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19 <br /> RURAL BUFFER IMPLEMENTATION <br /> - <br /> Foreword <br /> } It is perhaps best to begin this section by restating <br /> what the Rural Buffer is and presenting the concerns that <br /> have been expressed about it. This will provide not only a <br /> basis for describing how it is being implemented, but also an <br /> understanding of how current implementation measures may be <br /> changed or new measures may be able to implement the Rural <br /> Buffer concept while addressing concerns. <br /> The purpose of the Rural Buffer is to provide locations <br /> for rural residential development and agricultural , silvi - <br /> cultural , and horticultural uses which serve to buffer or <br /> separate more intensively planned and/or developed portions <br /> of Orange County . Development in the Rural Buffer is allowed <br /> at low density . One dwelling unit is allowed on a two (2) <br /> acre lot. Individual wells and ground absorption systems are <br /> used for domestic water supply and sewage disposal , <br /> respectively . <br /> When the Rural Buffer (RB) Zoning District, which <br /> created the one dwelling unit on a two (2) acre lot, was <br /> presented at public hearing for public comment, concerns were <br /> expressed that the requirement would have several undesirable <br /> effects. These concerns involved the following areas : <br /> 1 . Property Rights <br /> The requirement that one dwelling unit be located <br /> on a two ( 2) acre lot is the most stringent resi- <br /> dential lot size requirement in the Orange County <br /> Zoning Ordinance. Some property owners feel that <br /> the requirement denies them reasonable use of their <br /> land. Another aspect of this concern stems not <br /> from the lot size requirement but from the Non- <br /> Conforming Lot section of the Zoning Ordinance. it <br /> requires non-conforming lots, that is lots less <br /> than two (2) acres in size, be recombined into <br /> conforming lots when two or more contiguous unde- <br /> veloped lots are owned by the same person . This, <br /> it is felt, is unfair since these lots were legally <br /> created under ordinances in effect at the time, <br /> owners of such lots should be able to develop such <br /> lots. <br /> 2. Affordable Housing <br /> Housing prices in Orange County, particularly <br /> southeast Orange County, are already too high for <br /> most county residents to afford . Raising the <br /> minimum building lot size to two (2) acres will <br /> increase the cost of housing in the Rural Buffer <br /> making housing even less affordable. An ancillary <br />