Agenda - 05-21-2007-c2 - Laserfiche WebLink

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NC Highway 57 Speedway Area Small Area Plan A. 1981 ORANGE COUNTY LAND USE PLAN/ LAND USE ELEMENT (LUE) The Land Use Element Map (LUEM) is currently the guiding document for planning activities in the County jurisdiction. An update to the Comprehensive Plan, including the LUE and LUEM is currently underway and has an expected completion date of August 2008. It is the intent of this study to provide up -to -date information and recommendations for possible inclusion in the Comprehensive Plan. However, original or revised recommendations of the 1981 LUE will be used for drafiing this report. The existing LUE and LUEM define the Study Area as Agricultural Residential, meaning: Land in the rural areas where the prevailing land use activities are related to the land (agriculture, forestry) and which_ is an appropriate location for the continuation of these uses. The Study Area is not intended to be used for non - residential development and is only meant to support residential and agricultural land uses. According to the LUE, Agricultural Residential areas are not intended to have services (i.e. water /sewer) extended to them and are not considered viable for land uses generating large amounts of traffic. Zoning is the traditional and nearly ubiquitous tool available, to local governments to control the use of land. Broad enabling authority for counties in North Carolina to engage in zoning is granted in N.C.G.S. 153A -340. Zoning typically controls the type and intensity of use (e.g., residential, commercial, industrial) and provides minimum specifications for use such as lot size, building height, set backs, and density of population. Large areas of the County, and the vast majority of the Study Area, have the zoning district classification of Agricultural Residential (AR). AR was established as a district whose purpose is: ... to assist in the preservation of land suitable, as a result of location, existing farming operations, soils and topography, for agricultural, silvicultural or horticultural uses and to protect such uses from the adverse effects of incompatible land uses. Within the AR district regulations, certain uses are regulated to ensure that neighborhood impact is mitigated. The AR district establishes minimum specific site standards, combined with general standards that provide the necessary flexibility to impose a higher level of specific site standards dependent upon the degree of neighborhood impact anticipated from a proposed development project. 0