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4� <br /> reserved for country living now and for the future , if we are <br /> going to maintain its rural character and preserve its <br /> southern heritage . <br /> I grew up in Charlotte , then moved to Chapel Hill and lived <br /> in an apartment within walking distance of downtown and work . <br /> and I was very content . However, my wife wanted to live out <br /> in the country, so I gave in and we moved here in the <br /> University Acres subdivision . At first I missed living in <br /> town, but then - from reading back to the land homesteading <br /> self-sufficiency books - I realized the possibilities which <br /> fortunately I had, because our developer had allowed <br /> livestock on the 2 acre and larger lots . we ' ve raised <br /> chickens for eggs , had a milk cow and calves , pigs , goats , <br /> donkeys , guineas , grown vegetables , and so forth. So what <br /> we ' ve had is a real and wonderful alternative to living in <br /> town, a real taste of country living even though we are in a <br /> development, and this option, this freedom should be <br /> available to everyone who moves out of town. It not only <br /> saves the rural character of the land, but also brings out <br /> the often unrealized rural character of the people living on <br /> that land like myself . <br /> so, save the dairies on Dairyland Road? Yes ! Save Duke <br /> Forest? Yes ! please, do save as many farms and as much open <br /> space in Orange County as you can, but also save the rest of <br /> our rural areas as well with developments that have rural <br /> character in and of themselves with rural covenants to keep <br /> them that way. And please leave the shops , inns , and offices <br /> out of the picture : They belong in the surrounding towns <br /> where they are now in abundance. This whole rural village <br /> concept being heralded by developers, with its high densities <br /> balanced by so-called open spaces like golf courses , is <br /> seriously flawed. Surely you realize that developments like <br /> these and zoning for them will just end up urbanizing the <br /> countryside . And why does everyone have to live in <br /> subdivisions nowadays? More land needs to be available for <br /> people to live on that is not part of any development, where <br /> true Independence remains possible . <br /> Thank you, <br /> Peter M. Pickens <br />