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35 <br /> 1-21-93 Final Version <br /> this option indicated that the buildable part of a tract (minus <br /> road rights-of-way) is around 95%. If applied to a 100-acre tract, <br /> this development option would allow a maximum of 21 lots. <br /> DEVELOPMENT OPTION 2 : Conventional Two-Acre Lot Development <br /> AVERAGE LOT SIZE: 80,000 SQUARE FEET (1 .84 ACRES) <br /> OPEN SPACE REQUIRED NONE <br /> POTENTIAL LOT YIELD* UP TO 51 LOTS PER 100 ACRES <br /> (Density 0.51) <br /> PERMITTED LAND USES: SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL ONLY <br /> INCENTIVES PRIVATE ROADS <br /> * - Without site constraints. <br /> Traditional development consisting of lot sizes of one to two acres <br /> in size without open space reserves does little to preserve rural <br /> character unless situated in wooded areas so that significant <br /> amounts of tree cover are preserved to screen the view of homes . <br /> However, there is reason to maintain an option that allows this <br /> development style. A development option which permits lot sizes of <br /> approximately two acres is the closest fit to the prevailing <br /> average lot size in rural portions of the county. <br /> While current zoning and/or subdivision standards allow lots as <br /> small as 40, 000 square feet, lots created through the major <br /> subdivision approval process in Rural Orange have averaged 1 . 9 <br /> acres in size - or twice the minimum required lot size during the <br /> five-year period 1987-1991 . <br /> The pattern of larger-than-required lot sizes is the result of <br /> several factors, including soil suitability for ground absorption <br /> sewage disposal systems, the market demand for larger lots, and <br /> changing development regulations. As an example of the last factor, <br /> the precedent for larger lot sizes in Orange County was established <br /> in 1984 when the Water Quality Critical Area (WQCA) zoning <br /> designation and a 1. 84-acre lot size requirement was first applied <br /> in areas near existing and proposed water supply reservoirs. <br /> Later, in 1987 , the Rural Buffer (RB) zoning designation and a <br /> two-acre lot size requirement was applied to 38 , 000 acres <br /> surrounding Chapel Hill and Carrboro. More recently, in 1990, a <br /> five-acre lot size requirement was put into effect to protect <br /> University Lake watershed. <br /> For any open space development option to work; e.g. , for a <br /> developer or land owner to cluster units and set aside permanent <br /> open space, there must be some real incentive to do so. The system <br /> of density bonuses proposed in the development options which follow <br /> seeks to provide such an incentive. Thus, the 80, 000-square foot <br /> . 15 <br />