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5 <br /> included changes to the "Water Resources" section <br /> through which to implement, in part, the State's <br /> Water Supply Watershed Protection Act of 1989. <br /> Revisions to the above mentioned sections of the <br /> Land Use Element were proposed at the November <br /> 27, 1995 public hearing for the following <br /> reasons: <br /> 1. Inventories for historic sites ( 1992-93) , <br /> archaeological sites ( 1993-94) , and natural <br /> areas and wildlife habitats ( 1987-1988) have <br /> been prepared by have not been incorporated <br /> into the Land Use Element. <br /> 2. With the adoption of the Joint Planning Area <br /> Land Use Plan in 1986, and updates of various <br /> Township components in 1988, a new Land Use <br /> Plan category, Resource Protection Area, was <br /> introduced. The Land Use Plan is a composite <br /> of Township Plans, but the application of the <br /> Resource Protection Area category to the <br /> county-wide plan has not been accomplished. <br /> 3. As part of its recommendation, the Rural <br /> Character Study Committee ( 1993) advocated <br /> the preparation of a Comprehensive Resources <br /> Map to identify and overlay critical <br /> environmental, natural, wildlife, cultural, <br /> historic, archaeological, biological, and <br /> geologic resources to show land owners and <br /> developers the location of such sites, and <br /> encourage the voluntary use of conservation <br /> easements. <br /> 4'. Recent initiatives by the Agricultural <br /> Districts Advisory Board have focused on the <br /> use of conservation easements as a means of <br /> voluntarily preserving agricultural lands, <br /> including scenic, historic, environmental <br /> features associated with such lands. <br /> Workshops have been held for County staff on <br /> the use of such easements, and, if property <br /> owners are to take advantage of tax credits <br /> for easement donation or limited development, <br /> policies which encourage the conservation of <br /> such features must be incorporated into the <br /> . Land Use Element. <br /> The proposed amendments will address each of the <br /> above mentioned needs. Section 2.2, Natural <br /> Environment, is proposed for amendment so as to <br /> include the results of inventories of historic <br /> and environmental resources, and provide a basis <br /> for prioritizing such features for conservation. <br /> Changes to Sections 3.3 - Land Use Plan <br /> Categories, 3.4 - Locational Criteria, and 3.5 - <br />