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.-, -~~_~~ response. Bell explained the Plan beginning with the Rural Residential designation. He indicated it was scaled down in size -from the 1981 Plan, and there are two primary areas. one is the southeastern part of the township which reflects historical development and the trends discussed earlier. The second is the central township area south of Caldwell and is based on the lack of environmental constraints, development trends previously discussed, and the general lack of agriculture. Yn both cases, the Staff .has tried to orient Rural Residential on arterial highways to provide. good access to Hillsborough. and Durham and also around encroachment on the agricultural areas. Both of the areas are in general conformity with the questionnaire results. The Agricultural Residential areas are interspersed in existing agricultural areas. The primary use is residential although the lot size often exceeds ten acres. Some examples include the Worth Lutz property, Little River Ranches and Little River Farms. The agricultural areas are not so much a designation as a reflection of existing conditions. The areas shown as Agricultural on the Plan were identified through a combination of field survey and review of agriculture use value taxation files and include managed forest lands. Protection of agricultural lands in the Township is the first operating principle. By identifying them on the plan, it is ~` easier to assess the potential impacts when adjacent areas are proposed for residential or other development and, at least to ;; some extent, try to mitigate the potential impacts on the agricultural areas. Resource Protection Areas are composed of two limiting environmental features - flood prone areas and steep slopes (those more than 15~). There are 1230 acres in flood prone areas and 470 acres with steep slopes in the Resource Protection Area, representing a total of 1700 acres (5~ of the Township). The arterial and collector road system serving the township has also been identified. The arterials include NC 57 and 157. Collectors include Guess Road, New Sharon Church Road, Schley Road and Little River Church Road. The road classifications have been shown because they serve as a guide in determining the location of Activity Nodes and Rural Residential Areas. Little River Township lies in two water supply watersheds. The northern part of the Township lies in the Flat River Watershed which flows to Lake Michie, the primary water supply for the City of Durham. The southern 80~ of the Township lies in the Little River drainage basin which flows into the Little River Reservoir in Durham County. Sell indicated that Mr. Tom Bruce of the Water Resources Department for the City of Durham was available to address this item in more detail later in the meeting. Activity Nodes are the same as 1981 except for Harris Crossroads.