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2. Land Use Element Update Initiatives/Sustainability <br />a. Urban-rural boundaries and Rural Activity Nodes <br />This information is on the blue handout. <br />Craig Benedict said that in 2443 a growth management strategy was put <br />together. The rural areas are to promote lower intensity development, to protect <br />farmland, and preserve water and environmental resources. The urban areas <br />are to have an intensity threshold to promote mass transit and a healthy <br />economic environment {jobs and services}. <br />b. Watershed protection -surface water and groundwater <br />Craig Benedict said that being able to lower density in certain areas to protect the <br />quality of surface water is very important. The groundwater level also needs to <br />be protected. Lowering density can protect this as well as low-impact design. <br />This is a way to keep the water on-site as long as possible through retention <br />areas and peak flow management. Orange County is fortunate to have <br />headwater resources, in that there are no rivers that flow from one side of the <br />County through to the other side; they all start in Orange County. <br />c. Air quality <br />d. Upen spacelminimum lot size <br />e. Economics and equity <br />Craig Benedict said that the majority of the air pollution in the County comes as a <br />result of vehicle miles traveled. It is not an industrial area. Putting development <br />where there are opportunities for mass transit and reducing development farther <br />away from transit corridors will help reduce the amount of traffic from <br />development. Craig Benedict shaved a chart comparing growth scenarios. He <br />also pointed out the densities in different areas of the County on a map. <br />Craig Benedict said that if the County moves toward a one unit per three-acre <br />density in these areas, it is not lowering the density as much as the Upper Neuse <br />River Basin technical report said. The staff suggests lowering the density to one <br />unit per three acres and having low-impact design standards to manage the peak <br />flow, which would reduce phosphorous and nitrogen release from development <br />sites. This could probably achieve the same water quality goals as lowering <br />density to one unit per five acres. <br />Commissioner Brawn asked why they would not just lower the density to one unit <br />per five acres and why they would diminish the recommendations from the <br />Neuse River. She said that, as time goes on, people do things to their property, <br />which would mean that the low-impact efforts would be lost to some degree. <br />Craig Benedict said that the sedimentation and erosion control division in his <br />department has been focused on construction and monitoring sediment. Mare <br />