Public Hearing Notice for 06-30-1994 Mtg. - Proposed Zoning Ordinance Text Amendments and Rural Character Preservation Strategies

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ORANGE COUNTY PLANNING DEPARTMENT 01 306F REVERE ROAD HILLSBOROUGH, NORTH CAROLINA 27278 It ily !: i . NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED ZONING ORDINANCE TEXT AMENDMENTS AND RURAL CHARACTER PRESERVATION STRATEGIES FOR ORANGE COUNTY,N.C. Pursuant to the requirements of the General Statutes of North Carolina,Chapter 153A,Section 240,323 and 343,and Articles 20.5,20.6,2.2.12 and 2.2.13 of the Orange County Zoning Ordinance,and Section VIII of the Orange County Subdivision Regulations, notice is hereby given that a public hearing will be held in the Superior Courtroom of the Orange County Courthouse(New), 106 East Margaret Lane,Hillsborough,North Carolina,on Thursday,June 30, 1994 at 7:30 p.m.for the purpose of giving all interested citizens an opportunity to speak for or against the following items: PROPOSED ZONING ORDINANCE TEXT AMENDMENTS 1. Minimum Lot Size in AR and R-1 Zoning Districts: All but 37% of the County's planning and zoning jurisdiction is already zoned in a manner which requires a minimum lot size of two acres or more.This proposal involves amendments to Articles 5.1.1 and 5.1.2 and would,if approved,change the minimum required lot area per dwelling unit from 40,000 square feet (0.92 acres) to 87,120 square feet (2.0 acres) in AR Agricultural- Residential and R-1 Rural Residential zoning districts. The net effect of the proposal is require a two-acre minimum lot size in the remaining 37% of the County's jurisdiction. The proposals are based, in part, on a Rural Character Study Committee recommendation that a minimum average lot size of 80,000 square feet(1.84 acres)be established as the"baseline"zoning density for the rural portions of the county. The proposed amendment would implement this recommendation but sets a higher standard; e.g.,2.0 acres. A second reason for the two-acre standard is that studies of development between 1987 and 1991 have shown that lots created through the major subdivision approval process in rural portions of the county have averaged approzimately two acres in size. Citizens whose property is presently located in the Rural Buffer zoning district or a Protected Watershed Overlay District which requires a minimum lot size of two acres or more would not be affected by this proposal. 2. Density Avers This proposal involves an amendment to Article 6.2 and would, if approved, allow developments to provide varying lot sizes so long as the overall density does not exceed one dwelling unit per two acres (after excluding street rigl►ts-af:way) and no lot is less than 40,000 square feet in size. 3. Minimum Let Size In HYCO-PW and FLAT-PW Protected Watershed Overlay Districts: This proposal inMOlves amendments to Article 6.23.2 to insure consistency between amendment #1 above and the Protected Watershed Overlay Districts; e.g., the minimum lot size requirement in the Hyco Creek and Flat River watersheds are increased from 40,000 square feet to two acres. Citizens whose property is presently located In a Protected Watershed Overlay District which requires a minimum lot size of two acres or more would not be affected by this proposal. RURAL CHARACTER PRESERVATION STRATEGIES Related to the above proposals are a variety of options recommended as methods by which to preserve rural character and/or open space. Because of the number of available options, the Board of County Commissioners is focusing on several basic issues and would like to receive citizen comment on the following: 1. Whether clustering is a desirable and marketable form of development;