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-::- . Tax increases and the ability to fund services in the Rural Suffer was n that the more stringent requirements of the Rural Buffer would encourage leap frog development. On January 5, 1987, the Board of Commissioners approved the Rural suffer zoning district designation and applied that designation to the x8,000 acres of land. Also at that meeting, a petition was presented by approximately 650 citizens asking that the. two- acre minimum lot size be reduced to 40,000 square feet (0.92 acre). Collins stated that because the Rural Suffer is a part of the Joint Planning Area Land Use Plan and because of the existence of the Joint Planning Agreement between the Town of Chapel Hill and orange County, both Boards were required to sit jointly-at the hearing and both Baards were required to take action on the requests. Collins explained that the Rural Buffer Study was broken down into three main sections, DATA AND ANALYSIS, POLICY ANALYSIS, and IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM. Concurrent with the preparation of the study, anew Joint Planning Agreement was signed by orange County and the Town of Chapel Hill on February 3, 1987. The agreement established within the Rural Buffer, the Chapel Hi11 Joint Development Area (CHJDA) which lies north of I-40 and east of a north-south line adjacent to the eastern boundary of the Blackwood Division of Duke Forest. Within this area, .Orange County standards and ordinances are in effect and the Town of Chapel Hi11 is granted courtesy review. Orange County may not vote to issue or deny a development permit until it has received the recommendations of Chapel Hill ~~r until the expiration of forty-five (45) days after Chapel Hill has -eceived the application, whichever occurs first. The new agreement '~~ecomes effective upon adoption of a zoning map and the Chapel Hi11 Land Development ordinance by Orange County. The first draft of the Rural Buffer Study was completed on February 27, 1987 and distributed to the Orange County Planning Board and Chapel Hill and Carrboro Planning Department for review. Following this review, a revision of the study was produced on March 4, 1987. Major recommendations contained in the study include: 1. Retain the two-acre minimum lot size requirement. Collins indicated the following reasons for retaining the two- acre minimum lot size requirement: a) The Rural Buffer concept as adopted by the County is an important growth management strategy in terms of defining the growth boundaries for the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area and preventing the sprawl of the urban area in the southeastern portion of the County. b) Equally important is the issue of environmental protection and open space. As well as University Lake Watershed, there is a substantial portion of Duke Forest and a significant amount of environmentally sensitive areas in the Rural Buffer. There are farms that are in operation or under use value taxation that contribute greatly to the open space surrounding the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area. For these reasons, the Planning Staff feels it is critical to maintain the two-acre_minimum lot size requirement.