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75 <br /> The projected population of 3,005 residents in the year 2005 <br /> would require an estimated 825 homes beyond what existed in <br /> 1987. This would place an additional 1,880 acres of land into <br /> residential use. Through 1995, new residential acreage is <br /> based on the average size of a lot subdivided from 1980 to <br /> 1987. Beyond that point, escalating land prices and a <br /> diminishing availability will likely push the average lot <br /> size down. Two acres represents the most restrictive <br /> residential zoning category of the Orange County Zoning <br /> Ordinance in 1987. <br /> Residential development creates in its wake the need for land <br /> to accommodate commercial and other non-residential uses. The <br /> non-residential acreage requirement of thirty acres is not <br /> based on a quantitative formula. It is based, rather, on the <br /> expressed desires of area residents and the belief that the <br /> commercial and other non-residential needs of area residents <br /> can be adequately- served in Hillsborough and Eno Townships, <br /> along with that portion of Chapel Hill Township within the <br /> Joint Planning Area. <br /> Allocation of Growth <br /> The primary task of the Land Use Plan is to geographically <br /> allocate growth throughout the area in accordance with <br /> County-wide goals and policies, as well as the area's <br /> organizing concepts. In actuality, the amount of land <br /> allocated to accommodate projected growth is likely to be <br /> greater than the calculated need. This allows for variations <br /> in the availability of land and the exercise of market <br /> forces. <br /> The allocation guidelines that follow for Chapel Hill <br /> Township north of the JPA are derived from County and area <br /> policies that create the process for channelling the <br /> directions of new growth. <br /> *Most of the area is best suited for low density, <br /> rural residential purposes and should be maintained <br /> in that use. <br /> *Duke Forest lands, which provide major educational <br /> and recreational opportunities, should be protected <br /> as public interest lands. <br /> *New commercial and industrial development should be <br /> discouraged in the area, and should instead be <br /> directed -to more appropriate locations in <br /> Hillsborough and Eno Townships. <br /> 9 <br />