Walkable Hillsborough Day - June 7

Join other pedestrians and cyclists in "Taking Steps to Connect" Hillsborough on June 7 in the 7th Annual Walkable Hillsborough Day, an event to celebrate National Trails Day.

The event, from 8:30 a.m. to noon at the Old Courthouse in downtown Hillsborough, will include two bike rides this year along with three guided walks of varying lengths and exertion. At the courthouse at 10:30 a.m., there will be activities, prizes and refreshments. Information from various organizations - such as the Eno River Association, Audubon Society and Special Transit Advisory Commission - also will be on display.

See the Walkable Hillsborough website for more details.

Draft Comprehensive Plan for May 19th public hearing is now available

Draft 2 of the Comprehensive Plan that will serve as the key document at the public hearing meeting on May 19, 2008 is now available on the county's website. When making comments at the hearing, use this most recent draft.

http://www.co.orange.nc.us/planning/DRAFTCOMPPLAN050608.asp

Opportunities to Help Shape the New Orange County Comprehensive Plan

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? Do you want to see our communities doing something to address climate change?

If so, you are invited to come and express your views at the upcoming Orange County meeting on May 19th:

Public Hearing - Monday, May 19 at 7:30 p.m. at the Gordon Battle Courtroom, 106 E. Margaret Lane, Hillsborough

This meeting is taking place because Orange County is in the process of updating its Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan update will direct how Orange County will develop through the year 2030. It guides decisions for a wide range of local issues: housing, economic development, transportation, land use, environment, parks & recreation, and community services & utilities.

Making public comments is easy and can be done in several ways.
* You can submit written and/or verbal comments
* You can email comments to County staff at CompPlanUpdate@co.orange.nc.us.
* You can call county staff with your comments at (919) 245-2575, or you can mail written comments to the Orange County Department of Planning and Inspections, 306-F Revere Road, PO Box 8181, Hillsborough, NC 27278. Please submit comments before May 19th.

For more information on the planning process or to read the first draft of the plan, visit the Orange County Comprehensive Plan website: http://www.co.orange.nc.us/planning/compre_cpupdate.asp.

There will be a 2nd draft available on May 7th.

This message is brought to you by the Orange County Comprehensive Plan Coalition, with support from The Village Project (www.thevillageproject.com) and the Strowd Roses Foundation (www.strowdroses.org).

Countywide meetings in April to comment on the Comprehensive Plan drafts

The county will be holding meetings during April to allow the community to comment on the draft plan elements for the comprehensive plan update. The first meeting is on April 9, 2008 in Chapel Hill and the second meeting is on April 23, 2008 in Hillsborough. The public is encourage to attend these meetings. Additionally, the county is holding an Open House to provide citizens with more information on April 3, 2008.

The drafts of the plan elements should be available on the county website. See the county website for up to date information.

Buckhorn Village: 'Business as Usual' or sensible economic development?

Buckhorn Village is a proposed 'center like The Streets at Southpoint' (N&O, Jan 12) to be located in Orange County. Over a million square feet of retail, hotel & movie theater uses are proposed on 128 acres at the intersection of Buckhorn Road and I40/I85. They estimate the County would realize $7.2 million a year in sales & property tax revenues. But what might these revenues cost us?

James Carnahan asks this question on the Orange Politics blog. Take a look at what he has to say and weigh in yourself: go to the blog here

Take a look at The Village Project article about Buckhorn Village.

The Orange County Comprehensive Plan Coalition

Orange County has begun to update its Comprehensive Plan for the first time in 25 years. The update will be the key document that county government and the commissioners will use to make decisions about land use, transportation, housing, economic development, environmental protection and other critical issues.

Because Orange County is at a critical crossroads economically, socially, and environmentally, a diverse coalition of community stakeholders have come together to create and endorse a vision statement and a set of goals and objectives for Orange County's Comprehensive Plan Update that brings together these principles in a way that truly promotes a sustainable future for our county.

The Village Project would like to thank the Strowd Roses Foundation for its generous grant that is helping to make our work on the Orange County Comprehensive Plan possible. To read more about the coalition, see our new brochure and the Coalition website at http://www.thevillageproject.com/cpu.

The coalition believes sustainability is achieved when stakeholders representing diverse interests work together cooperatively to assure a healthy balance among interdependent social, environmental and economic priorities. Therefore we encourage county residents and other stakeholders to join the coalition and to participate in the update process. For a list of upcoming public participation opportunities, click here.

Celebrate Car Free Day by supporting a train stop in Hillsborough!

On September 22, 2007, somewhere around 10:10 A.M., Amtrak's Train number 80, the Carolinian, will run through Hillsborough. The train won't stop, but Orange County residents will be there encouraging local and state governments to add an Amtrak stop in Hillsborough in celebration of international Car Free Day.

Members of The Village Project and the Walkable Hillsborough Coalition will hold an event beginning around 9:50 A.M. on Saturday the 22nd to highlight the need for Amtrak service for Hillsborough and Orange County. The event will be held at the corner of Eno and South Nash Streets in Hillsborough, in view of the railroad tracks (opposite the former Flynt Mill).

Check out www.gocarfree.com for more details. See you there!