Agenda - 04-20-2010 - 4f - Laserfiche WebLink

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Hollow Rock Access Area Master Plan Project Purpose H September 2009 The New Hope Corridor Open Space Master Plan was adopted in 1991 by the City of Durham, Durham County, Orange County, and the Town of Chapel Hill. The plan called for the protection of an open space corridor along New Hope Creek and its tributary streams for recreational trails and conserving wildlife habitat. The plan identified 10 components —one of which was the "Hollow Rock Access Area." The Hollow Rock Access Area is intended as a community low- impact recreational area, with facilities and amenities that blend with the natural setting. The site is envisioned as a gathering place for picnics and forest walks, and for people of all ages to learn about the rich natural heritage and remarkable history of land use in the Hollow Rock community. The site is also envisioned as an important gateway to the regional New Hope Creek trail system. Land protection along the New Hope Creek corridor extends well beyond the boundaries of the Hollow Rock Access, with 1,900 acres of the Duke Forest (Korstian Division) north of Erwin Road, and Orange and Durham counties owning over 260 acres of additional conservation land downstream of the Hollow Rock area, forming a nearly continuous corridor of open space south to Jordan Lake (Figure B). In 2006 the four local governments signed an interlocal agreement for the planning and operation of the Hollow Rock Access Area portion of the New Hope Creek master plan. The agreement also established the advisory Committee to develop a master plan for the property. A Hollow Rock master plan committee was appointed in late 2006 and charged with developing recommendations for the types and location of facilities for the site. (See Appendix 1 for list of committee members.) Site Characteristics The property is entirely forested except for a two -acre clearing that has been maintained in grass following several decades of agricultural use. The forest is a combination of mature pine and mixed hardwoods bisected by a gravel section of Pickett Road. The land slopes generally to the southwest toward New Hope Creek, which forms the western property boundary. A number of small creeks flow through the middle of the site before draining to New Hope Creek. III. Site Analysis / Opportunities & Constraints At the initial meeting of the master plan committee, staff presented an overview of the property and a detailed analysis of the site's features and potential limitations. The Opportunities and Constraints report summarized the history of land use, zoning and planning issues, and an evaluation of the natural and cultural features present. The following summarizes many of the key findings from that September 2007 report (for more detail, see the full Opportunities and Constraints report included as Appendix 5). W