Agenda - 05-22-1989 - Laserfiche WebLink

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• SOIL CONDITIONS [First Paragraph deleted] Perhaps no other natural environmental factor in Orange County is as much a determinant factor on land use and land development as soil conditions. Soil characteristics such as depth to bedrock, permeability, shrink-swell potential, erodibility, and drainage are crucial factors in influencing land use. Constraints to development may only be slight. They may also be so severe as to deter development altogether from a given site. In general, as the severity of the soil limitations increases the cost of site preparation and construction also increase. The Soil Conservation Service (SCS) completed a soil survey of Orange County in 1976. Each of the thirty-eight soil types in Orange County are described in terms of characteristics, potential uses, and management requirements. [rewrite section, no longer referring to the matrix system] UNIQUE NATURAL AND CULTURAL FACTORS Environmentally Sensitive Are - Certain areas in Orange County possess unique or exemplary natural characteristics which are considered to be of great value; be it economic, educational, biological, or in some other sense. A natural area, as defined by the Triangle J Council of Governments, is "any space containing an unusual or exemplary biological habitat, geologic feature, or hydrologic location. " Natural areas can be broken down further into additional classifications: Endangered Plant/Animal Sites - habitats of species identified as endangered. Threatened Plant/Animal Sites - habitats of species that, while not endangered statewide, are rare and threatened with major habitat loss and population decline in Orange County. Special Plant/Animal Site - habitats of species that, while rare, are not yet endangered or threatened and exist in small populations, are targets of exploitation, and vulnerable to specific pressures. Plant Communities - sites whose forest canopy, understory, and herb/vegetation layer is either unique 2.2 text 6