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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2008
Planning board updates
development guidelines
BY GWEN SAUNDERS
STAFF WRITER
The Orange County Planning
Board is ready to present its updat
ed objectives for county develop
ment, some of which reflect con
cerns about economic problems
and water use.
The board will present a round
of revisions to the Orange County
Comprehensive Plan at today’s
Board of Commissioners meeting.
The changes range from print
ing documents on recycled paper
to exploring policies that attract
new businesses.
“We’ve had serious droughts ...
economic problems, problems in
mental health care; we see issues
everywhere,” said Bernadette
Pelissier, a member of the Orange
County Planning Board.
“We need to work on how this
community is going to address
these issues.”
Commissioners will vote on
whether to adopt the changes
which come primarily in response
to resident comments collected
during public hearings in May and
August at the Nov. 6 meeting.
The plan which has not been
updated since the original, 1981
version was created to address
land use and last about 20 years
addresses seven elements, includ
ing economic development, hous-
I I j i I
“We’ve had serious droughts ... economic
problems, problems in mental health care.
... We need to work on how this community
is going to address these issues ”
BERNADETTE PELISSIER, ORANGE COUNTY PLANNING BOARD MEMBER
ing and transportation.
But the plan needed to be revised
because elements of the original
version are no longer relevant, said
Tom Altieri, the county’s compre
hensive planning supervisor.
For example, the original
opposed locating Interstate 40 in
Orange County.
Altieri said that, with 2000
census data available, updates are
necessary.
He emphasized that the plan is a
policy guide rather than an imple
mentation strategy.
The Board of Commissioners
approved in October 2006 a two
phase process for updating the
county’s current plan.
The updates are intended to direct
the county’s growth and develop
ment through the year 2030.
Craig Benedict, Orange County
planning director, said the pro
posed revisions take county growth
into account.
“It has been reorganized to
include all the different aspects of
a comprehensive plan instead of
being put together in a piecemeal
basis,” he said.
Pelissier, who is running for a seat
on the Board of Commissioners,
said the revised development goals
reflect issues that have been recent
ly emphasized in the community.
“We can’t afford to wait years for
our policies to change,” Pelissier
said. “One of the key things is to
make sure we make decisions that
look to the long-term health of
Orange County.”
Pelissier said all of the plan
ning board’s proposed changes are
interrelated and will work togeth
er to improve the quality of life in
Orange County.
“We know land use is related to
economic development and historic
preservation and education,” she
said. “If we want to have a sustain
able future, we need to make sure we
don’t make decisions in isolation.”
Contact the City Editor
at citydesk@unc.edu.
City
Bike rental program talks continue
BY JESSICA BODFORD
STAFF WRITER
Three bicycle-renting stations
might be set up on campus as early
as the end of the semester, UNC
officials said.
The ReCYCLEry, a local orga
nization devoted to providing a
reliable source of clean and afford
able transportation for the com
munity, began negotiations last
year with UNC’s Department of
Public Safety. Although the talks
broke down last year, efforts have
recently started again.
ReCYCLEry maintains Blue
Urban Bikes, which already has
10 designated hubs in the Chapel
Hill-Carrboro area. For a $lO
annual membership, bicycles can
be rented for 24 hours at no extra
cost.
“You get some folks who
haven’t invested in a bike,
whether they don’t have the
money to put forth or they don’t
have the time to work on one,”
said Chris Richmond, director
of ReCYCLEry. “So whatever the
reason, the program is designed
to get folks to try riding a bike
for errands, for fun, for exercise
or just for the community.”
The urban bikes program was
launched in Chapel Hill two years
ago.
Hubs already are located in
areas such as the Chapel Hill Town
Hall, Owen’s 501 Diner and Carr
Mill Mall.
Tentative on-campus loca
tions include areas near Morrison
Residence Hall, the Student Union
and the Gillings School of Global
Public Health, Richmond said.
DPS Spokesman Randy Young
said the campus could benefit from
having its own hubs.
Current construction has cut
off many areas once accessible by
car, limiting parking to select areas
around campus, Young said.
“When we saw the decrease in
the number of parking spaces with
the development plan, we had to
move to entertaining the notion of
providing other sources of trans
portation,” he said.
Catherine Lazorko, Chapel Hill’s
public information officer, said the
town hopes students won’t be the
only ones to take advantage of the
bikes.
“Whenever an employee needs
to go to a meeting nearby, we’re
hoping they’ll take that option,”
Lazorko said.
Some town employees, such
as Sustainability Officer John
Richardson, have made use of Blue
Urban Bikes.
“They’re largely used in
cases where either walking isn’t
fast enough or it’s a little far,”
Richardson said. “It’s a good way to
get to an intermediate location for
meetings or even just for lunch.”
Donald Luse, director of the
Carolina Union, said the program
also offers environmental benefits.
“Anything we can do to make
the campus more sustainable and
more green is a good thing to con
sider,” Luse said. “I don’t think any
body would be against an idea that
helps the community save energy
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Blue Urban Bikes sit outside
of Back Alley Bikes on Graham
Street. The ReCYCLEry rents the
bikes at hubs around Chapel Hill.
and make things more convenient,
especially for our students.”
The addition might raise aware
ness for the ReCYCLEry’s goals.
“Any idea that saves energy is
well worth investigating,” Luse
said. “I mean, it would be silly not
to. Can we work out all the details?
Can we make everything work?
“That’s where we are right now,
so I guess we’ll see.”
Contact the City Editor
at citydesk@unc.edu.