Agenda - 10-21-1997 - 11a - Laserfiche WebLink

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8 , Provisional Cane Creek Recommendations June 26, 1997 Page 6 • Buffer requirements are in place for the reservoir shoreline and along all perennial and intermittent streams. Buffers must remain in natural vegetation and may only be used for a limited set of restricted activities. • Clustering of residential lots is allowed throughout the watershed with no prescriptive minimum lot size. Additionally, Orange County promotes its innovative Flexible Development Standards for Preserving Rural Character. • Water supply and wastewater systems are limited to individual wells and on-site septic systems. Neither community water nor wastewater systems are allowed in the watershed. Adequacy of Existing Programs The Cadmus Group used Cane Creek field data to customize and calibrate water quality models to predict the results of future development and management scenarios. Water quality is predicted to deteriorate substantially as residential development exceeds 25 percent buildout. The reservoir already exhibits nuisance algae that cause taste and odor problems in treated water. These are often dominated by species that release harmful toxins under more extreme conditions. Algal blooms are predicted to quadruple in frequency,to more than 30 percent of the summer months, as development approaches 100 percent buildout. Significantly, such a degree of degradation is predicted to result from future activities that comply with current regulations. As noted, Cadmus determined that these conditions could be avoided through different combinations of open space preservation, land acquisition, large lot zoning, cluster development, regional stormwater ponds, and tributary subimpoundments. The recommendations presented below are the cumulative result of these technical analyses, community input, and Committee discussion. They attempt to provide a balance between water quality and stakeholder equity objectives outlined earlier. (Please see the Executive Summary of the August, 1996 Cadmus Report attached as Appendix B.) Recommended Changes to Local Regulations The Committee's primary regulatory recommendation is to amend the Orange County Zoning Ordinance such that all new residential development in the Cane Creek watershed occurs either on large lots or in prescribed cluster configurations. Large Lots Under the recommended requirement,minimum lot sizes in the Cane Creek watershed would be the same as currently specified for University Lake; that is, 5-acre minimum, except for parcels recorded as of June 26, 1997, which could first be subdivided into as many as five 2-acre lots. Any additional lots created from the parent tract would have to be at least 5 acres.