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Article 7: Subdivisions 79 <br /> Section 7.12: Flexible Developments <br /> Secondary Conservation Open Space Areas, to the extent possible, shall <br /> be part of substantially sized and/or contiguously linked open space <br /> sections and meet guidelines as stated in Section 7.13.8. <br /> (D) Access to Common Open Space <br /> (1) General public accessibility to and within open space shall be encouraged as <br /> follows: evaluated on a cacc by cacc analysis of the goals and the intended <br /> use(s) of the open space in that particular development. <br /> (a) Primary Conservation Open Space Areas, due to their considerable <br /> recreation, scenic and cultural public values, shall be made available <br /> for the use of the public at large through access by public road. <br /> However, it will not be feasible for public use to be provided in all <br /> cases (e.g. fragile cultural sites, protected and/or private habitat areas, <br /> hazardous slopes and wetlands, etc.). <br /> (b) Secondary Conservation Open Space Areas shall be available to, at <br /> least, subdivision residents, particularly when it includes active and low <br /> impact recreation areas. In some cases, this level of public entry may <br /> (2) If less than half of designated open space is Primary Conservation Open Space <br /> Area, the subdivision plan shall provide direct access to Primary or Secondary <br /> Conservation Open Space Area to at least 75% of project lots. The remaining <br /> lots shall be within approximately 300 feet of an accessible point of Primary or <br /> Secondary Conservation Open Space Area. <br /> (3) If the majority of open space is Primary Conservation Open Space Area, the <br /> subdivision plan shall provide direct access to Primary or Secondary <br /> Conservation Open Space Area to at least 50% of project lots. The remaining <br /> lots shall be within approximately 600 feet of an accessible point of Primary or <br /> Secondary Conservation Open Space Area. <br /> (E) Ownership of Common Open Space <br /> Common Open space Space within a flexible development may be owned and/or <br /> administered by any of the following methods, either individually or in combination. All <br /> open space shall be permanently restricted from further subdivision. <br /> (1) Fee simple dedication to the County, another unit of local government, the state <br /> or a private nonprofit land conservancy. The County may reject any proposed <br /> dedication at its discretion prior to or during the application process. <br /> (2) Dedication of conservation easements to the County, another unit of local <br /> government, the state or a private nonprofit land conservancy. Such easements <br /> may apply to a single property owned by a homeowner's association and/or to all <br /> or portions of individual lots owned by one or more property owners. The County <br /> may reject any proposed dedication at its discretion prior to or during the <br /> application process. <br /> (a) Where conservation easements have been dedicated and accepted <br /> prior to application for approval of a flexible development proposal, the <br /> land subject to the easement may be counted toward satisfying the <br /> 33% open space requirement, provided that it is a portion of and in the <br /> same ownership as the land to be subdivided. <br /> (3) Ownership by a homeowner's association where specific development <br /> restrictions and maintenance requirements are included as part of its bylaws and <br /> as irrevocable articles of restrictive covenants. <br /> Orange County, North Carolina—Unified Development Ordinance Page 7-48 <br />