Shaping Orange County's Future Final Full Report

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Focus Area 1. Environment and Land Use GOAL I : Promote Land Use Patterns tha t Meet Our Citizens'Needs While Protecting Natural Resources Backiround /Rationale There are three questions related to growth and development that are crucial to understanding future needs. First, how much growth are we likely to see in the future, and what is our best estimate in terms of the number of new persons, new houses, new cars that the County will see? Second how much growth is desirable or can be accommodated without degrading our quality of life? Finally, are there ways to accommodate the growth to lessen any negative impacts, both environmental and social, taking into consideration community opinion, forums and focus groups? Based on current trends, SOCF estimates that another 66,000 people may live in the county by 2030. If trends from the past ten years continue —45% of this growth will be within current town borders, and —55% will be in the rural areas of the county. To prevent sprawl and help maintain the county's rural character, we must identify areas of the county in which to promote denser, mixed -use development - and channel growth in these areas in order to minimize the environmental, social and fiscal impacts of development. The governments of Carrboro, Chapel Hill and Orange County agreed on a Joint Planning Land Use Plan in 1986 in a joint effort to minimize the environmental, social and fiscal impacts of increasing development in this area of the county. Their plan concentrated growth in the towns and urban transition areas by limiting water and sewer extensions into and beyond the rural buffer, and called for protection of drinking water supply watersheds like University Land and Cane Creek. Land use patterns can affect the sense of community in a neighborhood or town. They should be designed to enhance desirable aspects of community character in new and old neighborhoods, and create and maintain socioeconomic diversity. SOCF envisions that the goal to promote land use patterns that meet people's needs and protect natural resources can be achieved through recommendations that address two objectives. 1) We need to use available tools to focus growth in desired areas and limit development in areas we wish to conserve. 2) We need to manage development and create land use patterns that maintain quality of life and help to build community. The first two recommendations below address these two objectives and the third describes a process for improving citizen participation and community planning throughout the county. M