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7 <br /> future. _ <br /> The Rural Buffer contains attendance zones for two <br /> public school systems, Orange County and Chapel Hill <br /> Carrboro. Five of the six Chapel Hill Carrboro elementary <br /> schools and one from the Orange County system have attendance <br /> zones extending into the Rural Buffer. Three public junior <br /> high schools and two high schools also serve the area. <br /> Several schools serving the Rural Buffer are at or near <br /> their ideal capacity. The Orange County Board of Education is <br /> studying the potential for siting a new elementary school in <br /> the northern portion of the Rural Buffer. The Chapel Hill - <br /> Carrboro system is evaluating the impact of growth on its <br /> schools. <br /> ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS TO DEVELOPMENT <br /> Several environmental parameters exist in the Rural <br /> Buffer which create constraints to development. Soils are the <br /> most constraining parameters, both in terms of the stability <br /> it provides for construction activity and its suitability for <br /> septic systems. To a lesser extent constraints are provided <br /> by steep slopes, groundwater quality, and floodplain. <br /> Soils was one of the three environmental parameters <br /> addressed in the preparation of the Joint Planning Area Land <br /> Use Plan . The stability of the soil , its suitability for <br /> construction activity, was measured using four constraining <br /> factors; shrink-swell potential , depth to bedrock, depth to <br /> groundwater, and slope. The constraints to building activity <br /> were rated either slight, moderate, or severe for all soils <br /> types. A soil type had to receive a poor rating in at least <br /> two of the four factors to be typed as moderate or severe. <br /> Using this system, most of the soils in the Rural Buffer <br /> pose little problem for construction activity . Seven percent <br /> of the land area, 2,675 acres, pose moderate problems and <br /> severe constraints are attached to another three percent, or <br /> 1 , 138 acres. <br /> Solis posing problems for conventional septic systems <br /> are a far greater obstacle to development in the Rural <br /> Buffer. It is probably the major obstacle. While soils <br /> presenting moderate problems for the use of septic systems <br /> cover a majority of the land in the buffer, soils presenting <br /> severe problems cover a significant portion. Soils that do <br /> not present problems or present only slight problems do not <br /> exist in the Rural Buffer. <br /> Four different suitability problems are associated with <br /> Rural Buffer soils. Slow absorption is ttiffp most common, <br /> followed by steep slopes. Shallow bedrock=wis- ,;a- problem <br /> between Old NC86 and the University Lake Water6hed: ' Wet Soils <br /> present problems primarily in the creek corridors. ,— <br /> As such, the problem of wastewater disposal in the Rural <br /> • Buffer is much more a potential problem than an existing one. <br /> The poor soils that predominate have precluded much <br /> development and have also precluded problems that could occur <br />