If someone asked you to describe Orange County in the year 2030, how would you want it to look? Current population trends suggest that some 65,000 more people may live in the county by then. How will we handle all that growth? Is this an acceptable level of growth? How will we protect our "quality of life"? Where will all those people work, where will they live, how will they get from place to place?

Perhaps you’ve never thought about it. Perhaps you feel that nothing you could say or do would matter anyway, that what’s going to happen is going to happen, for better or worse.

Not so. We can shape the future if we start planning for it now. You are about to read what a group of ordinary citizens from all over Orange County put together when they were asked to find out what residents hoped our county would look like 30 years from now. The idea was to get down on paper a vision of where we’d all like to be, so we can figure out how to get there before it’s too late. This "figuring out of how to get there" is our next step and we’ll be looking for your input on these more-specific recommendations.

Here it is. How does the SOCF vision compare with your vision of the future? Are the things you care about being considered? Did we miss anything that is especially important to you?

Projection of Current Trends

"Orange County in 2030 is a sustainable community that has successfully integrated its economic and physical development with preservation of its natural environment - clean air and water, wildlife habitat and open spaces - through joint planning, cooperation and action."

A county-wide comprehensive plan coordinates the jurisdictional plans of the towns and county, and UNC plans cooperatively with the jurisdictions of the county for growth management. Regional planning occurs through dialogue and joint policy-making among Orange County jurisdictions, and neighbors in the Triangle and Piedmont Triad regions. Additionally, joint planning agreements based on environmental and economic functional units, rather than jurisdictional boundaries, exist where appropriate. A comprehensive transportation plan involves collaboration among the governments and citizens from all jurisdictions in the county and region, as well as the NC Department of Transportation, and major institutions in the county, such as UNC and UNC Hospitals. The plan has reduced traffic congestion, air pollution, and the need to pave more land, and provides modes of transit for those who can not drive or do not own a vehicle. As a result of this effort, the county has reversed trends of increasing vehicle miles traveled, reduced traffic congestion, and decreased the percent of Single Occupancy Vehicle trips.

Based on photo courtesy of Triangle Transit Authority,
www.rideTTA.org.

The towns and county have adopted coordinated Adequate Public Facilities Ordinances (APFOs), which ensure that development is not approved until governments are prepared to provide the necessary supporting infrastructure including streets, sewer and water, and schools. Through joint agreements with Orange County, urban growth boundaries exist around Chapel Hill/Carrboro, Hillsborough, Mebane, and Durham.

Through this coordinated planning much of the growth over the last 30 years has been focused into the four towns: Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Hillsborough, and Mebane, and into planned rural villages which have grown at historic rural activity nodes in the county. The rural villages have developed in measured steps, away from sensitive natural areas. Each village has become a small, yet diverse, community providing a genuine sense of place to live and grow. By focusing rural development into these villages, the integrity of many of the county’s large natural areas has been preserved.

Air quality is protected and standards adhered to through achievement of the county’s transportation plan goals. Transportation plan goals to protect air quality focus on reducing dependency on single occupancy vehicles through provision of alternative means of transit, auto-free zones and pedestrian-oriented, mixed use development, as well as by encouraging the use of less-polluting, alternatively fueled vehicles. Increasing use of alternative-fueled vehicles and emissions reduction technology has greatly reduced air pollution from automobiles in Orange County as well as the nation. Air quality is also protected by businesses that are environmentally friendly and have strategies for reducing emissions, such as, using energy efficient building construction, using solar rather than electric power, buying material locally so as to reduce truck transit, and promoting telecommuting as a means to reduce vehicle miles traveled.

Orange County also has a stable and diverse agricultural economy. Recognizing the value of farmland for retaining rural character and open space, and the importance of domestic agriculture to our national security, county citizens have made a strong commitment to support local agriculture. The county provides a variety of incentives and supports to retain farms. County schools and other local institutions purchase local produce, and business support services provide local farmers with assistance in marketing products, adopting new technologies, and starting up value-added businesses that make farming more profitable. ¨

The towns in Orange County all offer opportunities and amenities more frequently found in larger places, much of this due to UNC’s presence and the needs of its students, faculty and staff. Yet the towns retain their small town feel and friendliness as well as their own unique character based in their historical roots. Mixed use development is encouraged in commercial districts and in downtown areas through allowances made for increased density and flexibility. The downtown areas continue to be the activity hubs for businesses, governments, institutions, and other organizations.

A "green infrastructure" made up of parks, natural areas, wildlife corridors, farms and other open space exists. Recognizing the need to protect land for different purposes, some lands are preserved for resource or endangered species protection, and human use is not allowed or is restricted. Other lands are designated for human use and activity for recreation or for work such as farming and timbering. The county’s Natural Areas Inventory and other subsequent assessments have been used to prioritize land acquisition objectives. The amount of open space preserved in perpetuity has increased dramatically over the past 30 years through acquisition of land and development rights. Farmland has been voluntarily preserved through incentives, such as tax incentives, and through initiatives, such as a voluntary Purchase of Development Rights program.

Growth and Development in Rural Areas

Each village has a mixture of housing types and is socio-economically diverse. Incentives promote the development of affordable and disabled accessible housing. These rural villages have developed at some of the historic rural activity centers (such as Caldwell and White Cross), and similar growth is encouraged in Efland/Cheeks, eastern Orange (along the I-85 corridor), as well as at a new northern Orange economic development node near Person and Caswell counties.

Villages are developed through citizen and stakeholder input, to design communities that grow in measured steps. Through consensus, a people-centered design has been developed that sets broad parameters for development, with local builders and architects having flexibility to design and build an architecturally diverse mixture of buildings that complement the character of the area within these guidelines. The result has been development of highly diverse communities having a genuine sense of place and close-knit community atmosphere.

Public transit connects rural villages and towns via transit corridors. Each village center has a multi-modal Transit Distribution Center with bus service, park and ride, pedestrian paths, bike lanes, and van/car pool lanes. Paratransit for persons with disabilities has improved and expanded in rural areas to serve all who need it. ¨

The community of Orange County highly values education, and schools in the county provide quality education to all of their students. The education system prepares children to be responsible citizens, well-rounded critical thinkers, and to have marketable skills. Positive learning environments are created by maintaining low student-teacher ratios, emphasizing time-on-task, supporting creative and innovative teaching, and having clear student behavioral expectations and consequences. Special needs of students are met, and special programs prepare at-risk pre-K children for school and provide remediation for older students. Programs and curricula are periodically evaluated to assess effectiveness in meeting student needs. Educational choice exists in the form of public schools, charter schools, and private schools, and a variety of options exist within the public schools such as vocational and technical skills training programs.

UNC’s location in Chapel Hill adds another dimension to the educational and cultural life of Orange County and its towns. The University is a valuable resource, not only to its state and nation, but to its closest neighbors in Orange County with whom it shares many of its facilities and programs. Its attractive campus includes an art museum, galleries, planetarium, libraries, a continuing education center, auditoriums, meeting rooms, sports facilities, professional repertory theatre, arboretum, and botanical garden all of which are open to the public for special programs, concerts, recitals, films, lectures, forums, sporting and other events. But most important, UNC makes accessible to local residents who seek to pursue lifelong learning and other academic opportunities, an array of substantial continuing education programs, as well as highly respected degree programs, both undergraduate and graduate. ¨

"In Orange County in 2030 a comprehensive network of health and human services is available to all residents throughout their lifetime."

Orange County residents, working in conjunction with child care advocacy organizations, are committed to promoting the physical, mental, social, and spiritual well-being and growth of children and their families. Responsible parenting is promoted, encouraged, and taught. Child care quality across the board has improved, and unsafe, substandard day care has been eliminated. Provision of adequate salaries for child care workers has helped improve care quality by attracting and retaining qualified workers. Constructive supervised activities, such as after school care, tutoring, summer programs, and cultural and social experiences, are provided for all young children.

Orange County has also become something of a mecca for active seniors due in part to its being home to a university with a national reputation and to the UNC Hospitals and the sophisticated medical care available. A number of retirement communities have been developed which focus on this group of seniors who retire to Orange County from all over the country. Many in this group share their experience and professional skills through volunteer activities for children, youth, and other adults, thereby making an important contribution to their new community.

A comprehensive affordable housing policy exists due to collaborative efforts of the towns and county. Affordable housing (defined as housing costing no more than 30% of household gross income) is available to meet the needs of all individuals in Orange County, including older adults, persons with disabilities, the mentally impaired, battered women, low-income households, and the homeless.

Health services - physical, mental (including services for drug abuse) and prescription - are well funded and are easily accessible to all citizens. Health care coverage for new and expecting parents is provided to enhance family health and well-being.

Crime rates are low due to community policing, extensive citizen involvement in "Neighborhood Watch" programs, and community awareness and responsiveness to issues of abuse. Community safety has also been improved by promoting development patterns that enhance community closeness, and through educational programs for children and adults on safety issues. The county takes full advantage of available technology so that citizen needs for emergency services are responded to promptly. Adequate fire protection systems and response times exist, even in rural parts of the county. The county has an integrated emergency management communication system that enables communication among departments and jurisdictions. ¨

"In 2030 Town and County governments provide quality services efficiently. They work together cooperatively to meet citizens needs, and citizens are actively involved in shaping government decisions through short and long-term, stakeholder advisory boards."

Government Efficiency and Service Provision

The Town and County governments have found new ways to reduce redundancy in service provision, and provide services efficiently, and in a cost effective way. Inter-organizational and inter-governmental collaboration and coordination are the norm. The governments cooperate on regional issues, and together rethink and redefine their responsibilities developing new ways to address inter-jurisdictional issues. Turf issues that arise are settled through use of facilitators and a dispute resolution process. The governments of the county have combined some services to achieve greater fiscal efficiency. As a result some services that used to be provided separately by the towns and county are now provided for all citizens by a county-wide agency.

Other policies to improve fiscal efficiency include multiple use of government facilities, selective economic development that helps balance the residential to non-residential ratio of the tax base, and other techniques to address growth impacts. Governments provide quality services efficiently with clear, fair and timely administration of regulations.

To ensure adequate representation of the diversity of county citizenry, the size of the County Commission has increased and seats are elected in such a way that the diverse interests of all the county’s residents are fully represented.

"Orange County in the year 2030 enjoys a vibrant community life rich in recreational and cultural opportunities, and celebrates it diverse natural, cultural and historic resources. Through shared activities that bring people together to work, play and plan."

Along with the community centers, many services and activities exist in the county that enrich people’s lives. From volunteer opportunities, to cultural arts, to athletics and outdoor recreation, to cultural events that celebrate the rich character of our rural areas and towns, and our cultural and ethnic diversity, there is always something to do. The cultural arts – music, theatre, dance, visual arts -- are strongly supported, with many opportunities for arts education and enjoyment available at numerous facilities and venues. A community of artists, artisans and writers thrives through local support. Full advantage is taken of the county’s natural, cultural and historic resources to provide recreational activities and opportunities for learning.

The community is inclusive of all people and there is openness, innovation and experimentation. Purposeful inclusion of families of all economic levels and fostering of shared activities among various groups has strengthened the sense of community in the county. Barriers have been broken down and community built through full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the cultivation of civility, appreciation and connection among all racial and ethnic groups, creation of socio-economically diverse neighborhoods, open and active communication between rural and urban citizens of the county. People work, play, and plan together. The community has moved beyond acceptance and tolerance into mutual respect, understanding, and caring. ¨

The Task Force will be developing recommendations to achieve this vision, but first we’d like to know what you think. Please click below to email us your response to what you've read.   Specifically we'd like to know for each section what ideas you liked, what you didn't like, and if there are things important to you that haven't been covered.   Your feedback will be used to refine this vision statement.

Further opportunities for participation are coming. This fall SOCF will sponsor community workshops to assist with developing recommendations to achieve the envisioned future. Meeting dates and times will be posted on our website at www.co.orange.nc.us/shaping and in local newspapers. We invite you to participate in this opportunity to shape Orange County’s future. Provisional recommendations will be completed by December and will be forwarded to the governing boards for consideration and eventual incorporation into local policies and plans. If you would like to receive email notification of the fall workshop meeting times and locations send an email message to shaping@co.orange.nc.us with the words "email notification" on the subject line. If you do not have email and would like to receive notice of workshops and our newsletter, send your name and address to: