Orange County Comprehensive Plan Update

Will the County Comprehensive Plan successfully promote sustainability?

This Monday the County Commissioners are holding what may be the final Public Hearing on the proposed Comprehensive Plan Update. The hearing begins at 7:30 pm and will be held in the downstairs courtroom at the County Courthouse in Hillsborough. At their regular meeting on October 7, the Commissioners are expected to vote whether or not to adopt the Plan.

Submitting written comments in advance of the August 25 Public Hearing and/or presenting your comments on the 25th might be your final chance to provide input on this important subject.

I encourage OP readers to review at least the first two chapters (links below) of the proposed Comprehensive Plan and judge for yourself if the chapters clearly articulate how sustainability can be achieved in Orange County over the next twenty years.

The first chapter states that “we need to act in a manner that will achieve a quality of life that is sustainable into the future”. In the second chapter one reads that “growth and development within the county should occur in a pattern, location, and density that is sustainable over the long-term”. Since this Plan is intended to be in force until 2030 it’s critical that it provides ample guidance on how “sustainability” and “sustainable growth and development” can be achieved.

In the section entitled “Toward a Sustainable Future”, the first chapter lists many “key ideas … that relate directly to the goal of achieving a sustainable future.” Ideas are presented for all seven of the Plan’s elements: Economic Development, Housing, Land Use, Natural & Cultural Systems, Services & Facilities, Parks & Recreation, and Transportation. As noted in the section’s conclusion, “these initiatives reinforce each other. Taken together, “they form a platform of sustainable practices upon which current and future generations of Orange County residents can build productive lives.”

The second chapter presents eight planning principles endorsed by the County Commissioners in 2004. As an affordable housing advocate, I am bothered that none of the principles directly concerns “social equity”, which is typically one of the three fundamental dimensions of sustainability (the other two being environmental protection and economic vitality). The second principle concerns sustainable growth and development. Principles One and Seven address public- and private-sector economic issues, respectively. The remaining five principles concern preservation and conservation.

Do these chapters clearly articulate how sustainability can be achieved? I encourage you to make your comments known to the County Commissioners as soon as possible because County staff is recommending that the Public Hearing be closed after Monday’s night meeting and the matter immediately be referred to the Planning Board (in order for their recommendations to be ready for the Commissioners’ anticipated October 7 vote). Written comments can be emailed to the County’s Comprehensive Planning supervisor at CompPlanUpdate@co.orange.nc.us. For more information consider reviewing the August 25 Public Hearing Agenda, as well as the Agenda Item Abstracts for both the May 19 and August 25 Public Hearings. (warning: abstracts are large .pdf files). The abstracts are particularly useful because they contain all the written comments presented by members of the public going back to January 2008. For the truly ambitious reader, links to all nine chapters of the Comprehensive Plan can be found by clicking here.

Date: 

Monday, August 25, 2008 - 3:30pm

Location: 

Battle Courtroom, Orange County Courthouse

County Commissioner's Comp Plan Work Session

This Tuesday, June 10, the County Commissioners will hold a work session with the planning board to discuss the proposed comphrehensive plan update. The meeting begins at 7:30pm and will be held at the Link Government Services Center, 200 S. Cameron St., Hillsborough. The work session will be the first public meeting at which the commissioners will scrutinize the plan, which has been under development since October 2006 and runs nearly 300 pages. The commissioners decided to schedule the work session because they recognized the need to closely examine the proposal before they referred it to the county planning board for their recommendation. For more information see the county's comp plan website and the website of the Orange County Comprehensive Plan Coalition.

Date: 

Tuesday, June 10, 2008 - 3:30pm

Location: 

Link Government Services Center, 200 S. Cameron St., Hillsborough

Public Hearing on County Plan - May 19

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD AT THE PUBLIC HEARING for the Orange County Comprehensive Plan Update

Do you live, work or own land in Orange County? Are you concerned about whether you and your children can find work here and afford a home? Do you want farmland and natural areas to be protected? Then you should have a voice in the future development of Orange County.

What: The Orange County Comprehensive Plan serves to guide the County's growth and development through the year 2030. By setting goals and objectives, County officials can use the document to guide policy decisions that effectively provide a high quality of life for residents. The upcoming public hearing is the last public forum for the County to gather public input on the draft plan prior to adoption.

When: Monday, May 19 at 7:30 p.m.

Where: Gordon Battle Courtroom, 106 E. Margaret Lane, Hillsborough

You can have your voice heard in one of the following ways:

 

Community Guidelines

By using this site, you agree to our community guidelines. Inappropriate or disruptive behavior will result in moderation or eviction.

 

Content license

By contributing to OrangePolitics, you agree to license your contributions under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.

Creative Commons License

 
Zircon - This is a contributing Drupal Theme
Design by WeebPal.