Agenda - 02-16-1993 - VII-A - Laserfiche WebLink

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32 1-21-93 Final Version SECTION III. DEVELOPMENT OPTIONS FOR RURAL ORANGE FINDING THE APPROPRIATE "BALANCE" A number of action strategies for the protection of rural character have been recommended above. The common denominator for all is a focus on balancing land development impacts on agriculture, natural and visual resources, and managed growth. In seeking to achieve this balance, a difficult conflict arises between the often- competing values of "land as a natural resource" and "land as a commodity" . However, land development and rural character protection need not be mutually exclusive. In some locales across the nation, development styles have been adapted to serve both the right to develop land and the need to preserve traditional rural landscapes, resources, and ways of life. This balance becomes most critical in areas where development and growth pressures are strong. As part of the Research Triangle, Orange County is inexorably linked to the positive and negative components of growth. This linkage to the Triangle offers a healthy regional economy and a good quality of life. However, these same factors make Orange County and the Triangle area magnets for growth and a highly-mobile labor force. This magnet effect can be seen in the population growth of Orange County over the past 50 years. In 1940, as the Great Depression ended, the County contained 23,072 persons - gaining less than 2000 persons since 1920. By 1960, the population had nearly doubled to 42, 970. The decades of the 60 's and 70 's saw the most dramatic population growth in the County's history, yielding a 1980 population of 77 ,055 . In 1992, the County population is nearing the 100, 000 mark, with a current estimated population of 97 , 000. In this 50-year period, the County grew by an annual rate of almost 3% per year - a remarkable rate for such a lengthy period. While population growth has slowed somewhat in the late 80 's and early 90 's, long-term trends indicate the County population will continue to rise at a significant rate, with an additional 15-20, 000 persons expected by the end of this decade. Counties and regions across the nation that have developed programs to balance rural character and development rights have, like Orange County, been on the edge of an urbanizing region. The challenge for such jurisdictions is to find development styles that do not compromise agricultural or natural resources and visual resources. In almost every case where a rural character program has been implemented, open-space development and a means of purchasing or transferring development rights have been key components, and have led to higher values for properties in open-space rather than conventional subdivisions . 12