Agenda - 06-30-1988 - Laserfiche WebLink

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115 411 3.11 BINGHAM TOWNSHIP TOWNSHIP PROFILE: SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS Bingham Township is located in southwestern Orange County and occupies 48,900 acres, nineteen percent of the county's total land area. The township is predominantly rural, with limited low density commercial and residential development. Farming remains an important activity throughout the township. Due to its proximity to Chapel Hill and Carrboro urban growth has begun to exert a significant pressure on the rural character of the township. These pressures are likely to continue throughout the plan period. Concerted growth management efforts will be required to minimize resulting adverse impacts. Socio.Economic Features The 1980 U.S. Census reported that 3,854 persons lived in Bingham Township, up from 2,379 residents ten years earlier. The average annual growth rate during the decade of 5.21% per year was the highest of any Township in the County and one and one-half times that of the County as a whole. That growth rate translates into a doubling of the population every fourteen years. The high growth rate in the Township has shown no sign of abating. Since 1980, the population has continued to grow at over 5% per year, reaching an estimated 5,502 residents in 1987. This represented 5.5% of the total County population. While Little River Township's growth rate since 1980 has exceeded that of Bingham Township, the growth rate for Bingham Township is still greater than one and one-half times the county as a whole. In 1980, Bingham Township was only the fifth most populous of the County's seven township. By 1987, though, it had moved to third, surpassed only by Hillsborough and Chapel Hill. The primary economic activity in Bingham Township is agriculture. Forty-five percent of the county's dairy operations are located within its boundaries. Development pressures on this sector is of major concern to Township residents. 411 3:11-1