RES-2006-048 Possible Conservation Easements for Greene Tract

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APPROVED 0 GREENE TRACT WORK GROUP A RESOLUTION REPORTING THE RECOMMENDED CONCEPT PLAN FOR THE PORTION OF THE GREENE TRACT THAT REMAINS IN JOINT OWNERSHIP WHEREAS, Orange County and the Towns of Carrboro and Chapel Hill acquired the property known as the Greene Tract in 1984 as an asset of the joint solid waste management system; and WHEREAS, title to 60 acres of this property was deeded exclusively to Orange County in 2000 under provisions of the 1999 interlocal "Agreement for Solid Waste Management"; and WHEREAS, under the same interlocal agreement the County and Towns agreed to bargain in good faith during the two year period following the effective date of the agreement to determine the ultimate use or disposition of the balance of the acreage on the Greene Tract; and WHEREAS, the end date of the "bargaining period" as defined in the agreement was April 17, 2002, the second anniversary of the date upon which the County assumed overall responsibility for solid waste management in Orange County; and WHEREAS, the Greene Tract Work Group considered direction from the respective governing boards, comments from interested citizens and organizations, and information developed by staff in response to Work Group inquiries in developing a recommended concept plan for the balance of the Greene Tract; and WHEREAS, the Work-Group reported to all three governing boards in a resolution dated March 21, 2002 that it had reached substantial agreement on a concept plan providing for approximately 78 acres to be earmarked for open space protected by conservation easements and approximately 15 acres to be earmarked for affordable housing but had not yet reached agreement regarding what designation should be placed on the remaining 11 acres; and WHEREAS, the Work Group had recommended in that March 21, 2002 resolution that the following additional steps be taken: • The area shown on the concept plan as open space should be protected by executing a conservation easement between appropriate parties • The Board of County Commissioners should consider protecting its 60 acre portion of the Greene Tract by executing a conservation easement with an appropriate parry • The Chapel Hill Town Council should consider initiating a small area planning process to examine desirable land uses for the Purefoy Road area • The property should be renamed in a manner that recognizes the significance of this area as the headwaters for three important streams (Bolin Creek, Old Field Creek, and Booker Creek) • The governing boards should take note of the public investment already made in the general vicinity of the Greene Tract, as cataloged in an accompanying table; and WHEREAS, the governing boards of all three jurisdictions approved resolutions extending the bargaining period beyond April 17, 2002 in order to allow the Greene Tract Work Group additional time to try to reach consensus on the basic uses to be established for the approximately 11 acres at that time unresolved; and