Agenda - 03-13-1997 - 4 - Laserfiche WebLink

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ORANGECOUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: March 13, 1997 Action Agenda Item # 4 SUBJECT: Update on various open space/conservation easement programs and initiatives within Orange County DEPARTMENT: County Manager PUBLIC HEARING: Yes No ATTACHMENT(S): BUDGET AMENDMENT: Yes No County Engineer's report INFORMATION CONTACT: County Engineer Extension 2303 TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough - 732-8181 Durham - 688-7331 Mebane - 227-2031 Chapel Hill - 967-9251/968-4501 PURPOSE: To provide the Board with an update on open space/conservation easement activities ongoing within Orange County. BACKGROUND: Since at least 1990, the BOCC has included an open space preservation element in its annual goal statements. Preservation of open space is specifically referenced in the following goals: 1)Update of the Master Recreation and Parks Plan; 2)Natural Resource Preservation; 3) Comprehensive Farmland Preservation Program; and 4)Rural Character Preservation. Some of the strategies and action items of these goals have been completed and implemented; some are still being developed. There are a number of new and ongoing programs and initiatives involving agencies that are either outside of or only peripherally associated with Orange County government that are also impact on the County's open space. These agencies include Orange Water and Sewer Authority(OWASA) and several agencies that are in some manner subsidiary to the US Department of Agriculture(USDA). OWASA open space initiatives are primarily associated with protection of the water quality in its raw water reservoirs or its wastewater sludge disposal operations. USDA programs are primarily concerned with wildlife conservation, watershed/waterway protection and control of erosion from crop lands. The efforts of these agencies has the potential to have significant long and short-term impact on the quantity and quality of open space within Orange County. RECOMMENDATION: Receive the report as information.