Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
development. Therefore, the individuals who own these houses are concerned about the <br />fact that they would lose potential buyers because people who want to buy their houses <br />don't want to live next to a high density area. On the other hand, as Mr. Heaffner might <br />state there would be no loss of value because the value of the land adjacent to this high <br />density area would increase for a developer's purposes, but not necessarily for someone <br />who would be interested in living in the houses that exist there. It might be seen as an <br />opportunity to create another high density development in that area because it is a good <br />commute and because it would be zoned correctly and because there is sewer, etc., so <br />that the tax value of the adjacent neighborhoods might increase because of the value of <br />the land but in fact the individuals who might want to sell a particular house might have <br />even greater difficulty in selling because it is located near a high density area. Does this <br />address the conflict that might be between the people who live in the neighborhood versus <br />the people who want to develop this land at a higher density? <br />Mr. Krichbaum stated that only those properties that are immediately to the north of <br />Lawrence Park are zoned R-1; the ones opposite the property to the west are zoned R-2; <br />the ones south of Lawrence Park are R-4 and to the east are R-3. He indicated that the <br />notion that they are out-of-sync with the prevailing zoning of the area is questionable. The <br />facts would contradict that. From a standpoint of values, in the course of developing <br />various properties, they have developed lots not dissimilar to these which were adjacent to <br />train tracks and people bought them. They have developed adjacent to sewage treatment <br />plants and people bought those as well. If housing is properly priced, there is a market for <br />almost all housing, including the housing that will be adjacent to this. The values in this <br />neighborhood, if he is any judge and he thinks he is, with the average price of $132,000 <br />(with a low end of $120,000 and a high end of $160,000) there are not many houses in the <br />surrounding area that would sell today at that price even without any development. It is <br />difficult for him to understand the inflationary nature of this. Would this allow certain <br />people, particularly the R-1 properties to subdivide their lots? Would that be more <br />possible or would it be possible to change their zoning from Farm/Residential to some <br />other use along Highway 70A over time. Probably and there is certainly value in that. He <br />is struggling to see how this devalues their property by the presence of homes, no matter <br />how dense, that are higher priced than the ones that exist there today. <br />Mr. Katz indicated that his point was that while the area adjacent to Lawrence Park <br />may be zoned R-3 or R-4, presently the density is less than that, and that land may <br />become more valuable for further development. In that sense, you can sustain the value <br />but the desirability for people who want to live on property where there is less density <br />diminishes by the presence of this type of development. <br />Mr. Krichbaum disagreed. <br />Mr. Katz indicated that he see the value of this property because of its proximity for <br />commuting. The location for people to find relatively affordable housing and be able to <br />commute to work makes this property desirable. One would expect that there would be <br />further development in that area. <br />Q:\19981123.doc®