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152 the many groups that work and live in the rural buffer as well as • other groups in the county. The diversity in both the committee and the community meetings taught them a lot about the needs of the rural buffer community. They learned from the farming community about the importance of land to their livelihood today and as a source of income when they retire. They learned from the established family about the importance of being able to give small portions of their land to their children and grandchildren. They learned from the conservationists and the custodians of Duke Forest about the importance of open space and natural areas to the supply of clean air and clean water and they learned from the Economic Development Commission about the importance of growth to the economic health of this community. They learned about the need for affordable housing. When they focused on developing recommendations, they learned how hard it was to meet the diverse needs of the many community groups in the Rural Buffer. They studied numerous options going back to the community for help and suggestions. Through the process they had to share in the give and take of individual benefits for the sake of the greater benefits of the community as a whole. Tonight, the Study Committee presents their recommendations to the governing boards. They feel the recommendations meet their two basic objections. First, the recommendations provide the residents of the Rural Buffer with greater flexibility to develop their land. There are five options in the recommendations with each option being the choice of the landowner and incentives for compensating the landowner for inconveniences of 4111 preserving rural open space. Second, the recommendations provide greater protection for the beauty of the natural areas of the Rural Buffer. Each option promotes less disturbance to the land than the current development options. Burklin referred to a request that a study group of the three governing boards be established to take over the Rural Character Study after this public hearing. The Committee is concerned that this approach may overlook the vast amount of knowledge that has been developed by the Study Committee and runs the risk of reinventing the wheel and the time delays associated with that which may not involve the public in the process. He invited everyone present to take this opportunity to make this a learning process and to share and exchange ideas. LIVY LUDINGTON, member of the Rural Character Study Committee, talked about the committee itself. It allowed those with different backgrounds, interests and issues to work together and air their differences and come up with an agreement. The common bond of all these different groups is that they all care about this community. She feels they have a respect for each other and an understanding about the priorities of each group which led to a plan which is a beginning. There has been a lot of giving and taking and a lot of listening to other people in the community. The Committee feels this has been a cooperative effort with a real balance in the plan. She hopes that those who work on the plan after tonight understand that there is a very continuous balance and that it is built on the trust that they feel they have established with each other and with other citizens in the community by listening to them. She hopes that thos that make suggestions think about how they can all be working together