May 3rd, 2013

Concerned Citizens,

Last night, the Orange County Planning Commission voted unanimously to table the Comprehensive Plan in order to address some of the comments they had received from the public. Over thirty people spoke with the vast majority calling for a plan that recognized the agricultural nature and beauty of the County. Concerns raised included, the lack of public input, methodology used to create the future land use map, designation of Route 20 and 15 as Potential Economic Development, an agricultural designation (A-2) geared for residential development, and a vision statement that allows for development to trump agriculture.

We would like to thank the dedicated citizens who attended last night. Their comments were largely thoughtful and respectful, and the main reason this version is not heading straight to the Supervisors. While this pause is helpful, it is unclear just how far the Commission will go to address the concerns raised. Two of the four commissioners present somewhat pushed back against the crowd in their closing comments.

We are hopeful the county uses this time wisely, scheduling additional community meetings to solicit further input and, once changes are made, holding another hearing. We urge you to get involved as these discussions move forward. Stay tuned…

Sincerely,
Dan Holmes
Orange County Land Use Officer