Agenda - 03-10-1987 - Laserfiche WebLink

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2 allowable densities half that of the rest of the buffer area,. Separate areas within the buffer; Northside/New Hope Basin, University Lake PW-- II , and Southern Triangle; were also compared to each other to determine if and to what extent other variables might impact sales prices in the buffer. The data used for to view affordability additionally consisted of construction cost estimates listed on Orange County building permits for the last quarter of 1986 . Construction costs were combined with raw land costs to come up with the cost for an average new home. Two other data, average size of a parcel sold during the time period and the number of observations less than two acres, while not part of the model , are included in the attachment. These should help gauge the number of parcels that are actually impacted by the change. FINDINGS : RAW LAND SALES PRICE The effect of new different minimum lot sizes on the cost of unimproved land tends to follow what has been asserted; 1 ) The effect of increasing the minimum lot size is to increase the average cost of a minimum sized lot but decrease the cost of larger lots. 2) There is a strong positive correlation between parcel size and parcel cost. Different regions within the Rural Buffer, though, have markedly different correlations, suggesting other factors have a significant influence on the price of unimproved parcels in parts of the Rural Buffer , At the old allowable densities ( 80,000 square feet for WQCA, 40,000 square feet elsewhere in the Rural Buffer) the average minimum sized lot would cost $29,300 in the WCQA and $17,400 elsewhere. The average incremental cost per acre is higher outside the WQCA, $5650 versus $3320 in the WQCA. The impact of different allowable densities is greatest on smaller lots. The average cost for a minimum sized lot under the old densities is 68% higher in the WQCA. For similar sized lots the difference is much less drastic. For two acre lots the difference drops to 27% and the difference between three acre lots drops the 13% . The average cost of a five acre parcel is actually greater outside the WCQA than inside. At this point, average parcel size becomes critical . If large lots are the norm then the differences in average parcel costs lose their importance. In fact, the average parcel sold in the Rural Buffer during the last two years approached five acres (4.6 acres outside the WQCA and 6.2 acres inside the WQCA) . For all new subdivisions created in the Rural Buffer from 1984 to 1986 the average lot size was about 2.5 acres.