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4 � <br /> 19t <br /> GOAL 2: PRESERVE & PROTECT NATURAL AND CULTURAL RESOURCES. <br /> Orange County is blessed with an abundance of natural resources, <br /> including clear streams and rivers, a wide variety of plant species, and <br /> wildlife habitats of significant animal species,including some which are <br /> .A c:a rare and endangered. Many of these resources have been identified, <br /> while others have yet to be discovered. Protection of these resources is <br /> often perceived as conflicting with the free exercise of private property <br /> rights. However,flexible options for accommodating new development <br /> in creative ways which meet both the financial needs of the landowner <br /> and the community's goals of protecting fiagile and irreplaceable <br /> resources, offer a "win-win" solution for everyone. Balancing <br /> envirummeatal protec ism with landowner goals through voluntary programs and incentives is encouraged as an <br /> effective approach to insure the continued existence of Orange County's natural resources. <br /> ACTION STRATEGIES <br /> Strategies recommended for the preservation of natural and cultural resources inchrde the following: <br /> 1. Create Flexible Development options that can protect identified natural resource sites by pig them <br /> within open space. Such options should use the resource as an opportunity for innovative development <br /> rather than as a means of penalising landowners for having sites on their property. <br /> 2. To facilitate natural resource protection, a CgUsbame Resources Man has been compiled to identify <br /> and overlay critical environmental, natural, wildlife, cultural, historic, archaeological, biological, and <br /> geological resources. The map should be used to show landowners and developers the location of sites on <br /> their property that should ideally be conserved or "designed around" through flexible development <br /> provisions;and encourage the xQhmLM protection of such sites through the use of conservation easements <br /> which allow these uses to remain m private ownership. <br /> Using available data, maps have been prepared to identify the location of natural and cultural resources <br /> referenced above. These maps have been, combined into a composite map to serve as an interim <br /> Commehensive Resources No until data collection concerning potential archaeological sites,woodlands, <br /> and scenic roads and views is complete. <br /> 3. During the development approval process, facilitate the protection of natural and wildlife habitats by <br /> contimoiag cut CounLy policy of initiating dialogue between developers and land conservancy <br /> orgamzaions.While such dialogue provides an opportunity for mutual protection of sash sites, continued <br /> discussion should be at the discretion of the developer and conservancy. <br /> 4. Prepare a Rural Orange Design Guidebook to provide written and illustrative guidelines to show property <br /> owners and developers bow to vohtntanly develop sites in an envirammeatally►-sensitive manner. A draft <br /> oudme for a Runt Design Guidebook is provided at the end of this section. <br /> Preparation of the Guidebook sboald involve the County staff,design professionals,citizens,citizens,and <br /> advisory board reprosentatives. The Guidebook should provide examples of bow innovative site designs <br /> may be used to protect arras of spe cud natural or cultural significance. Use of the Guidebook is required <br /> for Flexible Development options and optional for conventional development, with mceotives provided <br /> to encourage the use of environmentally-sensitive techniques and disincentives to discourage land <br /> consumptive conventional development practices. <br /> Goals & Action Strategies 3 <br />