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3 <br /> and urban services (i.e. water and sanitary sewer) are not a necessary component to <br /> support development. As previously indicated, this area corresponds to the Rural Buffer <br /> Land Use Classification as detailed within the adopted 2030 Orange County <br /> Comprehensive Plan and the Rural Buffer (RB) general use zoning district as defined <br /> within Section 3.3 of the Orange County Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). <br /> The Town's also review development proposals and text/atlas amendments occurring <br /> within this area in accordance with the JPA. <br /> These are broad categories of land uses composed of additional sub-categories of defined <br /> development areas allowing for varying intensities of development and land uses. The Rural <br /> Buffer area is currently broken down into eight separate land use categories, specifically: <br /> a. Resource Protection Areas, <br /> b. Public/Private Open Space Areas, <br /> c. New Hope Creek Corridor Open Space Areas, <br /> d. Agricultural Areas, <br /> e. University Lake Watershed Area, <br /> f. Rural Residential, <br /> g. Retail Trade Areas, and <br /> h. Extractive Use. <br /> ISSUE(S): In completing a recent assessment of the Plan and JPA, County Planning staff noted <br /> the following concern(s): <br /> 1. The Agricultural Areas land use category is not depicted on the various maps contained <br /> within the Plan and, to staff's knowledge, no properties were ever designated as being <br /> within this category. <br /> While staff is unsure why no properties were delineated, recent changes in State <br /> regulations as well as planning practice no longer lend credence to the notion that <br /> agricultural activities can somehow be limited or restricted with respect to their location in <br /> the areas covered by the Plan. <br /> 2. The Rural Residential land use category does not specify a density limit. While it does <br /> require a minimum lot size of 2 acres, there is no mention of a maximum permissible <br /> density within the category. <br /> It should be noted staff has always interpreted there is a 1 dwelling unit for every 2 acres <br /> of land area density for parcels located within the category. <br /> 3. The clustering of lots, through the County's subdivision process, is not viable in the Rural <br /> Residential land use category. <br /> The existing process allows for the reduction of required lot sizes, not below 1 acre in <br /> area, so long as 33% of a parcel is preserved in open space and established density <br /> limits are observed. The technique is utilized throughout the county, including the <br /> University Lake Watershed Area, but is not feasible within the Rural Residential land use <br /> category due to existing language within the Plan and JPA. <br /> While clustering of lots may be allowed within the category, the minimum lot size shall be <br /> 2 acres. There little incentive to convince a developer to go through the process of <br /> preserving 33% of the property in perpetual open space. Developers will therefore <br /> choose to go through the conventional subdivision process where the preservation of <br />