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<br /> plan approval. The difficulty with the dedication provision is that unless a project is large enough,
<br /> e.g., of University Station site, or moderate sized subdivisions occur adjacent to each other, there
<br /> is little opportunity to acquire, through dedication, a single large parcel or collection of smaller,
<br /> contiguous parcels on which to develop a park. The other difficulty is that, even if dedications
<br /> were proposed and accepted, the facilities; e.g., playgrounds, courts, etc., would still need to be
<br /> constructed using other funding sources.
<br /> Payment-In-Lieu Formula
<br /> As noted previously, Section IV-V-7-b-6 of the Subdivision Regulations requires that a payment-
<br /> in-lieu be equal to the number of acres required to be dedicated multiplied by the fair market value
<br /> of the land to be dedicated. Fair market value is determined by dividing the tax appraisal of the
<br /> property at last re-evaluation by the current year assessment ratio. As an example, if the appraised
<br /> value of,a 50-acre tract to be subdivided was $150,000, and the assessment ratio was 95% of fair
<br /> market value, then the estimated fair market value would be $157,895 ($150,000/0.95) or $3,158
<br /> per acre. If the subdivision was to consist of 50 lots, the dedication requirement would be 1.43
<br /> acres(50 x 1/35), and the payment-in-lieu would be $4,516 ($3,158 x 1.43) or $90 per lot.
<br /> Origin. As originally proposed, fair market value was to be determined by an appraisal of the
<br /> acreage required, after development of the subdivision and with the required improvements (e.g.,
<br /> playgrounds, courts, etc.). The appraisal was to be prepared at the applicant's expense, and, if
<br /> disagreement arose over the value, a committee comprised on the applicant's appraiser, an
<br /> appraiser appointed by the County, and a third selected by the other two was to decide the
<br /> appropriate value. As was the case with the "dedication" provision, the Board of Commissioners
<br /> asked that the payment-in-lieu provision be simplified as well. The result was the provision
<br /> described above.
<br /> Application. Since the adoption of the provisions in 1986 through FY 1994-95, Orange County
<br /> has collected $130,528 from 1,713 lots, or an average payment of$76 per lot. Collection of these
<br /> funds has come from the following park service areas:
<br /> Cheeks Community Park $ 2,030 1.56%
<br /> Northern Hillsborough Community Park $ 781 0.60%
<br /> Little River Community Park $ 2,642 2.02%
<br /> Bingham Community Park $ 4,918 3.77%
<br /> Cedar Grove Community Park $ 4,010 3.07%
<br /> Eno Community Park $ 4,838 3.71%
<br /> Bingham District Park $10,397 7.97%
<br /> Chapel Hill District Park $38,501 29.50%
<br /> Northern District Park $28,782 22.05%
<br /> Cheeks District Park $33,628 25.75%
<br /> The park service areas referred to above are shown on the accompanying map and represent the
<br /> "immediate neighborhood'that each park is to serve. As defined in Section II, Definitions, of the
<br /> Subdivision Regulations, the immediate neighborhood is a subdivision or area of the county
<br />
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