Agenda 08-14-2001 - 9c - Laserfiche WebLink

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Little River Park Advisory Committee Interim Report 811101 8 ' Recommendations on Allowed Uses in the Little River Regional Park and Natural Area This interim report from the Little River Park Advisory Committee (hereafter, ''the Committee's includes a set of recommendations on what uses should be allowed within the new park. These recommendations are based on seven meetings held thus far by the Committee (November 2000 to July 2001), during which members toured the park property, evaluated the property values and site limitations, received input from different user group representatives, and gathered citizen input on desired park uses and facilities. The Committee charge and list of members is provided at Attachment A. I. Property description The park property is comprised of 391 acres straddling the Orange/Durham county boundary (256 acres in Durham Co.; 135 acres in Orange). The main entrance to the park will be on Guess Road (NC 157). The areas to the west, north and east of the property are primarily woodlands. There is low-density residential development to the south along Summer Lane and within the adjacent North Fork Subdivision. There are two other public roads that provide access to the property: Summer Lane dead ends at the property and Runyan Road stubs out at the park boundary. Neither of those points is proposed for park access other than allowing pedestrian access for residents of those neighborhoods. A map of the property is provided as Attachment B. There is a 15-acre meadow near the Guess Road entrance to the park property. This area was used for agricultural production until 1995. Most of the park amenities are proposed to be developed in the meadow area. The rest of the property is wooded, primarily with pine in the uplands and hardwoods in low-lying riparian areas. The property boundary includes over one mile of frontage along the North Fork of the Little River. The property is located five miles upstream from the Little River Reservoir, which supplies drinking water to Durham. There are two unnamed perennial streams that flow through the property and into the Little River. The grant from the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund stipulates that the parkland within 300 feet of the river and streams be protected by permanent conservation easements. That protection will help ensure the continued excellent health of these waters. A contour map of the property is provided as Attachment C. The property was once owned by Continental Can Company, which clear-cut most of the trees in the 1960s and replanted with loblolly pine. The pines were thinned in the early 1990s. Several of the old logging roads remain today, used as walking/riding trails. Today the wooded areas include 40-year-old pines with an understory of young hardwoods. The property is typical of a managed Piedmont Page 4 of 12