Orange County NC Website
J0 Y 9 <br /> PETITION TO AMEND JOINT PLANNING LAND USE PLAN <br /> WHEREAS, the Orange county Board of Commissioners adopted the Orange <br /> County--Chapel Hill -Carrboro Joint Planning Land Use Plan on <br /> October 13, 1986; and <br /> WHEREAS, the Joint Planning Land Use Plan contains a land use <br /> classification of Rural Residential and describes said <br /> classification as a low-density area consisting of <br /> single-family homes situated on large lots two acres in size or <br /> greater ; and <br /> WHEREAS, Orange County has required compliance with the two-acre lot <br /> size standard through application of its Subdivision <br /> Regulations ; and <br /> WHEREAS, Orange County conducted a public hearing on November 24, <br /> 1986, for the purpose of amending its Zoning Ordinance and <br /> Zoning Atlas to conform with the Joint Planning Land Use Plan , <br /> Including the establishment of a Rural Buffer (RB) zoning <br /> district and dimensional requirements applicable therein ; and <br /> WHEREAS, the two-acre minimum lot substantially increases the cost <br /> of housing and is therefore directly contrary to any intention <br /> the county has of providing affordable housing; and <br /> WHEREAS, the two-acre minimum lot imposes hardship on the majority <br /> of land owners , most of whom have struggled for many years to <br /> pay for their land and the taxes thereon , and would like to use <br /> the land for their children or realize some benefit to <br /> themselves rather than lose the value thereof ; and <br /> WHEREAS, the two-acre minimum lot standard makes the extension of <br /> public '.water and sewer lines to new developments uneconomic , <br /> thereby encouraging the use of septic tanks and wells, both of <br /> which are already causing increasing health and sanitation <br /> problems ; and <br /> WHEREAS, as more and more people settle in the county, public water <br /> and sewer will of necessity have to be extended to both old and <br /> new lots at a cost that will be devastating if lots are large ; <br /> and <br /> WHEREAS, there are other ways to obtain open space such as public <br /> parks and cluster developments with dedicated open space ; and <br /> WHEREAS, the two-acre minimum standard has made most of the platted <br /> lots in the Rural Buffer (RB) zoning non-conforming and <br /> therefore less valuable since fiduciary institutions have <br /> reservations about making loans on non-conforming property; and <br /> WHEREAS, under the present two acre standard, existing structures on <br /> non-conforming lots, if damaged by catastrophe , might not be <br /> rebuildable in a manner suitable to the owner's needs: <br /> THE FOLLOWING RESIDENTS AND PROPERTY OWNERS LIVING WITHIN THE <br /> PROPOSED RURAL BUFFER (RB) ZONING DISTRICT AND ELSEWHERE IN <br /> ORANGE TF <br /> COUNTY RESPECTFULLY REQUEST THAT THE ORANGE COUNTY BOARD <br /> OP Grimm t COUNTY <br /> t T R E ... TF �.._ <br />