Agenda - 08-24-2009-C2 - Laserfiche WebLink

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STRATEGIC GROWTH AND RESOURCE CONSERVATION PROGRAM Final (8.7.2009) Figure 2 -3. Density of Recent Development N m V A a `o m E Z Z 00 ■ Near Urban ■ Rural 80 80 40 20 n 20 10 8 6 4 3 2 1 1.5 ac 2 ac 3 ac 4 ac 5 ac 6 ac 7 ac 8 ac 9 ac 10 ac > 10 ac units /ac units /ac units /ac units /ac units /ac units /ac units/ac unit/ac Density (parcel size) One issue raised during this analysis was whether large -lot (10 acres or greater) development can be more beneficial to developers than higher density development, such as would be produced with the SGRC Program. There is some indication, as discussed above, that there is a tendency to develop large -lot subdivisions in Orange County, as evidenced by the relatively high number of 10+ acre parcels developed recently. This type of development may, however, be the unintended result of a different approval process for such subdivisions, rather than an indication of profitability at different densities. Two findings indicate that it still may be more profitable for a developer to develop at higher densities. Land value per acre declines as parcel size increases, as discussed above and illustrated in Figure 2 -4. Figure 2 -4 also illustrates that there are few properties with a land value per acre higher than expected ( "outliers "). In the figure below, each dot represents one of the 916 recently developed parcels. Most of the parcels are clustered near the axes, indicating either a large parcel size with low land value per acre, or a small parcel size with high land value per acre. Just a few parcels are farther from the axes, indicating a higher- than - expected land value for parcels that size. Both of these findings seem to support a more profitable development by increasing density on any particular parcel. ORANGE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA