Agenda - 10-13-2009 - 2 - Laserfiche WebLink

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ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS WORKSESSION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: October 13, 2009 Action Agenda Item No. o~ SUBJECT: NC Mountains-to-Sea Trail -Orange County Segment DEPARTMENTS: ERCD ATTACHMENTS: PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No 1. Key Questions and Decision Points INFORMATION CONTACT: 2. Statewide MST Corridor Map David Stancil, 245-2590 3. Eastern Piedmont MST Corridor Map Rich Shaw, 245-2591 4. Planned Orange County MST Map 5. Sample Resolution 6. Dixon Letter (Friends of MST) PURPOSE: To consider the proposed route for the NC Mountains-to-Sea Trail through Orange County and provide direction to staff on planning and prioritization of this corridor. BACKGROUND: The North Carolina Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST) is a planned 1,000 mile trail that will traverse the state from the Great Smoky Mountains in western North Carolina to the Outer Banks on the Atlantic coast. In 2000 the NC General Assembly authorized the MST as part of the North Carolina Parks System (Attachment 2). More than 500 miles of the MST has been constructed thus far, and with temporary connectors on back roads and bike trails, people can already hike across the entire state. Most of the existing MST is in western and eastern NC, constructed largely by volunteers on federally-owned lands in cooperation with state and local governments. Developing the trail through the more populated Piedmont section of the state, however, will require special consideration, more-complicated planning, and a boost of state funds. From 2005-2007 the Division of State Parks (NC DENR) held stakeholder meetings to identify a preferred route through Alamance, Orange and Durham counties. Orange County staff .(ERCD, Parks & Recreation, and Planning) participated in those meetings along with land trusts and other groups from across the Piedmont. The preferred trail route through the "Eastern Piedmont" was identified by State Parks in 2007 as a result of those stakeholder meetings (Attachment 3). In Orange County the planned MST corridor starts at the Haw River in the far southeast corner, follows Cane Creek northeast through the OWASA Reservoir lands, and cuts overland through the Seven Mile Creek Preserve to Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area. From Occoneechee Mountain the trail follows the Eno River along Hillsborough's Riverwalk and through Eno River State Park into Durham County (Attachment 4). The adjoining counties (Alamance and Durham) have already endorsed the State's planned MST trail corridor and are working .with the State Trails Program, Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, and other partners to acquire land (and trail easements) and