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192 <br /> shall a modification be granted for property located in a <br /> designated Water Quality Critical Area, and no <br /> modification granted under the provisions of Section 8 <br /> shall exceed the ratios established in Section 6.23 . 4 for <br /> the Protected Watershed (PW-II) District by more than <br /> five percent (5%) ; or <br /> b. Through approval and recordation of a conservation <br /> agreement, as provided in Article 4 of Chapter 121 of the <br /> N.C. General Statutes, between Orange County and a land <br /> owner that prohibits development of land in a protected <br /> watershed in perpetuity. In such cases, a modification of <br /> the required impervious surface ratios may be approved <br /> administratively but only to the extent that additional <br /> land in the same watershed is conserved or protected from <br /> development. In such instances, the land which will be <br /> subject to a conservation agreement must be adjacent to <br /> the land proposed for development and for which a <br /> modification of the impervious surface ratios is sought. <br /> As an example, a person owning a 40, 000 square foot lot <br /> and subject to a 12 percent impervious surface ratio <br /> would be limited to 4,800 square feet of impervious <br /> coverage. If the person's plans called for 5,500 square <br /> feet of coverage (a difference of 700 square feet) , the <br /> recording of a conservation easement on 5,833 square feet <br /> of contiguous property would satisfy the impervious <br /> surface ratio requirements. (12% of 5,833 square feet is <br /> 700 square feet. ) <br /> The conservation agreement shall describe the property <br /> restricted in a manner sufficient to pass title, provide <br /> that its restrictions are covenants that run with the <br /> land and, in form, be approved by the County Attorney. <br /> The conservation agreement shall, upon its recording, be <br /> in the place of a first priority lien on the property <br /> (excepting current ad valorem property taxes) and shall <br /> remain so unless, with the approval of Orange County, it <br /> is released or terminated. Orange County shall require <br /> the priority of the conservation agreement to be <br /> certified by an attorney-at-law, licensed to practice law <br /> in the State of North Carolina and approved to certify <br /> title to real property by a lending institution (bank or <br /> savings and loan association) doing business in Orange <br /> County. <br /> Orange County approval of a release or termination of the <br /> conservation agreement shall be declared on the document <br /> releasing or terminating the agreement. The document <br /> shall be signed by the Orange County Manager, upon <br /> approval of the Orange County Board of Commissioners. No <br /> such document shall be effective to release or terminate <br /> the conservation agreement until it is filed for <br /> registration with the Register of Deeds of Orange County. <br />