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NC Highway 57 Speedway Area Small Area Plan <br />EXECUTIVE SUYIM[ARY <br />Orange County is revising its Comprehensive Plan. Understanding that the county <br />comprehensive plan is the sum of its parts, smaller, unique areas are examined. Simultaneous <br />with this planning effort is a parallel effort to identify opportunities in the rural portion of Orange <br />County to encourage compatible economic development in appropriate settings. The NC <br />Highway 57 Speedway Area was selected as such an opportunity because of the several <br />businesses in the area and their non - conforming status, the protected watershed within which <br />they are located, the County's desire to encourage compatible non - residential development <br />while, at the same time, protecting the existing rural character of the area. <br />The NC 57 corridor area proposed for this Small Area Plan contains approximately 38 parcels <br />encompassing approximately 930 acres of land area and it located in the northeast corner of <br />Orange County. NC Highway 57 bisects the Study Area diagonally from southwest to northeast <br />towards the Person County and Durham County line. Mile Branch Road, Bacon Road, and <br />Bunny Road intersect with the NC Highway 57 north to south along the corridor. (Please refer to <br />Figure 1. Study Area Map on page 3.) <br />The Small Area Plan development included the following: <br />• An inventory and assessment phase, an identification of issues and concerns, <br />• Public feedback through a number of scheduled meetings, and <br />• The drafting of the Plan for public review and implementation. <br />To accomplish these tasks the BOCC appointed a twelve member Task Force made up of <br />residential property owners, commercial property owners, at -large county residents, Durham and <br />Person County representatives, and two BOCC members. <br />The Plan analyzed existing conditions and made recommendations regarding acceptable <br />development trends and land uses within the area, the need for additional community services <br />and transportation issues and concerns, and issues surrounding existing non - conforming, non- <br />residential land uses and their effect on existing and future land use development patterns within <br />the area. Special attention was given to ongoing traffic and access management concerns <br />identified by local residents as a major problem within the area, concerns over water quality and <br />quantity, noise and noxious odors, and an appropriate level of residential and non - residential <br />development to preserve the existing quality of life. <br />The Task Force developed its own charge, which includes a listing of issues, concerns, and <br />opportunities and constraints and focuses on new development, major safety hazards, soils, the <br />Speedway and go -karts, groundwater, traffic improvements, new businesses, water, rural <br />character, nuisances, new business opportunities, and future design opportunities. The charge <br />can be found in Table 1 on pages 6 through 8. The different topics listed in the charge form the <br />basis for the study goal statements and policies found on pages 25 through 40. Specific <br />Conditions of approval for the Speedway and the go -kart facility found on pages 34 and 36 and <br />36 and 38 came directly from the Task Force charge, with the exception of lighting, signage and <br />impervious cover concerns. The proposed quarry Special Conditions on pages 31 to 33 came <br />