ORD-1999-015 Text Amendments Development Standards in Cane Creek Watershed

Browse Search

39 Cane Creek Water4ad Staff Repm t Orange County Pawning and Inspections Deputment Watery Fork would,be needed. OWASA would acquire 1377 acres of land(413 through fee-simple and 964 through conservation easements). Option 3:Large Lot!Creative Open Space Design (OWASA Recommended) Rezone watershed to.5-acre lot zoning(with up to five two-acre lots for lots of record), or 'Creative Open Space Design'with 50%open-space and current two-acre zoning(1-acre minimum lot size).Possible construction of tributary detention on Caterpillar or Tom's Creek,depending on participation rate in cluster development and effective lot size of developed lots. OWASA acquisition of 1266 acres of land. All of the options are capable of protecting water quality to the same general level. Differences lie in the certainty of water quality protection,the substantive variation in the ability of the options to meet other non-water quality considerations, and perhaps in the economic feasibility - of each option.The benefits offered under each options are as varied.as the.differences. Mandatory Flexible Development/Large Lot uses ari existing,known program and may provide greater developer flexibility in site design,since only 33%of the tract would be required to remain in open space.Additionally,land acquisition by OWASA and the focus on non- structural controls in the critical area adds to the certainty of protecting water quality-although regional-scale structural controls in the rest of the watershed may offset any gain in certainty and the downzoning in the critical area would affect property owners. Creative Open Space Design guarantees that 501/6 of all new major subdivisions will be open space and may minimize land owner costs,since there would be no change in zoning.As a result it offers significant resource protection benefits that transcend water quality and could also preserve natural areas and wildlife habitats,flora and fauna and cultural or archaeological resources.It would,however,result in higher costs to OWASA customers due to needed structural controls. The Large Lot/Creative Open Space Design("OWASA Recommended").is a hybrid of two options recommended by OWASA.It offers the most developer familiarity-using conventional single-family lots without open space set-asides.The lower residential yield and density should reduce the level of public services provided by the County to serve development,but also affects landowner impacts:This option offers the highest certainty of protecting water quality,but the exact level of certainty may depend on the level of participation in the"clustering"option. Preliminary Staff Recommendation. . Having identified three alternatives for consideration, staff plans.to use.further research and feedback from the Board and stakeholders to make a final recommendation for the November 23, 1998 public hearing: Regardless of the management options ultimately selected,_staff feels that implementation through amending existing Cane Creek watershed zoning districts and/or a special section in the Flexible Development provisions for Cane Creek(please see page.31 of staff report) would be the best approach.Tinally, the OWASA recommendations on potential "tradeoffs" to the watershed community were not evaluated herein, since they,do not relate to water quality.