage members in discussion about the direction of the plan. Planning staff has been asked by
the BOCC to coordinate with Clarion Associates to amend the contract to include additional
meetings between the consultant and BOCC, which is detailed in “Next Steps”. The consultant
will also provide interview opportunities for Planning Board and BOCC members, among other
key stakeholders, during project kick-off. The boards will receive updates from staff throughout
the process and, ultimately, the Planning Board will provide a recommendation to the BOCC,
consistent with the North Carolina General Statutes (NCGS).
45
Staff Working Group: A working group comprised of staff representatives from multiple County
departments will review draft work products and provide feedback; provide reactions to the
consultant team on public engagement approaches and activities; and serve as ambassadors to
the planning effort, including a liaison role to respective staff and advisory boards, where
applicable. The Committee will meet monthly through most of the planning process.
A complete list of Project Deliverables and Fee Schedule are provided as Attachment “A” to the
Contract (Attachment 1).
Next Steps
Project kick-off week will be July 17-21, 2023. Clarion Associates will be scheduling stakeholder
interviews with members of the Planning Board, BOCC, and others. The purpose of these
interviews is to prepare an early diagnosis of critical planning issues and opportunities that will
help guide plan development.
Planning staff has been asked by the BOCC to coordinate with Clarion Associates to amend the
contract to include additional meetings between the consultant and BOCC. While staff will consult
with Clarion to incorporate, it is anticipated that these meetings may be most beneficial to coincide
with each of the three public outreach windows. Planning staff will request consideration of the
associated contract amendment on the September 5, 2023 Commissioners’ agenda, which is the
first meeting following the Board’s summer meeting break.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: The approved consultant contract to complete the Comprehensive Land
Use Plan is $188,204.
RECOMMENDATION(S): None – item is for informational purposes only.
46
Atachment A: Deliverable and Fee Schedule
The Provider consultant team will be led by Clarion Associates and will include subconsultants Equinox,
Tate Consul�ng, and a license with the Konveio public engagement pla�orm. The Orange County
Comprehensive Land Use Plan will be developed using a five phase process that incorporates the specific
services incorporated in the Comprehensive Plan RFP.
Phase 1: Launch Project
Phase 2: Iden�fy New Issues & Opportuni�es
Phase 3: Evaluate Planning Influences
Phase 4: Develop the Plan
Phase 5: Adopt the Plan
PHASE 1: LAUNCH PROJECT
In Phase 1, Clarion will gather informa�on, establish the working rela�onship between the consultant
team and County staff (i.e., the “Project Team”), and engage the County’s leaders, stakeholders, and
Steering Commitee during the project kickoff week. The culmina�on of this phase is a summary of issues
and opportuni�es for the new plan to address.
Cri�cal tasks will include development of the Project Management Plan, a Staff-Consultant Project Team
kickoff mee�ng; collec�on and review of relevant data, plans, and studies; a kickoff mee�ng with the
Steering Commitee to confirm the objec�ves for the project and discuss the big opportuni�es and issues
47
this plan should explore and address. Stakeholder interviews will be conducted. The project iden�ty,
branding, and project website will also be prepared during this phase.
Task 1.1: Kickoff Mee�ng with Staff
The project will be ini�ated with a weeklong series of kickoff mee�ngs. First, the Clarion team will prepare
for and help facilitate an in-person project kickoff mee�ng with the County’s project management team.
During this mee�ng, the project team (staff and consultants) will discuss the key components of the
Project Management Plan (Task 1.5), including the Public Engagement Plan, and make decisions about
mee�ng coordina�on, communica�on protocols, the project schedule, and general objec�ves for the
effort. The project team will conduct a mapping exercise to discuss the County’s planning area and
iden�fy specific geographic areas that are notable in terms of growth management, redevelopment, u�lity
infrastructure, transporta�on enhancements or challenges, environmentally sensi�ve areas, important
rural and farmland protec�on areas, intergovernmental agreements, and other future land use challenges
and opportuni�es.
Task 1.2: Kickoff Mee�ng with Steering Commitee (in-person)
In coordina�on with the County’s project manager and staff team, the Clarion team will facilitate a kickoff
mee�ng with the Orange County Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) Steering Commitee. The focus of
this mee�ng is introduce the Steering Commitee to the Project Team; discuss the overall approach and
schedule for the project; define the roles and responsibili�es of different en��es involved in the process;
explore the Steering Commitee members’ general objec�ves for the project, objec�ves for public
engagement, and the “big ideas” for the community’s future.
Task 1.3: Stakeholder Interviews
During the kickoff week, the Clarion team will work with County Staff to facilitate individual or small group
structured interviews with the following stakeholders. The County will prepare the list of stakeholders and
contact informa�on and send out an ini�al communica�on to stakeholders about the project and the
request for an interview. The Clarion team will schedule interviews directly with stakeholders. Interviews
can be topically focused allowing leadership, staff, and partners to join in discussions.
• County Leadership: County Commissioners, Planning Board members, and Advisory Board
members (including Affordable Housing, Agricultural Preserva�on, Commission for the
Environment, Economic Development, Historic Preserva�on, Parks and Recrea�on, Orange
Unified Transporta�on Board, and Solid Waste);
• County Staff: Leaders of County departments (County Manager; Community Rela�ons;
Environment; Agriculture & Parks and Recrea�on; Economic Development; Emergency Services;
Health; Housing, Office of Equity and Inclusion, Planning and Inspec�ons; Sheriff’s Office; Solid
Waste; Visitors Bureau);
• County Partners: partner agencies, including Orange County Schools, Chapel-Hill Carrboro City
Schools, OWASA, Hillsborough U�lity Department, Mebane Public U�li�es Department, TJCOG,
TARPO, BGMPO, DCHC MPO; and
• Neighboring and Partner Jurisdic�ons: Representa�ves of neighboring municipali�es and
coun�es.
48
The purpose of the interviews is to prepare an early diagnosis of cri�cal planning issues and opportuni�es
that will help guide plan development. Team members will meet individually with stakeholder groups to
provide maximum availability to meet interviewees and use a combina�on of in-person and virtual
mee�ngs. Interview notes will be prepared, and a summary of interview themes will be prepared and
shared with the County’s project management team.
Task 1.4: Reconnaissance Trip with County Staff Team
The Clarion team will tour the County’s planning area. Prior to the tour, the Clarion team will work with
the County’s project management team to iden�fy cri�cal areas to view in person and priori�ze those
loca�ons where change is expected, growth pressures exist, or areas that have strong support for
preserva�on. The Clarion team will take photographs of cri�cal loca�ons and begin to create a profile of
the paterns and growth trends in Orange County, specifically as it has changed since the last plan update.
Task 1.5: Develop Project Management Plan
Following the project kickoff week, the Clarion team will prepare a cloud-based tool available to all project
team members that will document all project management details. This tool will document the agreed
upon details of the project schedule, mee�ng schedule and loca�on of project mee�ng summaries,
approach for project team communica�ons, public engagement tracking and coordina�on, approach for
monthly management responsibili�es, roles and responsibili�es of all engaged par�es, and process for
decision-making during the planning process. This includes scheduling, hos�ng, and preparing agendas for
monthly project management mee�ngs with the County’s project managers to provide status updates and
coordinate on prepara�on of upcoming deliverables and events. This online document will serve as a
project management working guide and will be updated throughout the process.
Task 1.6: Collect and Inventory ArcGIS Data, Policy Documents, and Relevant Studies
The Clarion team will partner with Orange County staff in the development of GIS analyses and maps.
First, Clarion will prepare a data request memorandum for all basic ArcGIS mapping data, plans, reports,
and studies (not available online) for the County staff to collect and share with the Clarion team. Orange
County will collect, organize, classify, and upload GIS layers and documents requested via a geodatabase
to a secure data sharing site provided by the Clarion team. Then Clarion team will then prepare a map
template and basemap that can be used by both the County and Clarion team throughout the project.
Task 1.7: Develop Public Engagement Branding
The Clarion team will work with Orange County Staff to develop project branding materials and a project
website. The public engagement branding strategy will include the following:
• Project Iden�ty - The Clarion team, in coordina�on with County Staff, will develop a project
iden�ty and brand (name, logo and tagline) that will generate interest in the planning process.
Inputs from the County’s leadership and the Steering Commitee on the project iden�ty will be
requested during the kickoff mee�ngs.
• Engagement Objec�ves – Building off the inputs provided by the Steering Commitee at their
kickoff mee�ng (Task 1.2), the Clarion team will prepare a set of public engagement objec�ves
that can be placed on the project website and used to evaluate public engagement outcomes
during the process. Public engagement objec�ves could include community representa�on of
49
engagement par�cipants, targets for diversity and inclusion, numeric targets for engagement,
transparency of the engagement process, and other objec�ves.
• Key Messages – Clarion can work with County Staff to develop a common set of key project
messages. These messages can be posted to the project website and used in presenta�ons and
other engagement materials to consistently message the project.
• Branded Project Website - The Clarion team will prepare a branded project website that will
become the heart of the plan’s communica�ons. The site will contain presenta�on materials from
workshops and other engagement opportuni�es, the project schedule and process graphic,
informa�on on engagement events and project mee�ngs, a document inventory, and host dra�s
of the plan. It could include project background, resources, news, and informa�on about how to
get involved.
• Public Engagement Coordina�on - The Clarion team will leverage the cloud-based Project
Management Plan to document the public engagement and publicity approach for each
community engagement window. This will outline engagement objec�ves, engagement window
scheduling, engagement approach for each engagement window, and other details. This tool will
be a working guide to public engagement and will be updated throughout the process.
Summary of Phase 1: Launch Project
Deliverables:
Clarion Team Responsibilities County Staff Responsibilities
• Project Management Plan
• Context Mapping
• Data Request Memo
• Project Branding
• Scheduling Stakeholder Interviews and preparing
summary of interviews
• Project Website
• Participate in kick-off meetings and situation
mapping
• Provide data and GIS
• Coordinate logistics for and scheduling of meetings
for all but stakeholder interviews
• Affirm project branding materials and review
project website
• Monthly project management meeting
Meetings:
• Staff Meeting
• Steering Committee Meeting #1, in-person
• Reconnaissance Tour
• Stakeholder Interviews
Schedule
Duration: One month after project initiation
PHASE 2: IDENTIFY NEW ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Phase 2 focuses on understanding the guidance and community inputs in the County’s new Strategic Plan
and other County plans and launching the project with greater public. The purpose of this phase is to
confirm the new issues and opportuni�es iden�fied in Phase 1 and capture feedback from the Steering
Commitee and the public on poten�al new policy direc�ons for the Comprehensive Land Use Plan. Phase
2 will overlap with Phase 3 to provide opportuni�es to educate the public about the County’s key trends
and planning influences.
50
Phase 2.1: Develop Current Policy Profile
The Clarion team will prepare an exis�ng policy summary document that synthesizes the policy guidance
included in relevant County plans including the future Strategic Plan, the One Orange County Racial Equity
Plan, Orange County Transit Plan, Parks Master Plan, all exis�ng land use and small area plans, and a
summary of recently adopted municipal plans. This policy profile will be organized to provide a concise
summary of policy guidance provided by planning topic. It will iden�fy the general direc�on of policies on
different topics and the document providing this direc�on. This document will serve as the baseline of
County policies for developing the new plan’s policies. The Clarion team will work with County Staff to
iden�fy which policy documents or sec�ons of documents are s�ll relevant. A dra� will be provided for
staff review and comment. It will be shared with the Steering Commitee and will be posted to the project
website for viewing by community residents. The link to this policy profile can be distributed widely
through the community with the explana�on that it summarizes the founda�onal adopted policies that
this planning process will build upon.
Phase 2.2: Steering Commitee Mee�ngs #2-#5
The Clarion team will facilitate a series of Steering Commitee mee�ngs as follows:
• Mee�ng #2 (virtual): Report on key findings from stakeholder interviews, provide update on
Current Policy Profile, and discuss approached for Community Engagement Window (CEW) #1
• Mee�ng #3 (virtual): Present final approach for CEW #1, discuss roles for Steering Commitee
members at CEW #1, and provide early snapshot of trends and planning influences data
• Mee�ng #4 (virtual): Present Current Policy Profile and provide preliminary CEW #1 findings
• Mee�ng #5 (virtual): Present final CEW #1 report, present New Issues and Opportuni�es Report,
share plan for briefing Planning Board and Board of County Commissioners
Task 2.3: Prepare Equity Database
Tate Consul�ng will work with Orange County Staff, and poten�ally the Office of Equity and Inclusion to
develop an “equity database” to include leaders, nonprofits, and allies in the underserved community that
have a stake in Orange County’s future. These members of the community will be important allies in the
planning process and strategic outreach approaches can be taken to engage these community members
to ensure that the process is engaging the hardest to reach popula�ons, including Black/ African
American, Hispanic/La�no, LGBTQIA+, persons with disabili�es, persons suffering from homelessness, and
other community members that have been historically disadvantaged.
Task 2.4: Community Engagement Window #1 (CEW #1) – Confirming Community Aspira�ons
The Confirming Community Aspira�ons community engagement window is focused on accomplishing
three objec�ves: tes�ng and confirming cri�cal planning issues to address in the plan, defining community
aspira�ons for Orange County in 2045, and sharing preliminary data and trends that have an impact on
the County’s future. We recommend a two-phase community engagement approach that launches the
project with an in-person workshop and follows the workshop with virtual engagement analogous to the
workshop for a period of weeks. In addi�on, our proposed approach includes an op�onal series of
targeted mee�ngs that can be used on an as needed basis throughout the project engagement windows
51
to engage harder to reach community members. These mee�ngs would be led by Tate Consul�ng.
Steering Commitee members can play a role as plan ambassadors at the workshop.
There are many tested ac�vi�es that our team can leverage for this milestone. These include asset
mapping, individual or small group discussions to respond to key policy direc�on ques�ons, places to
protect and change mapping ac�vity, ranking aspects of community planning, “Did You Know?” trivia
ques�ons about the County, idea walls, and other fun ac�vi�es. Ac�vi�es would be developed to ensure
that all learning from previous planning ac�vi�es, namely the Strategic Plan, are considered and efforts
are not duplicated.
The Clarion team can provide adver�sing and publicity guidance to the County during this period to
maximize responses and track respondents to make sure targeted community members are par�cipa�ng.
This can include prepared social media content, a press release, and email content, as well as leveraging
the equity database through targeted eblasts and mailings. The team can also prepare a “mee�ng-in-a-
box” set of materials that would allow Steering Commitee members, County leaders, and Staff to host or
present the materials at smaller community mee�ngs and engage residents using a decentralized
approach.
Once the engagement window has closed, the Clarion team will prepare a report on the results of the
engagement window, including an assessment of how well community engagement objec�ves were
achieved. This report will include a summary of responses and verba�m documenta�on to provide a clear
and transparent report of the inputs received. This will build trust in the process and serve as an
important report for guiding development of the plan.
Task 2.5: Summary of New Issues and Opportuni�es
The Clarion team will prepare a succinct summary of new issues and opportuni�es based on vision and
policy themes generated from stakeholder interviews, Steering Commitee discussions, and inputs
received through public engagement. This document will serve as the founda�on for policy discussions
with County Staff, the Steering Commitee, the Planning Board, and the BOCC that will guide development
of the new CLUP. First a County Staff review dra� will be prepared and then a Steering Commitee review
dra�. Following these reviews, the Clarion team will finalize the document for sharing with the Planning
Board, Board of County Commissioners, and pos�ng to the project website.
Task 2.6: Briefings to Planning Board and Board of County Commissioners
A briefing presenta�on will be prepared to share with the Planning Board and Board of County
Commissioners that summarizes the engagement efforts, analysis, and summary of new issues and
opportuni�es completed through Phases 1 and 2. Key findings from Phase 3 work, that is occurring
concurrently with Phase 2, will also be presented at this briefing. The Clarion team will coordinate with
County Staff to present these briefings at regularly scheduled mee�ngs of the boards. The purpose of
these presenta�ons is to brief the boards on the project status and findings and engage members in
discussion about the direc�on of the plan.
52
Summary of Phase 2: Identify New Issues and Opportunities
Deliverables:
Clarion Team Responsibilities County Staff Responsibilities
• Current Policy Profile
• Materials for Steering Committee meetings
• Community Engagement Window #1
presentation and materials
• Summary of Engagement Window #1 Results
• Summary of New Issues and Opportunities
• Briefings to BOCC and Planning Board briefings
• Update project website
• Review and provide consolidated comments
on Current Policy Profile
• Review and provide consolidated comments
on meeting materials
• Coordinate logistics for meetings and events
and distribution of materials
• Publicize launch of project and Community
Engagement Window #1 opportunity
• Monthly project management meeting
Meetings:
• Steering Committee Meetings #2-#5
• Community Engagement Window #1
• Planning Board and Board of County Commissioner Briefings
Schedule
Duration: Months 2-6
PHASE 3: EVALUATE PLANNING INFLUENCES
Concurrent with Phase 2, Phase 3 will evaluate the planning influences facing Orange County, including
documenta�on of how the community has changed since the 2030 Comprehensive Plan was developed
and projec�ons for future popula�on and growth. This assessment will build off the analysis conducted for
the Orange County Strategic Plan and other relevant County or partner agency analysis produced in the
last few years. The product will be a compendium “Fact Book” that will address the full range of planning
topics and can be used throughout the process. The Clarion Team and County Staff will work in
partnership to develop the Fact Book. Clarion will prepare the annotated outline for the report, strategy
for analysis, document dra�ing and forma�ng, and GIS analysis assistance as needed. County Staff will
prepare GIS maps and GIS analyses as guided by the Clarion team and review the staff review dra�. The
Steering Commitee will be briefed at monthly mee�ngs on the outcomes of these analyses. Finally, a
community open house will share the findings of the Fact Book and solicit feedback on related policy
ques�ons.
Task 3.1 Develop the Fact Book
This task documents the trends and condi�ons for a broad array of community planning topics along with
analyzing future planning influences that are important considera�ons for developing plan policies. This
“Fact Book” will include maps, charts, and tables of data that paint a complete picture of Orange County
and will leverage recent analyses prepared by the County and regional partners, including the Triangle J
Council of Governments. This Fact Book can either be prepared as a tradi�onal technical report with
mul�ple sec�ons or built as an ESRI Storymap organized to be more accessible to the broader community.
It will be presented to the Steering Commitee and made available to the public through the project
website. This Fact Book will be developed as a series of specialized subtasks lead by Clarion team topic
experts.
Task 3.1.1: Analyze Sociodemographic Trends
The Clarion team will work with County Staff to iden�fy and analyze the cri�cal sociodemographic trends
that tell the story of the County’s residents over �me and will leverage other data analyses included in
53
other County plans. Racial, ethnic, age, and na�onal origin diversity; household profiles including cost-
burdened status, household income by census tract, and poverty levels; and other data will be assessed
and depicted through easy to read charts and infographics. The H+T Index prepared by the Center for
Neighborhood Technology will be leveraged to show the combined effects of housing and transporta�on
costs on households in Orange County.
A map of “equity opportunity areas” will be iden�fied that depict vulnerable communi�es that are low-
income, communi�es of color, are cost-burdened or have other equity challenges. The U.S. Center for
Disease Control’s Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) can be leveraged to iden�fy equity opportunity areas.
This map can be used in other assessments to iden�fy overlapping condi�ons where equity plays a role in
determining future policy direc�on. Issues related to providing services to an aging popula�on driven by
re�rees and aging baby boomers will be addressed in this analysis. The Clarion team will prepare
popula�on projec�ons by evalua�ng mul�ple projec�on sources and will coordinate with County Staff to
ensure data used align with sta�s�cs provided in other County documents.
Task 3.1.2: Analyze Built Environment Condi�ons and Trends
Clarion and County Staff will work collabora�vely to iden�fy and analyze the cri�cal built environment
condi�ons and trends. This includes map-based and tabular assessments of exis�ng land use, zoning, and
building permit trends by type of use. This will address joint planning areas where the County shares or
has conveyed development review authority to the municipali�es and iden�fy “hot spot” future land use
areas that are receiving growth pressures or are targets for change.
Housing will be evaluated to iden�fy paterns with respect to housing value, type of unit, and housing
asset mapping that shows areas that with and without proximate access to employment, shopping,
healthcare, and transit accessibility. Deed restricted affordable housing units will also be documented, if
data is available.
The analysis will also include future development suitability that iden�fies places that are not limited by
physical or regulatory constraints to development. An evalua�on of buildout capacity under current
zoning regula�ons will be conducted to iden�fy the County’s development poten�al. Using the annual
development trends, an assessment of supply and demand of land for future types of development will be
assessed. This will serve as the basis for evalua�ng land use alterna�ves in Phase 4.
The Clarion team will work with the County’s project manager and Director of Economic Development and
others iden�fied by the County to iden�fy employment opportunity sites within suitable areas for
development. If data is available, broadband service areas will be mapped to iden�fy areas that are
underserved and will be considered in rela�on to equity opportunity areas.
Task 3.1.3 Analyze Natural Environment, Parks and Recrea�on, and Working Lands Condi�ons and Issues
Equinox will work to iden�fy current environmental condi�ons and related issues that could include, but
would not be limited to, energy/sustainability ini�a�ves, water quality, working lands/farmlands, parks
and recrea�on, and natural lands. An analysis of current policies, programs, plans, and mapping
informa�on will tell the story of what condi�ons exist in Orange County and how the County is currently
addressing those condi�ons. An example of this analysis could include a review of the County’s current
stormwater and flooding policies and ordinances to recommend improvements to best achieve the
intended results. Another example could be evalua�ng the County’s prime farmlands and high-value
natural resource areas and analyzing the efficacy of the current level of land protec�on derived through
54
policy. These analyses will consider the equity opportunity areas (Task 3.1.1), which can be used as an
overlay upon environmentally sensi�ve areas and iden�fy cri�cal areas for focusing policy efforts.
Task 3.1.4: Iden�fy Climate-related Vulnerabili�es and Natural Hazards
Equinox will leverage the Orange County Climate Ac�on Plan and the Eno-Haw Regional Hazard Mi�ga�on
Plan to iden�fy key acute and chronic climate-related vulnerabili�es within the County. This includes
vulnerabili�es to property, homes, emergency service facili�es, hospitals, roads and transporta�on, and
community services. Near term, mid-term, and long-term poten�al climate changes using the NOAA
Climate Explorer Tool will be summarized. The results of the most recent Eno-Haw Regional Hazard
Mi�ga�on Plan’s cri�cal facili�es and loss es�ma�ons will be incorporated into this analysis. This will be
accomplished by pinpoin�ng cri�cal assets in the County and their vulnerabili�es to threats from climate
change. It is important to iden�fy indirect impacts as well, such as impacts due to interrup�on or loss of
services. These causes and indicators will be assessed and documented.
Task 3.1.5: Summarize Transporta�on Planning, Condi�ons, and Trends
The Clarion team will prepare a summary of relevant data and informa�on pertaining to the County’s
current and future transporta�on system. This effort will leverage transporta�on planning of the Triangle
Area Rural Planning Organiza�on (TARPO), Burlington-Graham Metropolitan Planning Organiza�on
(BGMPO), and the Durham-Chapel Hill Metropolitan Planning Organiza�on (DHCH MPO) planning efforts.
The team will review exis�ng plans, policies, and projects related to transporta�on, including the recently
completed 2022 Orange County Transit Plan.
Task 3.1.6: Evaluate Public Facili�es and Services Condi�ons, and Trends
The Clarion Team will prepare an assessment of exis�ng public facili�es and services provided by the
County and partners (Orange County Schools and par�cipa�ng u�li�es). At a minimum, these services and
facili�es will include public u�li�es, solid waste, public safety (Sheriff, fire, EMS), emergency management,
and libraries. This assessment will document exis�ng facili�es and services, capaci�es, and any plans for
enhancing or increasing levels of service. This will also include a mapped assessment of where facili�es
exist in rela�onship to the equity opportunity areas iden�fied in Task 3.1.1 and make ini�al
recommenda�ons for future facili�es and services needs to improve access to underserved popula�ons.
Finally, this assessment will determine whether exis�ng facili�es and services are expected to adequately
support projected future growth.
Task 3.2: Steering Commitee Mee�ng #6 (In-Person)
The Clarion team will facilitate a sixth in-person mee�ng of the Steering Commitee to present the Fact
Book findings and iden�fy related policy ques�ons.
Summary of Phase 3: Evaluate Planning Influences
Deliverables:
Clarion Team Responsibilities County Staff Responsibilities
• Materials for Steering Committee meetings
• Fact Book
• Update project website
• Prepare GIS analysis and maps for Fact Book
• Review and provide consolidated comments
on Fact Book
• Review and provide consolidated comments
on meeting materials
55
Summary of Phase 3: Evaluate Planning Influences
Deliverables:
Clarion Team Responsibilities County Staff Responsibilities
• Coordinate logistics for meetings and events
and distribution of materials
• Monthly project management meetings
Meetings:
• Steering Committee Meetings #4-#6
Schedule
Duration: Months 3-8
PHASE 4: DEVELOP PLAN
Phase 4 builds off the prior work completed and results in a new public review dra� of the Orange
County Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP). This new plan will include refined vision, goals, policies, and
implementa�on ac�ons as well as a new Growth and Conserva�on Framework Map and categories to
guide development and conserva�on efforts. Community engagement windows #2 and #3 will engage
residents in discussions about policy choices and request reac�ons to the dra� plan components. The
cumula�ve inputs from community engagement windows #1-#2 along with the technical findings of Phase
3 will be the founda�on for Plan development.
The specific chapters to be included in the Plan will be decided in partnership with County Staff and
Steering Commitee to allow for development of the Plan concurrent with other work in Phases 2-4. The
Plan will address the full range of comprehensive plan topics, will include an execu�ve summary, and will
also include historical background that explains the evolu�on of the County’s cultural and policy context.
The Comprehensive Plan will be organized thema�cally and designed using a systems-based approach
that acknowledges and supports the linkages between planning topics, such as the importance of
environmental and rural character protec�on for economic development success. From the outset, the
Plan will be dra�ed to address equity in all aspects within the community, including environmental jus�ce,
transporta�on access, access to affordable housing, access to jobs and job training, access to services and
shopping needs, and access to recrea�onal and health ameni�es.
The Plan can also set out specific metrics for tracking Plan implementa�on over �me. The
Implementa�on sec�on can set out priori�es for implementa�on or guide the Board of County
Commissioners as they make annual decisions for priority ini�a�ves and projects to implement
considering available resources.
Task 4.1: Develop Dra� Plan Framework, Vision, and Goals
The Clarion team will prepare a staff review dra� of the dra� Plan Framework (structure and organiza�on
of plan) as well as new community vision themes and plan goals. The team will prepare revisions based on
staff feedback and prepare for review by the Steering Commitee.
Task 4.2: Project Team Work Session – Growth and Conserva�on Framework
The County Staff team and the Clarion team will conduct a project team work session focused on the land
use framework for the County (i.e., the future land use map and classifica�ons). This will be an in-person
full-day work session aimed at preparing 3-4 land use alterna�ves for project team considera�on and
defining the future land use map and classifica�ons that will guide future land development decisions.
56
This collabora�ve effort will focus on the cri�cal planning linkage between land use and transporta�on,
and will consider economic, resiliency, environmental, working lands, and equity issues that play a role in
shaping the community. Land use areas will be defined by placemaking priori�es envisioned for each
unique area. Iden�fica�on of new development standards needed or zoning changes required will be part
of the discussion. A SWOC (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportuni�es, and Challenges) analysis will be
prepared for each of the 3-4 land use alterna�ves, with a par�cular emphasis on how equity is impacted
by land use alterna�ves and an evalua�on of how well each alterna�ve aligns with currently adopted
policies iden�fied in Task 2.1.
Task 4.3: Development of Land Use & Development Recommenda�ons Report
The Clarion team will compile the results of Task 4.2 into a report format for review by the project
Steering Commitee. At Steering Commitee mee�ng #8, the Commitee will discuss the findings of the
report and be led through a facilitated full or small group discussion to iden�fy the preferred aspects of
each alterna�ve to include in the public review dra� of the plan.
Task 4.4: Develop Plan Policies and Ac�ons
The Clarion team will build off the previous tasks and develop a dra� set of policies and implementa�on
ac�ons for each plan chapter. We an�cipate that this will include the full range of comprehensive planning
topics included in the RFP on pages 13-14. The organiza�on of the policies, strategies, and ac�ons will
follow the plan framework iden�fied in Task 4.1. The Clarion team will evaluate the equity implica�ons of
all policies and make recommenda�ons to support vulnerable popula�ons. Addi�onal special policy
considera�ons are discussed below.
Task 4.4.1 Resiliency and Hazard Mi�ga�on Policies, Strategies, and Ac�ons
Equinox will iden�fy policies, strategies, and ac�ons that will be effec�ve in reducing community
vulnerability to climate and non-climate related hazards. Strategies and ac�ons related to land use are
especially relevant. These will guide recommended infrastructure investments and design standards,
community preparedness tac�cs, and emergency management and stormwater approaches.
Depending on the projected growth paterns throughout the County, there is a need to build resilience
into the growth strategy prior to new development occurring. Primary threats and types of considera�ons
also vary throughout geographic areas of the County so these may need to be tailored for specific areas.
As an example, the County may want to focus new affordable housing developments in areas that are less
exposed to hazards (such as flooding), while simultaneously loca�ng in areas with other desirable
characteris�cs (such as access to transit and proximity to grocery stores). A series of policy statements and
implementa�on strategies and ac�ons will be developed and located within each appropriate plan
chapter to reinforce these objec�ves.
Task 4.4.2 Transporta�on Policies, Strategies, and Ac�ons
The Clarion team will develop transporta�on policies, strategies, and ac�ons with a focus on the linkage
between transporta�on, land use, and equity, all of which is key to planning an accessible mul�-modal
transporta�on network. Building from work in Task 3.2.5 and other tasks, the team will develop a set of
transporta�on policies, strategies, and ac�ons to integrate land use and transporta�on, and future
community and economic development efforts.
57
Task 4.4.3 Environment, Recrea�on and Parks, Working Lands, and Open Spaces Policies, Strategies, and
Ac�ons
Equinox will develop a series of policy statements, implementa�on strategies, and ac�ons. Strategy and
ac�on recommenda�ons could include, but are not limited to: natural environment; working lands,
farmland, and food; sustainability; conserva�on; and parks and greenways/trails. Our team will work with
the County to ensure there is an equitable distribu�on of investments and strategies that serve all. If
strategies need to be communicated visually, maps may be employed to show future recrea�on,
conserva�on, and farmland strategies. An example of this could be a Farmland & Conserva�on Map
showing priority conserva�on areas and highligh�ng programs. Another example could be a Healthy
Community Map showing all exis�ng and proposed recrea�on/greenway assets, highligh�ng regional
ini�a�ves like the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, and indica�ng any new park and recrea�on strategies or
proposed investments.
Task 4.4.4 Land Use and Character Policies, Strategies, and Ac�ons
The Land Use and Character policies, strategies, and ac�ons will be developed to provide overall County
land use guidance as well as specific guidance to unique planning areas. The policies will describe land use
priori�es that are supported by the community and iden�fy strategies to support development of these
uses. Strategies and ac�ons can also include incen�ves or new standards to support the development
forms envisioned for the County. Exis�ng policy direc�on that is s�ll relevant (iden�fied in Task 2.1) will be
incorporated.
This sec�on of the plan will also include the Growth and Conserva�on Framework map and categories
that will designate all lands within the County’s planning and zoning jurisdic�on. These categories will
define the general character, land uses, and general form of development envisioned in each area. Form
characteris�cs will be coordinated with transporta�on planning efforts to ensure that land use and
transporta�on policies are suppor�ng the same character objec�ves. This will create a framework for any
necessary small area planning efforts that may be recommended for implementa�on through the plan,
including any updated needed to joint planning areas with municipali�es.
This will be a collabora�ve team effort that will consider economic, environmental, and social equity
considera�ons to iden�fy the most appropriate loca�ons for different uses and types of character. Special
efforts will be taken to implement the guidance provided in the One Orange County Racial Equity Plan and
the County’s Strategic Plan to respond to changing housing needs of BIPOC popula�ons and persons
suffering from homelessness and those experiencing mental health condi�ons. This is also an opportunity
to support the County’s current policies to promote development along exis�ng public transporta�on
routes and support development of affordable housing near transporta�on facili�es and jobs.
Opportuni�es to advance the County’s economic development and tourism objec�ves will also be core
considera�ons for defining land use and character areas.
Language in the plan will link policy guidance to applicable zoning in the County’s Unified Development
Ordinance. It will also include recommended updates to the ordinance that result from planning process
outcomes.
58
Task 4.4.5 Public Facili�es and Services Policies, Strategies, and Ac�ons
The Clarion Team will prepare a set of policies, strategies and ac�ons for the public facili�es and services
provided by the County and partners (Orange County Schools and u�lity partners). This plan direc�on will
address the need for addi�onal public facili�es and services to serve future popula�ons, the equitable
geographic distribu�on of facili�es and services, and other policy direc�on that is supported by the
community. Some of the policies, strategies, and ac�ons will be suggested for the County’s partners to
assist with achieving countywide goals.
Task 4.5: Steering Commitee Mee�ngs #7-15
The Clarion team will conduct a series of Steering Commitee mee�ngs to share and receive feedback on
the dra� plan components and coordinate on public engagement efforts. The plan policies and ac�ons will
be divided into separate modules to allow for easier review. These mee�ngs include:
• Mee�ng #7 (virtual): Discuss dra� Plan Framework, Vision Themes, and Plan Goals
• Mee�ng #8 (in-person): Discuss Land Use & Development Recommenda�ons Report and
approach for sharing the preferred growth framework with the community
• Mee�ng #9: (virtual): Discuss module #1 of dra� policies and ac�ons
• Mee�ng #10 (virtual): Discuss module #2 of dra� policies and ac�ons and role of Steering
Commitee members at CEW #2
• Mee�ng #11 (virtual): Discuss module #3 of dra� policies and ac�ons
• Mee�ng #12 (virtual): Share results of CEW #2 and discuss related edits to plan content
• Mee�ng #13 (virtual): Share Public Review Dra� of plan and discuss role of Steering Commitee
members at CEW #3
• Mee�ng #14 (virtual): Debrief on CEW #3 and discuss interim feedback
• Mee�ng #15 (virtual): Share final CEW #3 findings and discuss corresponding edits to the plan
Task 4.6: Community Engagement Window #2 – Tes�ng Growth and Conserva�on Framework
The Clarion team will prepare for and facilitate a public open house to present the dra� Growth and
Conserva�on Framework and corresponding land use classifica�ons and provide engagement ac�vi�es to
seek responses to the dra� approach. Steering Commitee members can play a role in presen�ng the
Growth and Conserva�on Framework to par�cipants. The public open house materials can be prepared to
circulate to different loca�ons in the County during the two month window and collect responses through
an online portal. A presenta�on of the Growth and Conserva�on Framework can be recorded and placed
as a video on the County’s website to showcase this informa�on in a user-friendly format. Like CEW #1,
the Clarion team can provide publicity materials for the County to distribute to local media sources,
partner agencies, and listservs.
Task 4.7: Briefings to Planning Board and Board of County Commissioners
Two rounds of briefing presenta�ons will be prepared to share with the Planning Board and Board of
County Commissioners to summarize community engagement efforts, the dra� Growth and Conserva�on
59
Framework, and status report on dra�ing of the plan. The Clarion team will coordinate with County Staff
to present these briefings at regularly scheduled mee�ngs of the boards. The purpose of these
presenta�ons is to brief the boards on the project status and findings and engage members in discussion
about the direc�on of the plan.
Task 4.8: Prepare Public Review Dra� of Comprehensive Land Use Plan
The Clarion team will prepare a professionally designed, highly graphic public review dra� of the
Comprehensive Land Use Plan. Special focus will be made on highligh�ng key vision themes, such as
equity, that guided plan development.
Task 4.9: Community Engagement Window #3 – Unveiling of Dra� Plan
The Clarion team will prepare for and facilitate a public open house to present the dra� Comprehensive
Land Use Plan. Engagement ac�vi�es will provide opportuni�es for par�cipants to provide feedback on
the dra� plan goals and ac�ons and the final Growth and Conserva�on Framework map. Steering
Commitee members can play a role in presen�ng the dra� plan to par�cipants. The public open house
materials can be prepared to circulate to different loca�ons in the County during the two month window
and collect responses through an online portal. A presenta�on of the Public Review Dra� of the
Comprehensive Land Use Plan can be recorded and placed as a video on the County’s website to
showcase this informa�on in a user-friendly format. Similar to CEWs #1-#2, the Clarion team can provide
publicity materials for the County to distribute to local media sources, partner agencies, and listservs.
Summary of Phase 4: Develop Plan Framework
Deliverables:
Clarion Team Responsibilities County Staff Responsibilities
• Staff, Steering, and Public Review Drafts of
Comprehensive Plan
• Presentation materials for Steering Committee
meetings
• Public engagement materials for Community
Engagement Windows #2 - #3
• Summary of Phase 4 Public Input Results
• Briefings to BOCC and Planning Board
• Updates to project website
• Review and provide feedback on draft plan
elements
• Coordinate logistics for meetings and public
events and distribute materials
• Participate at public engagement events
• Publicity and advertising for Community
Engagement Window events
• Monthly project management meetings
Meetings:
• Steering Committee Meetings #7-15
• Community Engagement Windows #2-#4
• Planning Board and Board of County Commissioner Briefings (2 sets of meetings)
Schedule
Duration: Months 9-20
PHASE 5: ADOPT PLAN
The final phase of work will support adop�on of the updated Orange County Comprehensive Land Use
Plan. This includes two adop�on hearings with the Planning Board and the Board of County
Commissioners to review, discuss, and adopt the Comprehensive Land Use Plan.
60
Task 5.1: Finalize Public Hearing Dra� of Comprehensive Land Use Plan
Following Task 4.9, the Clarion team will prepare a public hearing dra� of the new Comprehensive Plan to
be shared with the Planning Board and Board of County Commissioners. This dra� will be shared with staff
for review and comment prior to transmi�ng to the boards.
Task 5.2: Steering Commitee Mee�ng #16 (in-person)
The Clarion team will facilitate the final mee�ng of the Steering Commitee to present the public hearing
dra� of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan. This can be a celebratory event to show gra�tude for all the
work and support the Steering Commitee has provided.
Task 5.2: Public Hearings with Planning Board and Board of County Commissioners
The Clarion team will prepare materials for and facilitate up to two public hearings with the Planning
Board and/or Board of County Commissioner with the aim of plan adop�on.
Task 5.3: Finalize the Adopted Comprehensive Plan and Transmit All Final Files to County Staff Team
Upon final adop�on of the plan and transmital of the final adopted changes by the County’s Project
Manager, the Clarion team will finalize the adopted version of the plan and transmit all files to County
staff.
Summary of Phase 5: Adopt Plan
Deliverables:
Clarion Team Responsibilities County Staff Responsibilities
• Public Hearing Draft of Plan
• Final Adopted Comprehensive Land Use Plan
and Transmittal of Final Source Files
• Updates to project website
• Coordinate Scheduling of Public Hearings
• Publicity and advertising for adoption
meetings
• Monthly project management meetings
Meetings:
• Public Adoption Hearings (2)
Schedule
Duration: Months 21-26
Project Management Protocols
The following project management protocols will guide Project Team work.
1. A member(s) of the County Staff will be the main point of public contact for the project. The
Clarion Team will refer direct communica�ons from the public, appointed or elected officials
to County Staff. Excep�ons include communica�ons regarding development of the Equity
Database and affiliated community engagement communica�ons necessary to complete work
by the Clarion Team, and communica�ons with stakeholders interviewed during Phase 1.
61
2. The Clarion Team and County Staff will work as a team throughout the project. Project
management issues that arise during the project will be dealt with quickly through a
conference call or face-to-face mee�ng to keep the process moving.
3. Clarion Associates will provide project management for the overall project and will be
responsible for management of the consultant team. Leigh Anne King will be the Project
Director and Emily Gvino will be the Project Coordinator for the Clarion team. Both will atend
project management mee�ngs.
4. County staff will be responsible for project coordina�on tasks throughout the process,
including: providing relevant reports, data, and documenta�on to the Clarion team; reviewing
and providing a consolidated set of comments for staff review dra�s of work products;
publicizing and arranging public mee�ngs; and scheduling/arranging workshops in
coordina�on with any local partner organiza�ons.
5. The County and/or local partner organiza�on will coordinate, arrange, adver�se, and host all
public mee�ngs, community group presenta�ons, workshops, and study sessions. The Clarion
team will provide content and facilitate the mee�ngs, workshops and events as noted in the
Scope of Services. Stakeholder interviews will be scheduled by the Clarion team. In-person
interviews will be conducted as part of the Phase 1 kickoff week and virtual interviews will be
provided for those that cannot atend in-person.
6. Public engagement repor�ng will leverage the quan�fiable func�onality of the online public
engagement so�ware’s dynamic repor�ng features. Efforts will be made to reduce open-
ended ques�ons that require extensive review and theming. Extensive open-ended comment
review and theming may require addi�onal budget.
7. The Clarion team will provide digital files of all documents and products to the County in the
format in which they were created and, if different, in a format suitable for pos�ng on the
County website and for prin�ng paper copies, such as Adobe PDF.
8. County staff will provide a single, consolidated set of comments in electronic format for all
staff review dra�s of deliverables. All comments will be reviewed by County staff to resolve
any inconsistencies and provide clear direc�on. If possible, changes will be provided using
track-changes or similar digital comment format. Addi�onal rounds of reviews will require
addi�onal resources, not including minor adjustments to finalize the deliverable.
9. The Clarion team will review and theme work product comments provided by the Steering
Commitee and prepare a record of Steering Commitee mee�ng outcomes to document
project progress over �me. The Clarion team will also prepare themes from public
engagement inputs and create summaries of these themes.
10. The project budget is an es�mate of how project costs are allocated among phases of work.
The Clarion team will not exceed the total contract amount without the express approval of
the County.
11. Clarion will bill monthly for services rendered. The County’s project manager will review and
approve Clarion Associate’s monthly invoices, which will include all work covered by the
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Clarion Associates team. Any ques�ons or issues related to the monthly invoice will be dealt
with quickly through a conference call with Clarion Associates and the County’s Project
Manager. The County will pay invoices within 30 days of receipt.
12. The County will not hold the Clarion Associates team responsible for schedule delays that are
the result of circumstances or events beyond the control of the Clarion Associates team.
Project Schedule
The Comprehensive Plan will be developed using the following project schedule.
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Project Cost
Phase 1 Launch Project (Month 1) Phase Total: $ 26,405
1.1 Kickoff Meeting with County Staff Planning Team
1.2 Kickoff Meeting with Steering Committee
1.3 Stakeholder Interviews
1.4 Reconnaissance Trip with County Staff Team
1.5 Develop Project Management Plan
1.6: Collect and Inventory ArcGIS Data, Policy Documents, and Relevant Studies
1.7: Develop Public Engagement Branding
Project Management Meetings
Total Travel
Phase 2 Identify New Issues and Opportunities (Months 2-6) Phase Total: $ 34,794
2.1 Develop Current Policy Profile
2.2 Steering Committee Meetings #2-#5
2.3 Prepare Equity Database
2.4: Community Engagement Window #1: Confirming Community Aspirations
2.5 Summary of New Issues and Opportunities
2.6 Briefings to the Planning Board and Board of County Commissioners
Project Management Meetings
Total Travel
Phase 3: Evaluate Planning Influences (Months 3-8) Phase Total: $ 19,548
3.1 Develop the Factbook
3.2 Steering Committee Meeting #6
3.3 Briefings to Planning Board and Board of County Commissioners
Project Management Meetings
Total Travel
Phase 4: Develop Plan (Months 9-20) Phase Total: $ 75,807
4.1 Develop Draft Plan Framework, Vision, and Goals
4.2 Proejct Team Work Session - Growth and Conservation Framework
4.3 Development of Land Use & Development Recommendations Report
4.4 Develop Plan Policies and Actions
4.5 Steering Committee Meetings #7-15
4.6 Community Engagement Window #2 - Testing Growth and Conservation Framework
4.7 Briefings to Planning Board and Board of County Commissioners (2 briefings)
4.8 Prepare Public Review Draft of Comprehensive Land Use Plan
4.9 Community Engagement Window #3 - Unveiling of Draft Plan
Project Management Meetings
Total Travel
Phase 5: Adopt Plan (Months 21-26) Phase Total: $ 16,379
5.1: Finalize Public Hearing Draft of Comprehensive Land Use Plan
5.2: Steering Committee Meeting #16
5.3: Public Hearings with Planning Board and Board of County Commissioners
5.4: Finalize the Adopted Comprehensive Plan and Transmit All Final Files to County
Staff Team
Project Management Meetings
Total Travel
Konveio Public Engagement Platform License
Budget for Targeted Public Engagement Meetings
GRAND TOTAL
ORANGE COUNTY, NC PAY SCHEDULE
$ 4,470
$ 4,395
$ 10,080
$ 1,885
$ 2,515
$ 520
$ 870
$ 255
$ 1,415
$ 765
$ 6,780
$ 3,495
$ 3,140
$ 11,400
$ 2,895
$ 5,160
$ 1,020
$ 904
$ 15,440
$ 1,035
$ 2,040
$ 1,767
$ 268
$ 4,790
$ 9,620
$ 3,350
$ 13,060
$ 10,600
$ 10,960
$ 4,080
$ 5,640
$ 8,880
$ 3,060
$ 2,270
$ 13,000
$188,204
$ 4,440
$ 2,475
$ 6,690
$ 850
$ 1,020
$ 904
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ORANGE COUNTY
PLANNING BOARD
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: June 7, 2023
Action Agenda
Item No. 8
SUBJECT: Work Session – Discuss Potential Amendments to the Planning Board’s Rules of
Procedure
DEPARTMENT: Planning and Inspections
ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT:
1.Advisory Board Policy
2.Planning Board Rules of Procedure
3.Sample Amendments to the Rules of Procedure
Document.
Cy Stober, 919-245-2592
Perdita Holtz, 919-245-2578
PURPOSE: To conduct a work session to discuss potential amendments to the Planning Board’s
Rules of Procedure, including possibly formalizing time restrictions on applicants’ presentations
and formalizing the current policy of limiting individual comments to 3 minutes.
BACKGROUND: At the May 3, 2023 Planning Board meeting, the Board requested a future work
session to discuss potentially adding time restrictions on applicants’ presentations to the Board.
The potential of formalizing the current informal policy of allowing 3-minute-per-speaker on public
commenters addressing the Board was also mentioned as a point of discussion.
The County’s Advisory Board policy is included for informational purposes in Attachment 1. The
current Rules of Procedure for the Planning Board can be viewed in Attachment 2.
Points of discussion during the work session could include:
1.Does the Planning Board desire to place a time limit on the length of time applicants have
to present their application to the Board?
a.If so, what should the time limit be?
2.Does the Planning Board desire to formalize the current 3-minutes per speaker policy for
persons addressing the Board during public comments?
The appropriate place for formalizing these topics would be the Planning Board’s Rules of
Procedure document. Any amendments to the document would need to the recommended by
the Planning Board through the usual agenda item process and approved by the Board of County
Commissioners. This work session is to discuss the topic among Board members and, if
consensus is reached, for staff to bring back the amendments as a regular agenda item at the
next Planning Board meeting.
Planning staff has provided a sample document (Attachment 3) to demonstrate an appropriate
placement and potential language for such amendments.
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FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact in conducting a work session.
RECOMMENDATION(S): The Planning Director recommends that the Board participate in the
work session to discuss the topic.
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ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
ADVISORY BOARD POLICY
SECTION I: SCOPE
A. Purpose
1. To establish a policy and procedures whereby the Orange County Board of
Commissioners will make appointments to public advisory boards, committees,
commissions, and councils (hereinafter “advisory boards”).
B. Authority
1. North Carolina General Statute 153A-76 grants boards of county commissioners the
authority to establish advisory boards.
2. The Orange County Board of Commissioners may establish rules and regulations in
reference to managing the interest and business of the County.
3. The Orange County Board of Commissioners has the responsibility to appoint
residents to serve as members of advisory boards established by the Commissioners.
4. Orange County department directors and staff are responsible for providing support
to the advisory boards.
C. Policy and Periodic Review
1. This Advisory Board Policy establishes some parameters for:
a. Appointments to state-mandated, regional, and/or county-developed
advisory boards.
b. Removals from such advisory boards.
c. Quorum and voting standards.
d. A code of general conduct for advisory board members.
e. Other aspects of advisory board service the Orange County Board of
Commissioners wishes to address.
2. Periodic Review
a. Periodic review of this Advisory Board Policy will be conducted every five (5)
years by the Orange County Board of Commissioners.
b. This Advisory Board Policy may be changed or adjusted as deemed necessary
by the Orange County Board of Commissioners regardless of whether it is
scheduled for a review.
D. Applicability
1. To the extent it does not conflict with the statute or ordinance creating a specific
advisory board, where applicable, this Advisory Board Policy applies to the following
Orange County advisory boards, policies, commissions, and councils:
a. Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee
b. Advisory Board on Aging
c. Affordable Housing Advisory Board
d. Agricultural Preservation Board
e. Animal Services Advisory Board
f. Arts Commission
g. Commission for the Environment
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h. Economic Development Commission
i. Historic Preservation Commission
j. Human Relations Commission
k. Nursing Home Community Advisory Committee
l. Orange County Parks and Recreation Council
m. Orange County Planning Board
n. Orange Unified Transportation Board
o. Visitor’s Bureau
2. Except as otherwise provided herein or through a specific advisory board policy this
Advisory Board Policy shall control the appointment, reporting, operation and other
requirements of the advisory boards listed above except to the extent the same are
controlled by a specific statute or ordinance. In those cases, as noted above, where
a statute or ordinance controls the requirements of the advisory board and the terms
of this Advisory Board Policy conflict with the terms of the statute or ordinance the
statute or ordinance shall prevail.
3. Although not advisory boards the Board of Adjustment, Board of Equalization and
Review, and Animal Services Hearing Panel shall comply with the terms of this
Advisory Board Policy to the extent those boards are specifically addressed herein.
SECTION II: DUTIES
A. Community Contact
1. Advisory boards, through their membership and subcommittees, shall maintain
contact with stakeholder groups. In this manner, the advisory board is kept apprised
of current information related to matters under the jurisdiction of Orange County.
B. Primary Responsibilities
1. Individual advisory boards shall maintain awareness of their goals and objectives as
those goals are related to the Orange County Board of Commissioners’ adopted
overall goals and objectives for Orange County.
2. All actions or recommendations of the advisory board shall be communicated to the
Orange County Board of Commissioners as provided herein.
SECTION III: MEMBERSHIP
A. Authority
1. North Carolina General Statute 153A-76 grants boards of county commissioners the
authority to establish advisory boards and to appoint members to and remove
members from those advisory boards. In acting on this authority the Orange County
Board of Commissioners hereby establishes certain general conditions to which
applicants and members of advisory boards should conform.
a. All members of standing, statutory boards must meet the qualifications for
the specific statutory requirements for an appointed position.
b. All boards members must be eighteen (18) years of age or older unless
applying for a youth-designated position.
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c. All board members shall be residents of Orange County and shall maintain
their domicile in Orange County unless they are under eighteen (18) years of
age and applying for a youth-designated position. The Clerk shall confirm
applicants are residents of Orange County and maintain their domicile in
Orange County.
i. Domicile is defined as one’s permanent established home as
distinguished from one’s temporary although actual place of
residence.
d. All board members shall have good reputations for integrity and an interest
in community service.
e. No nominee to a board shall be currently employed by Orange County
government and serve on a board that directly affects their work.
f. No nominee may currently be a party to or be the actual legal representative
in litigation against Orange County. The Clerk shall confirm nominees are not
involved in such litigation.
g. Each nominee must be prepared and committed to participate in advisory
board work in a manner that enhances relationships between the county and
the community.
h. Advisory board members shall owe no outstanding taxes at the time of
appointment.
i. All board members are representatives of the Orange County Board of
Commissioners and shall conduct themselves, both in their official actions
and personal actions so as to be above reproach in their conduct and shall
not bring disrepute to either the County or the Commissioners.
j. The Orange County Board of Commissioners may waive any of the conditions
within this section, with the exception of statutorily imposed conditions.
B. Composition
1. The Orange County Board of Commissioners shall appoint all voting and nonvoting ex
officio members to advisory boards. The Orange County Board of Commissioners
shall endeavor to appoint members who represent the ethnic, cultural, demographic,
and geographic diversity of the community.
C. Selection Criteria
1. Appointed members, except for ex officio members, shall be qualified by the Clerk to
the Board of County Commissioners.
2. Members shall be appointed from applicants whose properly filed and submitted
applications were submitted to the Clerk to the Board of Orange County.
D. Appointment
1. All members of advisory boards serve at the pleasure of the Orange County Board of
Commissioners.
2. Appointments to advisory boards will be initiated with a public application process
from individuals, advisory boards, or community and professional organizations.
3. All appointments to advisory boards will be made by the Orange County Board of
Commissioners.
a. The Orange County Board of Commissioners may elect to interview applicants
to certain advisory boards.
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b. In the event the Orange County Board of Commissioners conducts such
interviews the advisory board to which the applicant seeks appointment may
identify and suggest interview questions to the Orange County Board of
Commissioners.
4. No person appointed to an Orange County advisory board shall serve on that board
for more than two consecutive terms of three years each. Any appointment to a
vacant position for less than a full three year term shall be considered a full term if
the time of membership is 24 months or greater.
5. The Orange County Board of Commissioners may direct the Clerk to the Board of
County Commissioners to establish an orientation program for certain advisory or
other boards.
6. Extension of a member’s term may be approved by the Orange County Board of
Commissioners if it is determined that it is in the best interest of Orange County to
allow an individual to continue to serve.
7. No person appointed to an advisory board may concurrently serve in any publicly
elected office. *(Does not apply where the appointment is required by law,
intergovernmental agreement, or approved Orange County board specific policy—
applies to all boards, committees, and quasi-judicial boards)
E. Term
1. Each appointed advisory board member shall hold office until the qualification and
appointment of his or her successor or until one year has elapsed since the expiration
of the term for which the member was appointed, whichever first occurs. No person
shall serve as an appointed member of an advisory board for more than two
consecutive terms of three years.
2. In order to establish staggered terms the original voting members of the advisory
board shall be appointed as follows:
a. One- third for a one year term.
b. One-third for a two year term.
c. One third for a three year term.
d. Thereafter, each newly appointed voting member shall serve for a three year
term.
3. Advisory board members whose terms are due to expire may request they be
appointed to a second term or be asked to accept a second term appointment to the
position.
4. Notwithstanding section III(E)(1) above the membership of any advisory board
member whom the Orange County Board of Commissioners decline to appoint to a
second term shall immediately terminate upon the expiration of their term.
5. Advisory board members may not serve concurrently on more than two (2) Orange
County advisory boards. This restriction does not impact an individual’s service on
boards and commissions that are not Orange County advisory boards or short term
task forces or work groups.
F. Resignation
1. If a member wishes to resign, the member shall submit the resignation in writing to
the Chair of the advisory board on which the member serves and the Clerk to the
Board of Orange County Commissioners, noting the effective date of the resignation.
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2. The advisory board Chair will forward a copy of the resignation to the Clerk to the
Board of Orange County Commissioners.
3. The Orange County Board of Commissioners may recognize the individual’s service
via a letter or certificate.
4. An announcement of the open seat will be made at the time the resignation becomes
effective.
G. Vacancies
1. Upon the expiration of the term of service of members or should a vacancy otherwise
occur, the Orange County Board of Commissioners shall have the responsibility of
selecting and appointing new members to the advisory board.
2. Should any vacancy for which there is a board specific requirement that such
vacancy be filled by a nominee of a municipal corporation or a resident of a specific
Orange County township remain unfilled for six (6) consecutive months the board
specific requirements may be set aside and the Orange County Board of
Commissioners may fill the vacancy with any applicant otherwise qualified to serve.
H. Removal
1. Members of Orange County’s advisory boards serve at the pleasure of the Orange
County Board of Commissioners and may be removed for any reason or no reason
with or without cause.
2. Members of Orange County’s advisory boards are expected to abide by the highest
ethical and professional standards.
3. In addition to Section III(H)(1) above, the Orange County Board of Commissioners
shall remove any member of an advisory board for neglect of duty, nonparticipation
that becomes problematic to the advisory board’s functioning and purpose. Neglect
of duty and nonparticipation are defined as follows:
a. Missing three (3) consecutive meetings; or
b. Missing twenty-five percent (25%) of meetings within any twelve (12) month
period.
c. For this section III(H)(3) to apply, the missed meetings in question must be
unexcused.
4. The advisory board Chair shall notify a member if the member is at risk of being
removed pursuant to section III(H)(3).
5. The advisory board Chair shall notify the Clerk to the Board of Orange County
Commissioners if a member has violated section III(H)(3).
I. Release from Service
1. When it is deemed necessary by the Orange County Board of Commissioners to
release a member from his or her term of appointment on an advisory board, the
affected individual shall be notified by the Clerk to the Board of County
Commissioners by letter and/or electronic mail.
2. When an advisory board has completed its function, the members shall be informed
of the completion of their service and the termination of the advisory board by letter
and/or electronic mail.
SECTION IV. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
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A. Members
1. Members shall attend meetings of the advisory board, serve on subcommittees, and
perform other functions as assigned by the advisory board chair with the approval of
the advisory board.
2. If a member is unable to attend a meeting the member shall contact the Chair or
designated staff as much in advance of the scheduled meeting as possible.
3. Ex officio members may be appointed by the Orange County Board of Commissioners
for the purpose of meeting subject matter expertise needs. Ex officio members are
nonvoting members of the advisory board.
4. Upon review of the above matters, the Orange County advisory board shall address
recommendations and concerns, if any, to the Orange County Board of
Commissioners in writing.
B. Advisory Board
1. The Orange County Board of Commissioners will consider all advisory board
recommendations and/or concerns.
a. Should any concerns remain unresolved after a response has been received
from the advisory board, the Orange County Board of Commissioners may
request that the matter be referred to the County Manager.
2. To enhance trust between Orange County Government and the community, Orange
County advisory boards shall:
b. Assist the staff of Orange County in achieving a greater understanding of the
nature and causes of community issues, with an emphasis on improving
relations between the department and the residents.
c. Recommend methods to encourage and develop the advisory board’s ability
to accomplish their work.
d. Work throughout the community to gain relevant information about advisory
board issues and communicate these to the staff of Orange County and the
Orange County Board of Commissioners.
e. Promote public awareness of contemporary issues Orange County must
address to achieve the Orange County Board of Commissioners’ goals and
priorities.
C. Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary
1. Selection
i. Election
1. Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary shall be elected by the advisory board
unless otherwise specified by the Board of Commissioners.
2. Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary shall be elected to one-year terms.
3. Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary shall serve no more than three
consecutive one-year terms.
4. Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary shall assume office on the date of
their election. At the first advisory board meeting upon assuming
office the advisory board Chair or department staff shall present
members with a copy of the advisory board’s charge, scope of
authority, membership responsibilities, and code of conduct.
2. Responsibilities
i. The advisory board Chair:
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1. Calls all meetings.
2. Serves as the presiding officer and conducts advisory board meetings.
3. Is the Authorized spokesperson for the advisory board.
4. Assists staff in developing the advisory board meeting agenda.
5. Appoints and dissolves subcommittees, and the Chair and members
thereof, of the body in consultation and with approval of the advisory
board.
6. Sets goals for the advisory board in consultation with the Orange
County Board of Commissioners.
7. Carries out advisory board assignments as required by the Orange
County Board of Commissioners.
8. Reviews all advisory board minutes and proposed recommendations
or assigns another member of the advisory board to do so.
9. May excuse members from attending advisory board meetings up to
two (2) times per twelve (12) month period.
ii. The advisory board Vice Chair:
1. Serves as the presiding officer and conducts advisory board meetings
in the absence of the Chair.
2. Has all the responsibilities of the Chair in the Chair’s absence.
iii. The advisory board Secretary:
1. Takes (or oversees the taking of) minutes for all advisory board
meetings.
2. Submits minutes to the Chair to be distributed to advisory board
members in advance of meetings.
3. Submits approved advisory board minutes to the Clerk to the Orange
County Board of Commissioners for retention and distribution to the
Orange County Board of Commissioners.
4. Assures that other records of the advisory board are kept as directed
by the Chair or the Orange County Board of Commissioners.
iv. Removal:
1. The Chair, Vice Chair and/or Secretary may be replaced at any time
by the Orange County Board of Commissioners.
SECTION V. ORGANIZATION
A. Orientation and Training
1. Orange County will make available for advisory board members and department staff
periodic training on state and/or county goals and priorities as well as relevant
statutes and policies, including open meetings, public records, conflicts of interest
and ethics.
2. Each member shall attend an orientation to familiarize the advisory board members
with the operation of County government, applicable department rules, and the
operating procedures of the advisory board.
a. The Chair and Vice Chair, if newly elected, shall attend an additional
orientation to familiarize themselves with the duties and responsibilities of
the Chair and Vice Chair and the guidelines for conducting meetings.
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3. Each voting member will be encouraged to complete the orientation within the time
frame established by the policy of the specific advisory board to which they have been
appointed.
4. Advisory board members will be issued a manual and should become familiar with its
contents.
B. Operating Expenses
1. Members, when in service on the board, are not employees of Orange County.
2. Members serve in a voluntary capacity and shall receive monetary compensation or
reimbursement only per standard county policy and with Orange County Board of
Commissioners approval.
3. Members shall receive no financial or employee benefits from the County unless
authorized by another section of this policy and specifically approved by the Orange
County Board of Commissioners.
4. The County will provide office supplies and assume responsibility for other reasonable
expenses necessary for the operation of the board.
C. Confidentiality
1. No member of the advisory board shall make any written or oral statement of any
confidential county matter to any individual, business, or agency. A violation of this
section will result in that member’s immediate removal from the advisory board. This
prohibition does not apply to communications with county staff, officials, or their
agents conducting official county investigations.
2. Members of the advisory board may receive information regarding personnel matters
and other information of a sensitive or confidential nature. It shall be the duty and
responsibility of each member to respect and maintain the confidentiality of county
issues presented before the board. Neither the advisory board nor any individual
member shall disseminate confidential information received during advisory board
meetings.
3. Advisory board members may be required to sign confidentiality statements as
necessary and will be removed from the advisory board upon violation of the
confidentiality agreement.
SECTION VI. MEETINGS
A. Regular Meetings
1. All meetings are to be open to the public as required by the applicable North Carolina
General Statutes.
2. Unless otherwise specified, public meetings will follow the standard rules of
procedure defined by the Orange County Board of Commissioners.
3. During a state of emergency declared by the Chair of the Board of Commissioners of
Orange County the Orange County Manager may authorize any or all advisory
boards to meet remotely, as needed, pursuant to the remote meeting rules set out
herein.
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4. The advisory board members shall determine the date, time, and place for each
meeting, consistent with the guidelines below.
a. Regular advisory board and subcommittee meetings.
i. The advisory board convenes upon call of the Chair and meets on
schedule as established by the specific advisory board policy.
ii. Subcommittee meeting dates shall be set by the subcommittee
Chairs and shall be scheduled in conjunction with advisory board
meetings.
iii. A schedule of all meeting dates, times, and places shall be properly
posted in accord with North Carolina Law and delivered to the Clerk
to the Board.
B. Special Meetings
1. A majority of advisory board members or the Chair may call special meetings at any
time for any specific business. Special meetings shall be convened at a location
selected by the Chair.
2. All called special meetings shall be noticed in accord with North Carolina Law and
delivered to the Clerk to the Board.
C. Emergency Meetings
1. A majority of advisory board members or the Chair may call a meeting in emergency
circumstances by providing telephone notice to media outlets at least one hour prior
to the meeting.
2. An emergency situation includes a disaster that severely impairs the public’s health
or safety. In the event telephone services are not working, notice that the meetings
occurred must be given as soon as possible after the meeting in accord with North
Carolina Law and by delivery to the Clerk to the Board.
D. Notice of Meetings Generally
1. Notice of advisory board meetings, including public hearings and appeals if applicable,
and agendas shall be made available to all members and interested parties, and to
any person who requests such notice, at least ten (10) days in advance of the meeting
by e-mail and by posting on the Orange County government website.
2. All applicable notice requirements established by North Carolina law shall be
followed.
3. Prior to January 5th of each calendar year the Board shall cause a schedule of its
meetings to be posted in a readily accessible location. Such schedule shall be
delivered to the Clerk to the Board of Commissioners for posting to the Orange
County website.
4. In the event of a state of emergency declared by the Chair of the Board of
Commissioners of Orange County should advisory boards meet remotely, proper
notice of the remote meeting(s) will be posted through the office of the Clerk to the
Board of Commissioners.
E. Agendas
1. Board members and/or staff members shall submit agenda items to the Chair and
staff for consideration at least fifteen (15) days prior to a scheduled meeting.
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2. The agenda must provide a description of each item of business to be transacted or
discussed so that interested members of the public will be capable of understanding
the nature of each agenda item.
3. As a general rule, only those items appearing on the agenda will be discussed or voted
on. However, if an item is raised by a member of the public, the advisory board may
accept public comment and discuss the item so long as no action is taken until a
subsequent meeting.
4. With the Chair’s agreement, the designated staff will develop and distribute to each
member an agenda listing the matters to be considered at upcoming advisory board
meetings. Also, so far as practicable, copies of all written reports that are to be
presented to the advisory board for members’ review will be included in this package
at least ten (10) days before the meeting.
5. All recommendations and reports of the advisory board, approved in the form of
motions, shall be conveyed exclusively to the Orange County Board of Commissioners
for consideration, approval or denial. Outcomes are reported back to the advisory
board.
F. Minutes
1. Minutes shall be taken of all advisory board meetings and submitted to the Clerk to
the Board of Orange County Commissioners for retention and distribution to the
Orange County Board of Commissioners.
SECTION VII. SUBCOMMITTEES
A. Purpose and Formation
1. Subcommittees may be formed by the advisory board to research and make special
recommendations on special issues or areas in order to carry out the duties of the
advisory board.
2. All subcommittees shall be reviewed by the appointing body on an annual basis to
determine continued need and realignment with the priorities of the advisory board.
3. Approved subcommittees must have documented goals, deliverables, and a timeline.
The subcommittee will cease to meet when these are satisfied.
4. The advisory board Chair may request that the Orange County Board of
Commissioners change the structure and/or operating procedures of the advisory
board if he or she deems it essential for improving the board’s productivity and
effectiveness.
5. A subcommittee can be formed with the approval of the advisory board chair and
majority vote of the advisory board.
6. Subcommittees shall operate as directed by the advisory board.
B. Procedure and Membership
1. A member of the subcommittee shall take responsibility for taking minutes of
subcommittee meetings and shall report to the advisory board the subcommittee’s
progress toward its stated objectives, including dissenting viewpoints.
2. Subcommittees shall operate by majority vote.
3. Subcommittees may request a technical representative be approved by the County
Manager.
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4. Subcommittees shall operate openly as defined by applicable North Carolina State
law and local ordinances and policies.
5. Membership on subcommittees shall be voluntary unless the specific advisory board
policy dictates otherwise.
SECTION VIII. QUORUM AND VOTING
A. Quorum
1. A quorum for a meeting of an advisory board and any subcommittee thereof shall
consist of a majority of the number of appointed members. Vacant positions are not
counted when determining if a quorum is present.
2. Members who remotely attend a meeting may be counted present for purposes of a
quorum.
B. Voting
1. Unless otherwise required by law, all decisions shall be reached by a simple majority
vote.
2. All voting will be conducted in open meetings, except when in closed session where
such closed session is permitted by North Carolina law.
3. No issues can be voted upon unless a quorum is present.
4. Only appointed members can vote at advisory board meetings.
5. Appointed members shall not delegate their vote to another member.
6. The Chair of the advisory board may participate and vote on all issues.
7. Voting by proxy is not authorized and shall not be allowed.
8. Members may not abstain from voting but where a member has a conflict of interest
the member may be excused by majority vote of the advisory board.
9. Members of advisory boards must be present to vote. Presence may be accomplished
through remote attendance or physical attendance.
10. Individuals appointed as ex officio members of the advisory board are not authorized
to vote on any issue before the advisory board.
SECTION IX. ETHICS
A. This section also applies to the Board of Adjustment, Board of Equalization and Review, and
Animal Services Hearing Panel.
B. Conflict of Interest
1. During advisory board meetings, a member shall immediately disclose any potential
conflict of interest and request to be excused from voting when he or she has a
conflict of interest.
2. During appeal proceedings, the applicant has the right to question the interest of any
voting member. The advisory board chair should consult with the County Attorney or
staff attorney on any potential conflict of interest in appeal matters.
3. In determining from existing facts and circumstances whether a conflict of interest
exists the determining party shall consider the facts and circumstances as would an
ordinary and reasonable person exercising prudence, discretion, intelligence, and due
care.
C. Gifts
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1. An advisory board member shall not directly or indirectly ask, accept, demand, exact,
solicit, seek, assign, receive, or agree to receive any gift or honorarium for the
advisory board member, or for another person, in return for being influenced in the
discharge of the advisory board member’s official responsibilities.
2. This section shall not apply to gifts or awards authorized by Orange County Policies,
Resolutions, or Ordinances.
D. Code of Ethics
1. Advisory board members should act with integrity and with independence from
improper influence as they exercise the functions of their offices. Characteristics and
behaviors that are consistent with this standard are:
a. Adhering firmly to a code of sound values.
b. Behaving consistently and with respect towards everyone with whom they
interact.
c. Exhibiting trustworthiness.
d. Living as if they are on duty as appointed officials regardless of where they
are or what they are doing.
e. Using their best independent judgment to pursue the common good as they
see it, presenting their opinions to all in a reasonable, forthright, consistent
manner.
f. Remaining incorruptible, self-governing, and not subject to improper
influence, while at the same time being able to consider the opinions and
ideas of others.
g. Disclosing contacts and information about issues that they receive outside of
public meetings, and refraining from seeking or receiving information about
quasi-judicial matters outside of the quasi-judicial proceedings themselves.
h. Treating other advisory boards and advisory board members and the public
with respect, and honoring the opinions of others even when they disagree.
i. Being careful not to reach conclusions on issues until all sides have been
heard.
j. Showing respect for their appointed office and not behaving in ways that
reflect badly on the office, the advisory board, Orange County, or the Orange
County Board of Commissioners.
k. Recognizing that they are part of a larger group and acting accordingly.
l. Recognizing that individual board members are not generally allowed to act
on behalf of the board, but may only do so if the board specifically so
authorizes, and that the board must take official action as a body.
m. Being faithful in the performance of the duties of their offices.
n. Acting as especially responsible residents whom others can trust and respect.
o. Faithfully attending and preparing for meetings.
p. Carefully analyzing all credible information that is properly submitted to
them, and when applicable, being mindful of the need not to engage in
communications outside the meeting in quasi-judicial matters.
q. Being willing to bear their fair share of the board’s workload.
r. To the extent appropriate, they should be willing to put the board’s interests
ahead of their own and shall avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest
and shall, under no circumstances, use their position on any board for
personal gain or profit.
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2. Members of the Planning Board, Board of Adjustment, Economic Development
Commission, and Board of Equalization and Review shall upon initial appointment,
and prior to December 31 annually thereafter, disclose:
a. Any interest he or she or his or her spouse or domestic partner has in real
property situated in whole or in part in Orange County and the general
description of that property.
b. Any legal, equitable, beneficial or contractual interest he or she or his or her
spouse or domestic partner has in any business, firm or corporation, which is
currently doing business with Orange County pursuant to contracts awarded
by Orange County, or which is attempting, or has attempted in the past
calendar year, to secure the award of a bid from Orange County or the
approval of any Board or Agency of Orange County.
c. Failure to file a disclosure statement setting out the above required
information shall result in immediate removal of the member from the
applicable board.
SECTION X. COMPENSATION AND TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENT
A. Compensation
1. As a general rule advisory board service is voluntary and appointed members shall
receive no form of compensation for their services.
2. However, should the Orange County Board of Commissioners determine, in its sole
discretion, that an advisory board’s members should be compensated, such
compensation shall be addressed in that advisory board’s specific policy and rules of
procedure as adopted by the Commissioners.
B. Travel Expense Reimbursement
1. The Chair shall, to the extent practicable, schedule all hearings and advisory board
meetings to minimize travel and per diem costs.
2. Payment of expenses to advisory board members shall occur only when travel has
been approved by the County Manager prior to the time the expenses are incurred.
3. Orange County shall reimburse reasonable and necessary travel and incidental
business expenses from pre-approved travel to advisory board members
4. Advisory board members shall be reimbursed in accordance with current local and/or
state rules and regulations. Expense claims shall be submitted as required pursuant
to the Orange County travel policy.
5. Transportation expense claims shall include charges essential for transportation to
and from the meeting place. Reimbursement shall be made only for the local
government’s standard mileage allowance. Travel should be via the shortest, most
commonly traveled route.
6. Travel expense does not include hotel/motel expenses.
SECTION XI. LIMITATION OF POWER AND AUTHORITY
A. Nothing contained in this Advisory Board Policy shall be construed to conflict with any North
Carolina law or Orange County ordinance. Should there be an appearance of conflict, the
appropriate North Carolina law or Orange County ordinance shall prevail.
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B. The activities of the advisory board shall, at all times, be conducted in accord with applicable
Federal law, North Carolina law, and Orange County ordinances.
C. Advisory Boards, the Board of Adjustment, Board of Equalization and Review, and Animal
Services Hearing Panel, and any members thereof shall not (and shall not have the express or
implied authority to):
1. Incur expense or obligate Orange County in any manner.
a. Any expense incurred must have been pre-approved either through the
department director overseeing the advisory board’s budget, the Orange
County Board of Commissioners, or the County Manager.
b. It is specifically acknowledged that no member of an advisory board has the
authority, express or implied, to, contractually or otherwise, bind Orange
County.
2. Identify or release any draft document that has not been approved for release by the
Orange County Board of Commissioners or County Manager.
3. Take positions, in their capacity as an advisory board member, on any political issue
or support or oppose any candidate for public office.
4. Independently investigate resident complaints against Orange County, any
department or any employee of a department.
5. Conduct any activity that might constitute or be construed as an official governmental
review of departmental or employee actions.
6. Conduct any activity that might constitute or be construed as establishment of
Orange County or departmental policy.
7. Violate the confidentiality of any information related to matters involving pending or
forthcoming civil or criminal litigation.
8. Engage in any act to impose or attempt to impose discipline on any advisory board
member, department, or employee.
9. Interfere, attempt to interfere or involve themselves in any way in staff personnel
matters regardless of the nature of the matter.
SECTION XII. REMOTE MEETINGS AND REMOTE ATTENDANCE PURSUANT TO NCGS §166A-19.24
A. Declared states of emergency.
1. Upon a declaration of a state of emergency in Orange County by the Chair of the
Board of Commissioners advisory boards subject to this Advisory Board Policy may
meet remotely as authorized by the County Manager.
2. A remote meeting is an official meeting, or any part thereof, with a majority or all of
the members of the advisory board participating by simultaneous communication.
3. Simultaneous communication is any communication by conference telephone,
conference video, or other electronic means.
4. Advisory Boards shall comply with open meetings laws.
5. Advisory Boards shall coordinate with the Clerk to the Board of Commissioners to
notify the public of the remote meetings and the means by which the public may
access the remote meetings.
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6. If at any time during a remote meeting the number of members needed for a
quorum is disrupted by a loss of simultaneous communication the meeting will not
continue until simultaneous communication is restored and if simultaneous
communication cannot be restored the meeting will be adjourned without further
action.
B. Remote attendance at other times.
1. At all other times advisory boards shall meet in person at the time and location
adopted in the board’s meeting schedule and as set out herein.
2. Should a member be unable to physically attend a meeting the member may attend
remotely so long as simultaneous communication is maintained for the remotely
attending member(s) and only so long as the public has access to communications
by the member(s).
3. Remote attendance involves a member(s) of the advisory board participating by
simultaneous communication.
4. If the presence of a member(s) remotely attending a meeting is necessary for
purposes of achieving a quorum and simultaneous communication with the
member(s) is lost the meeting will not continue until simultaneous communication
is restored and if simultaneous communication cannot be restored the meeting will
be adjourned without further action.
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PLANNING BOARD POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
SECTION I: SCOPE
A. Purpose
1. To establish a policy and procedures whereby the Orange County
Board of Commissioners will establish the specific policies and
procedures governing the Planning Board.
2. The Orange County Board of Commissioners may appoint an advisory
board whose duty is to serve in an advisory capacity to Orange County
Board of Commissioners.
B. Authority
1. North Carolina General Statute 153A-76 grants boards of county
commissioners the authority to establish advisory boards.
2. The Orange County Advisory Board Policy serves as the underlying
policy document to which the Planning Board, in addition to this policy
and procedure document, is subject. The Orange County Advisory
Board Policy is attached hereto as “Exhibit A”.
3. In the event that there is a conflict between the Orange County
Advisory Board Policy and this Policies and Procedures document this
Policies and Procedures document shall control.
C. Charge
1. The charge of the Planning Board is contained in Section 1.6.3 of the
Orange County Unified Development Ordinance.
The purpose for which the Planning Board was formed: to serve in an
advisory capacity to the Orange County Board of Commissioners in
regards to planning, zoning, and subdivision matters, as provided in
Section 1.6.3 of the Orange County Unified Development Ordinance.
SECTION II: GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
A. Goals
1. The Planning Board shall carry out the duties contained in Section
1.6.3 of the Orange County Unified Development Ordinance to the best
of its ability.
B. Objectives
1. Acting under the directives of the Board of County Commissioners and
with County staff, the Planning Board shall pursue the duties contained
in Section 1.6.3 of the Orange County Unified Development Ordinance.
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SECTION III: MEMBERSHIP
A. Authority
1. North Carolina General Statute 153A-76 grants boards of county
commissioners the authority to establish advisory boards and to
appoint members to and remove members from those advisory boards.
In acting on this authority the Orange County Board of Commissioners
hereby establishes certain general conditions to which applicants and
members of advisory boards should conform.
B. Composition
1. Planning Board composition is detailed in Section 1.6.1 of the Orange
County Unified Development Ordinance. Additional membership
requirements are listed in said Section of the UDO.
2. The Planning Board does not have alternate members.
3. Appointments to the Planning Board made to fill vacancies shall be for
the unexpired term, if there are less than two years remaining in the
unexpired term, and shall not be counted as a term in determining
eligibility for reappointment.
C. Oath of Office
1. All members appointed to the Planning Board shall, before entering
their duties, qualify by taking an oath of office as required by NCGS-
153A-26.
D. Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary
1. The Planning Board shall elect by majority vote a Chair and Vice Chair
from among its members at the regular meeting in January of each
year.
2. Chair and Vice Chair terms of office shall correspond to the
requirements of the Orange County Advisory Board Policy.
3. The Secretary of the Planning Board shall be the Planning Director or
his/her designee.
4. The Chair and Secretary shall ensure that each Planning Board
member is presented with a copy of the Planning Board’s charge,
scope of authority, membership responsibilities, and code of conduct
when the Planning Board member is appointed to the Planning Board.
5. If requested by the Board of County Commissioners Chair, the
Planning Board Chair, or Vice Chair in the Chair’s absence, shall
attend public hearings and Board of County Commissioners meetings
at which a decision is scheduled for items on which the Planning Board
has made a recommendation.
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SECTION IV. MEETINGS
A. Staffing
1. The Planning Director shall perform the duties set forth in Section
1.6.4 of the Orange County Unified Development Ordinance.
B. Agendas
1. Items for agendas shall be approved by the Planning Board Chair and
staff.
2. The designated staff will develop and distribute to each member an
agenda listing the matters to be considered at upcoming advisory
board meetings. The regular meeting agenda and materials shall be
distributed at least seven (7) calendar days before the regular meeting
C. Date, Time, and Location of Regular Meetings
1. Regular Meetings of the Planning Board shall be held on the first
Wednesday of each month. The start time and location of the meeting
shall be included on the agenda and shall typically be 7:00 p.m. at the
Orange County West Campus Office Building located at 131 West
Margaret Lane, Hillsborough. The Planning Board Chair, in
consultation with staff, shall have the authority to change the start time
and location of a regular meeting to meet any special circumstances,
provided the information is included on the distributed agenda.
D. Notice of Meetings
1. Notice of regular Planning Board meetings and agendas shall be made
available to all members and interested parties, and to any person who
requests such notice, at least seven (7) days in advance of the
meeting by e-mail and by posting on the Orange County government
website.
E. Public Hearings
1. Planning Board members shall be encouraged to attend public hearings
held by the Board of County Commissioners for items the Planning Board
has reviewed.
F. Neighborhood Information Meetings
1. Planning Board members shall be encouraged to attend Neighborhood
Information Meetings (NIMs) that are required in Article 2 of the Unified
Development Ordinance. At-Large members and members representing
the Township in which a particular development project is proposed are
specifically encouraged to attend the NIM.
2. Planning Department staff shall keep Planning Board members informed
of upcoming required NIMs via e-mailed messages. Said e-mail messages
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shall be sent to Planning Board members on the same date, or shortly
after, the notifications are mailed to adjacent property owners.
SECTION V. ORIENTATION
A. Attendance
1. Each member shall attend an orientation presented by the Orange
County Staff to familiarize the advisory board members with the
operation of County government, the Planning Department rules, and
the operating procedures of the advisory board.
2. Each voting member will be encouraged to complete the orientation
within six weeks of his or her appointment and participate in at least
one meeting with the staff.
SECTION VI. BY-LAWS
A. By-Laws
1. Any Bylaws adopted by the Planning Board are void and no further
bylaws shall be adopted. Procedure shall be governed solely by this
policy document and the General Advisory Board Policy Document.
2. Should the Planning Board determine modifications to policies and
procedures are necessary the Planning Board may petition the Board
of County Commissioners for such modifications.
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SECTION IV. MEETINGS
A. Staffing
1.The Planning Director shall perform the duties set forth in Section
1.6.4 of the Orange County Unified Development Ordinance.
B. Agendas
1.Items for agendas shall be approved by the Planning Board Chair and
staff.
2.The designated staff will develop and distribute to each member an
agenda listing the matters to be considered at upcoming advisory
board meetings. The regular meeting agenda and materials shall be
distributed at least seven (7) calendar days before the regular meeting
C. Date, Time, and Location of Regular Meetings
1. Regular Meetings of the Planning Board shall be held on the first
Wednesday of each month. The start time and location of the meeting
shall be included on the agenda and shall typically be 7:00 p.m. at the
Orange County West Campus Office Building located at 131 West
Margaret Lane, Hillsborough. The Planning Board Chair, in
consultation with staff, shall have the authority to change the start time
and location of a regular meeting to meet any special circumstances,
provided the information is included on the distributed agenda.
D. Notice of Meetings
1.Notice of regular Planning Board meetings and agendas shall be made
available to all members and interested parties, and to any person who
requests such notice, at least seven (7) days in advance of the
meeting by e-mail and by posting on the Orange County government
website.
E. Time Allocations to Address the Planning Board at Meetings
1. Applicants presenting applications to the Planning Board shall be
allocated up to xx minutes to present their applications. This time
allocation is for the entirety of an applicant’s team, should more than
one person address the Board to present the application.
2.Members of the public providing comments to the Planning Board shall
be allocated up to 3-minutes per person. Persons may not yield/give
their allotted time to another person to speak on their behalf.
3.The time allocations in 1 and 2 above may be modified at a meeting by
an affirmative vote of the majority of Board members in attendance at
the specific meeting.
E.F. Public Hearings
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1.Planning Board members shall be encouraged to attend public hearings
held by the Board of County Commissioners for items the Planning Board
has reviewed.
F.G. Neighborhood Information Meetings
1.Planning Board members shall be encouraged to attend Neighborhood
Information Meetings (NIMs) that are required in Article 2 of the Unified
Development Ordinance. At-Large members and members representing
the Township in which a particular development project is proposed are
specifically encouraged to attend the NIM.
2. Planning Department staff shall keep Planning Board members informed
of upcoming required NIMs via e-mailed messages. Said e-mail messages
shall be sent to Planning Board members on the same date, or shortly
after, the notifications are mailed to adjacent property owners.
SECTION V. ORIENTATION
A. Attendance
1.Each member shall attend an orientation presented by the Orange
County Staff to familiarize the advisory board members with the
operation of County government, the Planning Department rules, and
the operating procedures of the advisory board.
2.Each voting member will be encouraged to complete the orientation
within six weeks of his or her appointment and participate in at least
one meeting with the staff.
SECTION VI. BY-LAWS
A. By-Laws
1.Any Bylaws adopted by the Planning Board are void and no further
bylaws shall be adopted. Procedure shall be governed solely by this
policy document and the General Advisory Board Policy Document.
2.Should the Planning Board determine modifications to policies and
procedures are necessary the Planning Board may petition the Board
of County Commissioners for such modifications.
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