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F _ <br /> -University Lake - the Lake and land immediately surrounding it <br /> are owned by the University of North Carolina. It is a rela- <br /> tively undisturbed area that contains interesting flora. This <br /> area is in Chapel Hill Township. <br /> These unique natural features suggest that special efforts should be <br /> made to manage these areas to conserve and portect their natural <br /> characteristics. <br /> Historic Sites <br /> Although historic sites are part of theman-made environment and not <br /> natural features, they require similar treatment to the unique nat- <br /> ural features and deserve consideration in this section. <br /> Orange County is an area rich in history. The Chapel Hill Historic <br /> District and the Hillsborough Historic District are both on the National <br /> Register of Historic Places. Outside of these built-up areas the <br /> County contains one home owned privately which is on the National <br /> Register. It is Moorefields, the former home of Alfred Moore, U.S. <br /> Supreme Court Justice. It was buJlt in 1785 as his summer house and is <br /> located in Cheeks Township on SR 1134. In addition there are over a <br /> dozen sites in the County which have been identified by the State of <br /> North Carolina as places of historic interest but which are not as <br /> yet on the National Historic Register. <br /> - PLAN-INTERPRETATION <br /> To facilitate the land use decisions into which environmental features <br /> come into play, it is useful to divide such features into two cate- <br /> gories: critical features and sensitive features. <br /> Critical features are those which can tolerate only minimal intrusion <br /> by man's activities either because of their fragile nature or because <br /> they are hazardous to people and development. Of the environmental <br /> features discussed, the 100-year floodway, the unique natural areas <br /> and the historic sites seem to meet this criteria. <br /> Sensitive features are somewhat more tolerant of intrusion and alter- <br /> ation. They may require special development restrictions or design <br /> standards to insure that the detrimental effects of development are <br /> minimized or vice versa. This category covers most of the environ- <br /> mental features. <br /> Combinations of sensitive features may warrant designation as a crit- <br /> ical feature. Decisions are necessary to determine if such features <br /> combine in an additive manner which significantly compounds the neg- <br /> ative impacts of improper development activities. Such gray areas <br /> require careful examination and analysis. <br /> 13 <br />