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EDC debates selling versus developing county tracts; commissioners to ask Board of Supervisors for clarity
Summary
Commissioners disagreed about whether prior Board of Supervisors direction required development (recreation) of the poorhouse/courthouse tract or whether parcels should now be considered for sale; the EDC will raise the matter at its February meeting to reconcile planning commission input and prior board motions.
Commissioners debated how to proceed with county-owned parcels often referenced as the poorhouse or courthouse tract after planning commission members raised possible uses and concerns.
One commissioner said the EDC previously voted to pursue development options for the poorhouse/courthouse tract — including recreation and grant-funded analysis — and that proceeds from any land sale should be set aside in a matching-grants fund. Other commissioners said the planning commission had reopened discussion and proposed evaluating particular parcels for sale. That difference in approach prompted several members to ask the EDC to present a clear request to the Board of Supervisors at the board’s February meeting so county direction is explicit before consultants are hired or parcels are marketed.
Commissioners also recommended inviting the state historic society or historic preservation specialists to walk specific parcels on the eastern side of Donut Road and the western side of Tottenham Road to determine whether historically valuable resources should be preserved or fenced off. The group emphasized the need to verify whether a given parcel has historic features before any sale or development is pursued.
What was decided Commissioners agreed to: 1) flag the issue for the February meeting with the Board of Supervisors to reconcile prior board direction and recent planning-commission suggestions; and 2) defer substantive realtor outreach or parcel marketing until historic review and funding/feasibility work are clarified.
Next steps EDC staff will request that the Board of Supervisors clarify prior direction on the poorhouse/courthouse tract at the February board meeting and will invite the state historic society (or equivalent) to inspect the specified parcels. The commission also plans to pursue grant opportunities to fund consultant work if and when the board’s direction permits such work.
