Minutes - 19861006 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

~~ the document into the Land Use Plan represents an important first step in insuring the protection and/or preservation of significant natural and cultural resources. If approved, specific mechanisms such as incentive zoning, density transfers and cluster development can be developed and/or utilized through which to achieve this goal. In addition, public and private agencies and organizations can be contacted for assistance in maintaining and managing significant areas. As development pressures mount in Orange County, protection of sensitive areas becomes even more critical than in the past. Astable and varied natural environment, along with an appreciata.on of historical, cultural, and. community resources are essential to a healthy society. Current development patterns in the triangle suggest that the natural environment is part of the high quality of life which attracts new development and residents. The County has already stated some commitment to the protection of significant natural resources through policy statements and the identification of some natural areas in the Land Use Plan, Floodway and Streamway Building Regulations, and Public Interest District Zoning. In the face of rapid growth, however, commitment to protection, and the potential levels of protection need tv be expanded. Current definitions of sites significant to the natural and physical environment, along with rationales for protection, are deficient when confronted by a doubling of the County's population in the next 20-30 years. Additionally no comprehensive data base of sites important to the natural and physical environment exists. This proposed text amendment and accompanying appendix are designed to remedy that situation. Currently, the Land Use Plan speaks primarily to the protection of large public and quasi-public holdings such as Eno River State Park and Duke Forest. A recognition of the need for protection on large private holdings or small sites of biological significance is much less evident, even though the Triangle Land Conservancy and N.C. Natural Heritage Program have identified over two dozen such sites in orange Caunty that are home to endangered or threatened species and exemplary geologic formations. The County also has no record of private lands placed in reserve for wildlife generation (such as wildlife renew areas or the Continental Timberlands site in Bingham Township) or passive recreation (such as hiking trails in the Morgan Creek easements). As for man-made additions to the environment, the Land Use Plan speaks only to the protection of state or federally registered historic buildings and archeological sites, ignoring literally hundreds of other sites important to the history and culture of orange County. Cemeteries, which as a group are currently unrecognized in the Land Use Plan, offer a wealth of historical data on county resident and early history. For early county residents it may be the only record as vital records registration was not mandated until this century. State law offers some protection from desecration but the laws cannot be enforced if locations are not recorded. The intent of establishing cemeteries in the Land Use Plan as historically significant sites is not to preserve them at all costs. Rather, it seeks to prevent past abuses, the using of gravesites as dumping grounds for building construction or plowing under without