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10 <br /> Excerpt from Conc62tual Guidelines for Rural Orange <br /> Development Option 2: Two-Acre Lot Development <br /> DEVELOPMENT OPTION 2: Conventional Two-Acre Lot Development <br /> ET 1.84 ACRES <br /> AVERAGS: 80,000 SQIIARS FE ) <br /> OPSE SPACE REQQZREII: ::::>:>:>::'::>::>::><:: -NONE <br /> i:``:'::>s: `:>'? 1 ACRES <br /> .... . ......... ..... <br /> .:::::::.::.::: <br /> PGTENTIAt::LOT.;:, ZELII*.,:;;;:;:;:;:;::;;::<:::;: UP TO 51 LOTS PER 00 <br /> .51 <br /> 0 <br /> (Density <br /> t <br /> Y ) <br /> PERbQTTSD' : :. <br /> -FAMILY RESIDENTIAL O <br /> SINGLE <br /> NLY <br /> P ATE ROADS <br /> S <br /> RIV <br /> * - <br /> without site cons rain s. <br /> Traditional development consisting of lot sizes of one to two acres <br /> in size without open space reserves does little to preserve rural <br /> character unless situated in wooded areas so that significant <br /> amounts of tree cover are preserved to screen the view of homes. <br /> However, there is reason to maintain an option that allows this <br /> development style. A development option which permits lot sizes of <br /> approximately, two acres is the closest fit to the prevailing <br /> average lot size in rural portions of the county. <br /> While current. zoning and/or subdivision standards allow lots as <br /> small as 40,000 square feet, lots created through the major <br /> subdivision approval process in Rural Orange have averaged 1.9 <br /> acres in size - or twice the minimum required lot size.during the <br /> five-year period 1987-1991. <br /> The pattern of larger-than-required lot sizes is the result of <br /> several factors, including soil suitability for ground absorption <br /> sewage disposal systems, the market demand for larger lots, and <br /> changing development regulations. As an example of the last factor, <br /> the precedent for larger lot sizes in Orange County was established <br /> in 1984 when the Water Quality Critical Area (WQCA) zoning <br /> designation and a 1.84-acre lot size requirement .was first applied <br /> in areas near existing and proposed water supply reservoirs. <br /> Later, in 1987, the Rural Buffer (RB) zoning designation and a <br /> two-acre lot; size requirement was applied to 38,000 acres <br /> surrounding Chapel Hill and Carrboro. More recently, in 1990, a <br /> five-acre lot size requirement was put into effect to protect <br /> University Lake watershed. <br /> For any open space development option to work; e.g. , for a <br /> developer or land owner to cluster units and set aside permanent <br /> open space, there must be some real incentive to do so. The system <br /> of density bonuses proposed in the development options which follow <br /> seeks to provide such an incentive. Thus, the 80,000-square foot <br /> development option is proposed as a "base line" for those who wish <br /> to retain traditional subdivision patterns. The most significant <br /> aspect of this development option, though, is that it establishes <br /> the basic zoning density for the rural portions of the county. <br /> Instead of a minimum lot size of 40,000 square feet, 80,000 'square <br /> feet would be required as the minimum average lot size for any <br />