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152 <br /> With the allocation guidelines in mind, information about <br /> land use in the area was filtered through a set of location <br /> criteria, including the allocation guidelines, to determine <br /> whether a specific land use is appropriate for a particular <br /> area. Resulting analysis creates the basis for the <br /> classification of land in the area. <br /> Distribution of Land Use Plan Categories <br /> Land in Chapel Hill Township north of the Joint Planning Area <br /> falls into five land classifications. The distribution is <br /> based on expressed policies outlined in the land use plan for <br /> the area, the location criteria contained in the Land Use <br /> Component of the Orange County Comprehensive Plan, and the <br /> potential effects of projected growth on the area. <br /> RESOURCE PROTECTION AREAS: Land classified as such consists <br /> primarily of slopes greater than 15% and floodplains. This <br /> land is considered unsuitable for most development activity. <br /> AGRICULTURAL PROTECTION AREAS: The classification refers to <br /> land assessed under County provisions for use value taxation <br /> of farm and managed forest lands, as well as for active <br /> agricultural lands not enrolled in the use value taxation <br /> program. <br /> PUBLIC INTEREST AREAS: Public Interest Areas are public or <br /> quasi-public lands, such as Duke Forest, that provide <br /> significant educational and recreational opportunities. The <br /> Couch Mountain tract of Duke Forest, in the eastern portion <br /> of the area is also an important component of Orange County's <br /> open space system. <br /> RURAL RESIDENTIAL: Most of the land in Chapel Hill Township <br /> north of the JPA is classified as Rural Residential. The <br /> predominant use under this classification is low density, <br /> non-farm residential development. <br /> TWENTY YEAR TRANSITION AREA Approximately fifty acres north <br /> on the Southern Railroad, along the border with Eno Township, <br /> lies in an area that could be served by public water and/or <br /> sewer within the next twenty years. The area is within the <br /> Durham Urban Growth Area, as defined in the Durham 2005 <br /> Comprehensive Plan. <br /> There are no activity nodes in Chapel Hill Township north of <br /> the JPA. A commercial-indistrial transition node in Eno <br /> Township, however, extend as far south as the Southern <br /> Railroad in the northeastern corner of the area <br /> 3.12- <br />