Orange County NC Website
<br />Gene Bell, Planner for the Orange County Planning Department also <br />presented information related to this plan. Ne stated that in October, 1990 <br />the Chapel Hill Town Council appointed a Small Area Plan Work Group to develop <br />a recommended long-range plan for the Southern Area. This area is located <br />generally south of Morgan Creek and includes land on both sides of U.S. 15-501 <br />South to the Chatham County line. To the east, the boundary is a natural <br />ridge line. To the west, the boundary is 250 feet east of Smith Level Road. <br />The majority of the southern area is located within Chapel Hill's <br />extraterritorial planning jurisdiction (ETJ). However, an area of <br />approximately 205 acres bounded generally by U.S. 15-501 to the west, the ETJ <br />line to the north, Old Lystra Road to the east, and the Chatham Count;y line to <br />the south is in the JPA. <br />This area is currently designated as Chapel Hill Suburban Residential <br />Transition in the JPA Land Use Plan. The Plan describes such areas as <br />follows: <br />Suburban Residential Areas are designated for housing densitie;> from one <br />(1) to five (5) dwelling units per acre. Such areas are located where <br />land is changing from rural to urban, suitable for urban densities, and <br />to be provided with public utilities and services. Housing types range <br />from single-family homes to duplexes to multi-family dwellings. <br />In general, the Southern Small Area Plan concentrates development in <br />areas of environmental suitability nearest the existing town limits. Density <br />is lower in areas of environmental constraints and in areas farthest from <br />being served by public facilities. Residential densities for the Southern <br />Area range from four houses per acre to one house per five acres. The area <br />contained in the JPA is shown as having a future residential density of one <br />unit per acre for areas off 15-501 and one unit per five acres far areas off <br />Old Lystra Road. Thus, substantially lower densities are proposed fcr the <br />area than were originally envisioned in the JPA Land Use Plan. <br />The Southern Small Area Plan attempts to balance preservation and <br />development objectives. Preservation objectives include protection of <br />environmentally sensitive areas, natural beauty, area character, and existing <br />neighborhoods. Development objectives focus on providing a range of housing, <br />limiting increases in traffic, providing appropriate community facilities and <br />emphasizing alternatives to the automobile. <br />The Plan does not include the Laurel Hill Parkway. Instead, a network <br />of existing and potential local roads would be interconnected. The local <br />roads are intended to help people move around the area without creating major <br />arterial roads. The Plan emphasizes development of a transportation network <br />that includes all forms of transportation, and de-emphasizes the automobile. <br />A network of bikepaths, sidewalks, and greenways is suggested. <br />THE PUBLIC HEARING WAS OPEN FOR QUESTIONS AND/OR COMENTS FROM ELECTED <br />OFFICIALS OR PLANNING BOARD MEMBERS <br />Commissioner Garden requested that the wording be changed so that it was <br />