Agenda - 03-10-1987 - Laserfiche WebLink

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175 RURAL BUFFER IMPLEMENTATION MEASURE a Major Transportation Corridor (MTC) District Description The Major Transportation Corridor CMTC) is a zoning classification in the Orange County Zoning Ordinance. It is • an overlay zone. That is, its requirements are added to the requirements of another zoning classification that has been applied to the land. The purpose of the district is to enhance attractive and orderly development of land adjacent to major transportation facilities. It does this .through a set. of development standards and regulations that are applied to public and private development of land adjacent to these corridors. . These standards are applied through the site plan review process . The MTC district is defined as 1 ,250 feet from the edge of the right-of-way measured along a line which is perpendi- cular to the edge of the right-of-way on each side of the roadway. At interstate highway interchanges the MTC district extends 2,500 feet from the edge of the right-of-way on each side of the intersecting road. The minimum Length of the district is the continuous distance along the thoroughfare within the County jurisdiction and outside the extra- territorial jurisdiction of any towns in Orange County. With two exceptions, no construction activity can begin in the MTC corridor until a site plan has been approved. The exceptions are single and two family residences and modifica- tion or enlargement of a building that existed prior to the creation of the district when less than 50% of the floor area is involved. Site plan approval involves verifying that it contains all of the items required for a site plan. Site plans for projects in the MTC must show compliance with landscape, buffer, and screening requirements. Landscape and screening must conform with Article 12 of the Orange County Zoning Ordinance. This basically involves use of landscaping to screen off-street parking from the public right-of-way and adjoining property. A 100 foot wide buffer is required along the right-of-way. Side and rear yards are required to be 50 feet wide except where they are adjacent to the right-of-way of an interstate highway. Then they must be 100 feet wide. Within the buffer area, necessary ingress, egress, and utility service may be allowed, but no other disturbance for site improvements is permitted. Application The MTC district has been established along the lengths of 1-40 and I-85 in Orange County. It, in conjunction with low density zoning classifications, will preserve the current rural settings along these highways. Along I-40, which crosses the rural buffer it will preserve the essentially undeveloped appearance of the corridor.