Agenda - 11-19-2009 - 1 - Laserfiche WebLink

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ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS WORKSESSION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: November 19, 2009 Action Agenda Item No. 2 SUBJECT: Proposed Master Plan - Hollow Rock Access Area at New Hope Preserve DEPARTMENTS: ERCD, Parks & Recreation, PUBLIC HEARING: (Y /N) No Planning ATTACHMENT: Proposed Master Plan Key Issues INFORMATION CONTACT: David Stancil, 245 -2510 Lori Taft, 245 -2660 Marabeth Carr, 960 -3880 PURPOSE: To consider the proposed master plan for the Hollow Rock Access Area — a multi jurisdictional public open space project located along New Hope Creek near the Orange- Durham county line — and provide feedback to staff prior to possible adoption of a master plan. BACKGROUND: This 75 -acre site is located south of Erwin Road near the intersection with Pickett Road. The property straddles the Orange- Durham county line, and is comprised of multiple land parcels owned separately by Orange County, Durham County, the Town of Chapel Hill and the Triangle Land Conservancy. New Hope Creek forms the western boundary of the property. These properties were acquired as part of an overall effort to protect land along New Hope Creek between Duke Forest and US 15/501 as a linear nature preserve, with a planned trail. Durham County refers to its landholdings as the "New Hope Creek Preserve," and Orange County has also used the working title of "New Hope Preserve" to describe its landholdings along New Hope Creek (which includes the Hollow Rock Access Area). The purpose of the multi jurisdictional Hollow Rock Access Area project is to conserve significant natural and cultural resource lands along New Hope Creek and to make portions of the site available for low- impact recreational uses (in this case, the Hollow Rock site). In September 2006, Orange County joined in an interlocal agreement with the City of Durham, Durham County and the Town of Chapel Hill for acquisition and master planning of the property known as the "Hollow Rock Access Area" section of the New Hope Creek corridor. Over an 18 -month period, a Master Plan Advisory Committee (known as the Hollow Rock Master Plan Committee) held workshops and open houses to develop a master plan that fulfills the four responsibilities assigned to it by the agreement: