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36 <br />Ho/ %w Rock Area /New Hope Creek Opportunities and Constraints <br />Soils <br />Soil Survey maps of Orange and Durham counties identify a variety of soil types within <br />the planning area. The northeast (upland) portion of the site has White Store clay <br />loam— moderately well drained soil found on ridges and the sides of narrow upland <br />slopes. Slope, erosion, surface runoff, and slow permeability are the main limitations to <br />its use and management. The potential for urban, cropland and active recreation uses <br />is low. Most areas with this soil are used as woodland, as has been the case for this <br />site. The southwest (lowland) half of the property has bottomland soils ( Creedmoor and <br />Congaree fine sandy loam) with low potential for most urban uses. The Congaree soil is <br />associated with floodplain along New Hope Creek and the unnamed feeder stream. The <br />Creedmore soil is located on the northwest portion of the site, adjacent to Erwin Road. <br />Sometimes used for cropland and pasture, the soil has moderate potential for active <br />recreation use. A soils map of the property is provided as Figure F. <br />Existing Structures and Improvements <br />There are no structures on the property, except for a well- established home site located <br />on the Triangle Land Conservancy parcel. The site includes an old house (ca. 1920) and <br />small outbuildings, which TLC uses for rental income and for storing equipment. A <br />small field (± 1 acre) extends from the house into the Orange County preserve. That <br />field has been maintained for agricultural uses over the past 80 years or more. <br />A walking trail enters the western half of the property from Pickett Road and winds its <br />way down to New Hope Creek. The trail was created as a "temporary trail' in 2005 to <br />enable local elected officials and state grant officials to tour the site prior to acquisition. <br />Since then visitors from the neighborhood and nearby Forest View Elementary School <br />have used the trail for periodic visits to New Hope Creek. A second walking trail enters <br />the eastern half of the site from Pickett Road. The short trail follows the riparian <br />corridor upstream before looping back through the upland forest and back to the road. <br />A small remnant portion of the former Hillsborough - Fayetteville road remains visible, <br />immediate southwest of the intersection of Erwin Road and Pickett Road. The old road <br />and its significance will be described in the cultural and archaeological survey. <br />VI. Cultural and Archaeological Survey <br />Legacy Research Associates, Inc. was selected in September 2007 to conduct a cultural <br />and archaeological survey of the planning area. The purpose of the survey is to identify <br />and evaluate significant cultural resources located on the property so that they will be <br />protected from park development and available for future interpretation of the site. <br />The survey is scheduled to be completed in November 2007. The final report will <br />reference previously recorded archaeological sites and describe any new sites identified <br />by this new survey. A summary of the survey findings and recommendations will be <br />presented to the Hollow Rock park master plan committee. <br />Page 5 of 8 <br />