Orange County NC Website
R <br />PAGE 60 -a —JPA LAND USE PLAN <br />The Rural Buffer is defined as being a low- density area consisting of single - family homes situated on <br />large lots having a minimum size of two (2) acres. The Rural Buffer is further defined as land which, although <br />adjacent to an Urban or Transition Area, is rural in character and which will remain rural, <br />resideRtial-qsec and not require urban services (public utilities and other Town services). The Rural Buffer is <br />expected to contain low density residential uses as-Avetkas agricultural uses, and agricultural support <br />uses2% T "° a r °' a.°r and consists of the following Joint Planning Area Land Use Plan categories: Rural <br />Residential and Agricultural; dal; Public- Private Open Space; Resource Conservation; New Hope <br />Creek Corridor Open Space; Extractive Use; and the overlay category designated University Lake Watershed <br />Area. <br />Rural Residential and Agricultural Areas are low- density areas consisting of single - family homes <br />situated on large lots twe ° ^res .n °r nr ° ° + °r with a minimum lot size of two acres except when part of a size <br />cluster subdivision and then adhering to a density limit of 1 unit for every 2 acres of property. Cluster <br />subdivisions, reducing parcels to at least 1 acre in area are allowed so long as density limits for the entire <br />subdivision are maintained. In that respect, Rural Residential Areas are identical to the definition of the Rural <br />Buffer. The area includes property supporting farming operations including forestry activities established in <br />accordance with the provisions of the North Carolina General Statutes. <br />r:r��l +nr�l A <br />An r <br />r use valuefaxatiGR UrnnG° <br />Public- Private Open Space Areas include major land areas owned or controlled by public and <br />private interests in the Rural Buffer. Such holdings as Duke Forest, Camp New Hope, U.S. Government <br />lands associated with Jordan Lake, the 100 -foot buffer along 1 -40, and Orange Water and Sewer Authority <br />lands adjacent to University Lake and the quarry site on N.C. Highway 54 provide open space through <br />research, educational, forest management, and recreational functions. <br />Resource Conservation Areas in the Rural Buffer are identical to those in the Transition Areas; i.e., <br />floodplains, wetlands along drainage tributaries, and steep slope areas (15% or greater). The areas form the <br />basis for a parks and open space system (see Strategy Map) which provided the framework within which <br />other land uses are situated. <br />New Hope Creek Corridor Open Space Areas include some of the Resource Protection Areas and <br />a portion of the Public /Private Open Space Areas which were designated as significant and worthy of <br />protection according to the New Hope Corridor Open Space Master Plan completed in April of 1991. (See <br />Master Plan Map following Strategy Maps). The areas are part of a system of open space in Durham and <br />Orange Counties along New Hope Creek and its tributaries between Eno River State Park and U.S. Army <br />Corps of Engineers land north and south of Jordan Lake. This category is made up of critical environmental <br />areas such as steam beds, floodplains, steep slopes, and larger tracts of historic, educational, or recreational <br />value. <br />Extractive Use Areas encompass mining and quarry operations. Only one such site exists in the <br />Rural Buffer, the American Stone Company quarry on N.C. Highway 54 west of Carrboro. <br />Retail Trade Areas in the Rural Buffer include low intensity neighborhood centers which serve the <br />immediate area and generate low traffic volumes. Only one such area is designated in the Rural Buffer — <br />Blackwood station on N.C. Highway 86. <br />1 Red text is related to a separate amendment that is proposing to amend the same paragraph. The <br />amendment necessary for Agricultural Support uses is shown in blue text <br />