Orange County NC Website
9 <br />Volpe Conservation Easement (South) <br />Draft l l/19/10 <br />(2) the Land Use Element of the Orange County Comprehensive Plan <br />(adopted November 18, 2008) with its goal of "Land uses that are appropriate to on-site <br />environmental conditions and features, and that protect natural resources, cultural <br />resources, and community character." <br />(3) the protection of similar Orange County properties designed to protect <br />conservation and open space values through conservation easements granted to the Grantee and <br />others in the immediate vicinity of the Easement Area; and <br />(4) NCGS § 139-2 et seq., which provides that "it is hereby declared ...that the <br />farm, forest and grazing lands of the State of North Carolina are among the basic assets of the <br />State and the preservation of these lands is necessary to protect and promote the health, safety <br />and general welfare of its people... it is hereby declared to be the policy of the legislature to <br />provide for the conservation of the soil and resources of this State"; and <br />(6) Article 17 of the North Carolina General Statutes NCGS 113A-240-241, <br />entitled Conservation, Farmland and Open Space Protection and Coordination, otherwise known <br />as the "Million Acre Initiative," which states that the State of North Carolina shall encourage, <br />facilitate, plan, coordinate, and support appropriate federal, State, local, and private land <br />protection efforts so that an additional one million acres of farmland, open space and <br />conservation lands in the State are permanently protected by December 31, 2009; and <br />(7) the North Carolina Conservation Tax Credit Program, authorized by NCGS § <br />105-130.34 and 105-151.12 et seq., which provides for state income tax credits for donations of <br />land that are useful for fish and wildlife conservation and other similar land conservation <br />purposes; and <br />(8) the Clean Water Management Trust Fund, authorized by NCGS § 113A-251 et <br />seq., which finances projects to acquire land and interests in land, including conservation <br />easements for the purposes of providing environmental protection for surface waters and urban <br />drinking water supplies; and <br />(9) the Soil and Water Conservation Districts Act, authorized by NCGS § 139-1, <br />et seq., which provides for the preservation of farm, forest and grazing lands; and <br />(10) the special use assessment of farm and forestland as set forth in NCGS § <br />105-277.2 et seq., which allows for lower property tax rates for land enrolled in active <br />agricultural uses. <br />D. The characteristics and conservation values of the Easement Area, its current use <br />and state of improvement, are described in a report entitled "Baseline Documentation Report for <br />Page 3 of 16 <br />