INC NEWS - help needed - important rezoning case on Monday

[RW Pickle]

........................................................................

Important Re-Zoning Vote  -  Case # Z06-54 / Arrowhead:

........................................................................

The COUNTY COMMISSIONERS will meet this MONDAY NIGHT FEB. 26 to vote on
the proposed rezoning of ARROWHEAD (all property bounded by NC 751, Erwin
Road, Mt. Sinai Road, and the Orange County line) in Western Durham
County.

This important rezoning would change the zoning from RS-20 Residential
Suburban (which is 2 homes per 1-acre lot size) to RR Residential Rural
(which is 1 home per 2-acre lot size).

IF YOU ARE IN FAVOR OF RE-ZONING TO HELP MAINTAIN THE RURAL CHARACTER OF
THIS PART OF DURHAM COUNTY, IT IS IMPORTANT TO EXPRESS YOUR OPINION TO THE
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS WHO WILL BE VOTING.  (Email addresses are below.)

........................................................................

Dear County Commissioner,

I am writing IN FAVOR OF RE-ZONING THE ARROWHEAD AREA (Case # Z06-54) from
RS-20 to RR (Residential Rural).

I ENDORSE THE RE-ZONING to Residential Rural in order to bring this area
of the county into compliance with the vision of the 2030 Comprehensive
Plan for the rural tier and in order for it to be consistent with the
Rural Buffer in adjacent Orange County.  In addition, there are serious
public health concerns with well water (low water supply) and septic in
this area of the county should there be high density development under the
current RS-20 zoning.

I strongly urge you TO VOTE IN FAVOR OF RE-ZONING ARROWHEAD # Z06 - 54.

Thank you for your consideration of this matter.

Sincerely,

............................................................................

If you sent comments to County Commissioners previously, PLEASE SEND YOUR
COMMENTS AGAIN as they strongly consider citizen input when voting.

(You can cut & paste these addresses into your To: and Cc: email boxes):


Phillip Cousin  -   prcousin at earthlink.net  683-1379 (work)

Becky Heron, Vice-Chair  -  bmheron at durhamcountync.gov

Ellen Reckhow, Chair  -  ereckhow at aol.com

Lewis Cheek  -  lcheek at durhamcountync.gov

Michael Page  -  mpage at durhamcountync.gov    699-3299 (cell)


County Commissioners' general number: 560-0027.  Their fax # is 560-0013.

............................................................................

RE-ZONING to RR (Residential Rural) would bring this important area of
Durham County into compliance with the vision of the 2030 Comprehensive
Plan for the rural tier, and it would help preserve the rural nature of
the area, protect natural resources, protect existing water supply (wells)
and septic, be consistent with the Rural Buffer in adjacent Orange County,
and encourage responsible future development of this area of the county.

............................................................................

PLEASE E-MAIL OR CALL THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS TO LET THEM KNOW YOUR
OPINION ABOUT RE-ZONING ARROWHEAD.  REFER TO ZONING CASE # Z06-54.  Even a
one-sentence email would be helpful.

The Durham Planning Commission VOTED UNANIMOUSLY in November '06 to
RECOMMEND THE RE-ZONING.  The City/County Planning Dept. HAS STATED ITS
SUPPORT OF the rezoning as well.  The County Commissioners were scheduled to
vote on this rezoning at their January 22, '07 meeting, but it was postponed
to Feb 26.  We are not assured of how all Commissioners will vote.

............................................................................


This is such an important vote for Durham.  Please consider attending the
COUNTY COMMISSIONER'S MEETING on MONDAY FEB. 26th at 7 PM.   Arrowhead
will be at the beginning of the agenda.

Please consider signing up to speak  - speeches are limited to two minutes
but can be much shorter if you so choose.

200 East Main Street.

The Public Parking garage is next door.

............................................................................

Some background on Arrowhead  -  Case # Z06-54:


The County Commissioners requested the rezoning from RS-20 to RR to bring
the Arrowhead into compliance with the 2030 Comprehensive Plan, which
placed the area in a Rural Tier.  The Comp Plan provides in Policy 2.3.1a
Rural Tier Development Focus.  Ensure that new development promotes
agricultural uses and single-family residential development on large lots
to minimize demands for public infrastructure.  Commercial areas shall be
small scale and neighborhood oriented.  Please note that the Comprehensive
Plan is a guideline for directing responsible growth in Durham; it does
not carry the same legal weight as the Unified Development Ordinance,
Durham's zoning and development regulations.  That's why the zoning
designation for our area would have to be legally changed to match the
intent of the Comprehensive Plan.


Some points to consider:

-       The 2-acre lot size is consistent with the vision in the
Comprehensive Plan passed by the County Commissioners and the City
Council, after several years of hard work by a large number of people.

-       The Arrowhead is the only Rural Tier area in western Durham;
everything to the east and north is suburban - the rezoning will help to
preserve the rural nature of the area.

-       The 2-acre lot size is consistent with the Rural Buffer next to us
in Orange County; lots there must be at least 2 acres.

-       We know that our area will always depend on wells and septic -
city services cannot be extended into the Rural Tier unless there's a
septic tank or well failure.  Two-acre lots will serve to reduce density
such that our water supply and septic capabilities will be better
protected.

-       The 2-acre lot size will help to protect our other natural
resources, the streams, fields, and forested areas, plus the wildlife that
live there.

-       The 2-acre lot size would deter developers from proposing
developments that simply will not work in our area.  Developers could
propose Conservation Subdivisions that contain lots smaller than 2 acres,
as long as the overall project density is not greater than 1 house/2
acres. Simply put, this provision would allow for responsible development.

-       The 2-acre lot size minimum is what Orange County requires less
than a mile down the road. With 2 acres, it makes septic tanks a viable
source for the sewage treatment these homes will need. Less than this,
with the soils in the region, septic systems are doomed to fail. On
smaller lots, there will be no recourse due to their lot size. When this
happens, your tax dollars will be spent to rectify the problems this
development will create.

-       This is not about some anti-development group not wanting to spoil
our rural buffers. Responsible development is good. The issue here is
density. Had the development plan allowed homes on 2 acre minimum lots
(lot size in the rural areas is usually determined by available perk sites
so some lots may need to be 5 acres to get the needed perk site; some land
just will not perk, period), there would not be the issue with the
development. Not as an average of the number of homes in the land space
total. Some of every large parcel of land is undevelopable. And it's wrong
to use this undevelopable land as part of any equasion when figuring
density in our rural buffers that must depend on wells and septic systems
for their critical water and sewage use.


We came together to stop the Scott Mill rezoning; here's another
neighborhood that needs our help. Fell free to pass this along to your
neighborhood list servers.

THANK YOU FOR CARING ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY!

RWP
27 Beverly