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• <br /> a 7 <br /> which distinguishes it from other subdivisions or areas by virtue of its location within the service <br /> area of a park site or sites as shown on the adopted Recreation Element of the Comprehensive <br /> Plan (e.g., Master Recreation & Parks Plan) or the Joint Planning Area Land Use Plan for <br /> Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Orange County. The Recreation Element designates four (4) district <br /> park sites and six (6) community parks sites. The Joint Planning Area Land Use Plan designates <br /> a comprehensive system of parks and open spaces designed to serve the residents of the more <br /> urbanized towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro. <br /> The significance of the "service areas" or "immediate neighborhoods" is that payments-in-lieu are <br /> earmarked to pay for land acquisition and/or facilities associated with the park (service area) from <br /> which the funds were collected.. The Master Recreation &Parks Plan recommended a minimum <br /> size for community parks of 25 acres and 75 acres for district parks. A survey of land sales in <br /> calendar years 1994 and 1995 indicated that the average price per acre for 25-acre tracts was <br /> $5,900, while the average price per acre for 75-acre tracts was $2,090. By comparing the <br /> payments collected with the average prices projected for 75-acre ($156,750) and 25-acre <br /> ($147,500) tracts, it is obvious that one difficulty with the payment-in-lieu provision is that the <br /> funds collected do not begin to cover the cost of the park site, much less the facilities to be <br /> provided in association with the sites. <br />