Minutes 03-27-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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agriculture activities can occur in all land use categories, so it was more prudent to combine the two categories. Commissioner Price said she was referring to flexible development earlier. Michael Harvey said the state requires a minimum stream buffer to be preserved around streams on farm properties, and the County buffers don't apply. He said the erosion control division of Orange County handles this. Michael Harvey said he cannot enforce watershed buffers on a farm. He said he cannot enforce the 100 foot as currently detailed, since the watershed buffers are graduated from a 50 foot minimum to 250 feet, according to slope. He said the state will enforce the minimum stream buffer. PUBLIC COMMENT: Bolton Anthony said he runs a small non-profit called Second Journey, which is interested in new models for community in later life. He said his organization has been partnering with the Department on Aging on workshops regarding aging in the communities. He said there have been discussions on shared housing and clustered neighborhoods. He said his non-profit was considering an elder-co-housing community 7 or 8 years ago, in which the houses are clustered and open onto a green space, and automobiles are kept at a distance. He said the affordability issue in Carrboro and Chapel Hill made this project very difficult, so the agricultural buffer was considered. He said there was a 15 acre tract on Old Hillsborough that would have worked beautifully, and the 2 acre requirement is what frustrated the ability to develop this. He urged the Board to give this a favorable hearing and not frustrate future attempts. Council Member Palmer referred to page 15 of the materials and noted that there are approximately 9,260 acres of land designated rural/residential and agricultural. She said that could mean about 10,231 people according to the plan. She said if the County continues sub- dividing land into big lots, there will end up being mansions for 10,000 people. She does not want to County to look like this, and she does not want this to be the future of the outskirts of the Chapel Hill and Carrboro area. She would like to think of ways that this land can serve the community better than just subdividing it into lots. She suggested development of a soccer complex that would bring in people for recreational purposes and would bring economic development to our area. She said a park and ride lot could be placed next to it so that weekend users could utilize it to preserve parking in the towns. She said some of this land should be preserved for trails and campgrounds. Council Member Palmer asked about use for affordable housing or educational farms for young people to learn about agriculture. She asked if these activities could be encouraged. She said she is comfortable making these changes to bring things up to date, but she hopes that the Board can come back and talk about new things that can be done with the rural buffer. Council Member Storrow arrived at 7:42 PM Council Member Ward asked how the land perkability affects these rules. Michael Harvey said the reality is if that it is sometimes difficult to find perk sites. He said if developers don't do the due diligence before going through the process then there could be a lot of money spent for nothing. He said the County does require applicant to go through a fairly arduous process to avoid this. Council Member Ward asked if the County requires a back up perk site. Michael Harvey said yes. Council Member Ward asked if the County is being asked about above ground perks and other alternatives with regard to land that does not perk