I received many emails regarding the public hearing yesterday for Whippoorwill Landings on Narcoossee Road. While I may be your Commissioner today, I was not your Commissioner when the Narcoossee Corridor Policies were adopted, nor when Tyson's Corner or Pioneers was approved. My office is working expeditiously to update the Narcoossee Corridor Policies to more accurately reflect the desires of the rural settlement, however this process will not be complete until later this year.

Yesterday's item was transmitted to the State in a 7-0 vote by the Board of County Commissioners because it complies with the policies set forth in the Orange County Comprehensive Code and the Narcoossee Corridor Policies. It will now be reviewed by the State and brought back to the Board for adoption. There will be another public hearing.

When I ran for office I told you that while we may not agree on every decision, I will do my best to make the most informed decisions as possible based on the information available to me and that I will always communicate with you.

Therefore, I have included my prepared remarks from yesterday's Board of County Commission meeting so that you know exactly what was said and included in the official record.

Once the video becomes available on the Orange County website, I encourage you to watch it.

My remarks:

Coming to a decision today has been difficult. As with many of the projects we see affecting rural settlements, there seems to be a difference of interpretation when it comes to Orange County's Comprehensive Plan.

The citizens living within the Lake Whippoorwill Rural Settlement believe wholeheartedly that the County's Narcoossee Corridor Policies were established to protect their rural lifestyle. They have participated in countless community meetings and have been vocal all along about what they did and did not want in and adjacent to their rural settlement.

Members of this rural settlement visited my office early last year indicating to me that what was ultimately adopted in the Narcoossee Corridor Policy was not what they were led to believe during the process. They asked if I would help them update these policies and I agreed to do so. We have been working with members of the rural settlement and Orange County Planning staff on this update since mid last year and plan to present them to this board during the next cycle of comp plan amendments.

One area we plan to address in these updated policies has become increasingly apparent as we address the item before us right now. Moving forward, I will make it a priority via the updated Narcoossee Corridor Policy to clearly define land uses that can and cannot be adjacent to this rural settlement.

An example of where there might be confusion is on page 40 of your book. Tyson's Corner is one of the projects used by Orange County to provide its argument for compatibility. You will see on the illustration that there is an LDR designation directly adjacent to the Rural Settlement. However, on June 22 2010 when Tyson's Corner was ultimately approved, the LDR designation was stricken from the text because you cannot in fact have a senior living designation within LDR. The illustration in our books is not reflective of what was ultimately adopted - hence, more confusion.

The Narcoossee Corridor Policies were meant to provide definitions as to what can and cannot be built in this area. We have a difference of opinion between Orange County Planning Staff and members of the Rural Settlement as to the original intent of these policies.

Therefore, while I have some concerns about this proposed amendment and only because I know that these concerns will be specifically addressed in the policy updates, I will make a motion for transmittal.

I will however request that the PD rezoning for this amendment be brought back to this Board concurrently with Plan Amendment adoption, consistent with other recent Future Land Use Map amendments in this area.

During the PD rezoning process, conditions should be placed on this development that address compatibility with the Rural Settlement.

These conditions should address:

•      Transition of density and intensity from west (along Narcoossee Road) to east (adjacent to the Rural Settlement);
• Townhomes (12 units) adjacent to the rural settlement;
•    Building heights no greater than 45 feet transitioning to no greater than 35 feet adjacent to the Rural Settlement;
•     Appropriate mass and scale of structures designed specifically to minimize visibility of the project from the rural settlement;
•     Landscape Buffers between the rural settlement and its adjacent use; and
• Protections of the existing live oak tree canopy throughout the project consistent with Orange County's Tree Protection Ordinance.

**I also asked the applicant  to work with my office and members of the rural settlement concerning architectural features and design elements.

Motion: Make a motion to transmit the amendment to the future land use map from Rural Settlement 1/2 to Planned Development-Commercial/Office/Medium Density Residential / Townhome / Rural Settlement 1/2.