Commissioners received a new ranking of potential sites for Orange County's waste transfer station Tuesday night.
The new list drawn from criteria that include community concerns such as environmental justice significantly reorders the previous ranking.
The new top four sites are located along a mile-long stretch of N.C. 54 near Orange Grove Road.
The Eubanks Road site home to the county landfill since 1972 dropped four spots to No. 8.
The two previously top-ranked sites which are in one of Hillsborough's economic development zones fell to the fifth and sixth spots on the list.
Both lists were generated by a consulting group Olver Inc. which the board hired last November.
The previous ranking met intense criticism from the public for only taking technical concerns such as site size and access to major transportation routes into account.
And commissioners had also objected" saying Olver strayed from the established plan by delaying consideration of how a site effects the community around it.
Commissioners said they plan to cut the list to no more than three sites next week using both the old and updated rankings and gather public input on their selections.
They also said they did not want to include Olver in the upcoming public comment period of the siting process.
""People will feel like they have not been heard if they have to talk to somebody who talks to us"" Commissioner Moses Carey said.
Although the board still plans to make a final decision Nov. 18, commissioners stressed that their priority is making the right choice rather than rushing the process.
If the process extends into December, the final siting decision could fall in the hands of the new members of the Board of County Commissioners elected on Nov. 4.
It would be nice to have it done before we change boards"" Chairman Barry Jacobs said. But I think it's more important that we do it right.""
Once commissioners select a final site" they will follow the normal approval procedures for a new development including a traffic impact analysis and an environmental impact assessment.
The siting process was opened in November after commissioners scrapped original plans to locate the transfer station on Eubanks Road.
Residents of that neighborhood have advocated removing the Eubanks site from the list of potential locations since then.
Carey said he might not be present at the board's critical meeting next week. Nelson said he could be late. Jacobs said he reluctantly" would be at next week's critical meeting.
""In the interests of full disclosure" I don't have any conflicts that day" Jacobs said. But I sure wish I wasn't going to be there.""
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Transfer site ranks reordered
