Orange County Board of Commissioners chair Barry Jacobs got the OK to send a letter on behalf of the board to UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp asking for more information about a proposed airport authority that would be charged with siting and building a new airport to replace Horace Williams.
The board approved sending the letter at its meeting Tuesday night.
The county is looking for answers on the scope of work of the authority, qualifications for membership in the authority, funding for the authority, working with the county on land-use planning and public input on plans and decisions.
Under the legislation passed last session by the General Assembly, the new authority would consist of 15 members, including one recommended by the speaker of the House, one recommended by the president pro tem of the Senate, eight members recommended by the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees and approved by the UNC System Board of Governors, three members appointed by the county board of commissioners and two members appointed by towns.
In other action, after more than two years of discussions and revisions, the Orange County Board of Commissioners passed the county’s new comprehensive plan.
The plan, the first major redrafting of the county’s guide for land use since the 1980s, will be used to set land-development policies. The plan sets guidelines for growth and its impact on economic development, housing, land use, natural and cultural resources, recreations and parks, services and county facilities and transportation.