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„ 35 <br /> SECTION I. <br /> GOALS & ACTION STRATEGIES <br /> Rural Character means different things to different people. As such, defining rural character and setting goals for <br /> the protection of that character are no simple task. <br /> To adopt goals,meetings were held involving Rural Character Study Committee members and residents from each <br /> portion of the county to discuss needs and interests. Additional considerations were the natural and cultural <br /> resources, land use activities, and long-term plans for the county and its townships. From this work, goals for <br /> protection of rural character were developed as identified below. <br /> RC)RA ,:'CIIARACTER PRQTECTION GOALS <br /> 1. PRESERVE AND PROTECT AGRICULTURE/MANAGED FORESTRY <br /> 2. PRESERVE AND PROTECT NATURAL/CULTURAL RESOURCES <br /> 3. PRESERVE AND PROTECT VISUAL RESOURCES <br /> 14. ENHANCE THE QUALITY OF GROWTH WHILE PROTECTING RURAL CHARACTER <br /> The following section explains these goals, including action strategies recommended to accomplish each. <br /> GOAL 1: PRESERVE AND PROTECT AGRICULTURE AND MANAGED FORESTRY. <br /> Agriculture is Orange's County's oldest economy and is the <br /> source of much of the area's "rural character". References to <br /> dairies, tobacco farms, and livestock operations can be found <br /> in the earliest colonial records of the county. While active <br /> agricultural operations exist in Rural Orange today,the amount <br /> of land involved in agriculture has declined dramatically. <br /> Between 1950 and 1992, farmland acreage has decreased by <br /> almost 62 percent. Even so, in 1992,almost 26%of the county <br /> land was in farm use. Of this amount,approximately 60%was <br /> cropland or pastureland. <br /> Forest land managed for timber production and/or the <br /> provision of wildlife habitats is also a crucial component of the county's rural character. Forest resources, both <br /> private and public,provide homes for a wide variety of plant and animal species. <br /> ACTION STRATEGIES <br /> Strategies recommended for the preservation of farms and forest lands include the following: <br /> 1. Implement Flexible Development options that permit residential subdivisions, and farming and forestry <br /> operations to co-exist. Encourage development options that allow farming to occur within open space <br /> set-asides and enable farmers to realize a return on portions of their land without converting all land for <br /> development purposes. Where developers use open-space options to keep farmland in cultivation,pasture <br /> ":...'. 1E .':` allow them to utilize density bonuses elsewhere <br /> on the tract. Encourage the County staff to provide design assistance and model covenants to <br /> landowners/developers willing to utilize this approach. <br /> Arendt Comment: Add wording highlighted above, and consider mentioning adaptive strategies of <br /> "metro farmers" who farm "in the shadow of the city", discussed in RWAJ By Des . Also, in the <br /> Goals & Action Strategies 1 <br />