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13 <br />Joint Planning Area Land Use Plan (JPA LUP) as <br />follows: <br />The Rural Residential category is a low- density <br />area consisting of single - family homes situated <br />on large lots two acres in size or greater. The <br />Rural Residential designation is identical to the <br />Rural Buffer category contained in the current <br />Orange County Land Use Plan. The Rural Buffer <br />category is described in the Plan as land <br />adjacent to an Urban or Transition area which is <br />rural in character and which should remain rural; <br />contain very low- density residential uses; and <br />not require urban services (water and sewer) <br />during the Plan period. <br />The Joint Planning Agreement specifically defines <br />Rural Buffer as a "low- density area consisting of <br />single- family homes situated on large lots having a <br />minimum size of two (2) acres ". <br />The Rural Residential JPA LUP Category is stated as <br />being identical to the Rural Buffer Category in the <br />Orange County Land Use Plan [renamed as Land Use <br />Element of the Comprehensive Plan, ( LUECP)]. <br />The Rural Buffer is described in the LUECP as follows: <br />Land adjacent to an Urban or Transition area <br />which is rural in character, and which should <br />remain rural, containing very low density <br />residential uses, and not requiring urban <br />services during the Plan period. <br />Upon adoption of the Rural Buffer LUECP category in <br />1987, the Rural Buffer zoning district was established <br />as a compatible zoning district. The primary <br />difference between the Rural Buffer District and other <br />districts was the minimum lot size. The Rural Buffer <br />requires a minimum lot size of 2 acres, reflective of <br />the Plan category description of "very low density ". <br />A rezoning to the AR zone would entail a reduction in <br />the minimum lot size from 2 acres to 40,000 square <br />feet. The resultant lot size would be considered <br />"low- density ", as implied by the Agricultural <br />Residential and Rural Residential designations in the <br />LUECP, but would not be in keeping with the "very low <br />density" requirement of the Rural Buffer Plan <br />Category. <br />If approved, the Agricultural Residential zoning would <br />be the only spot within the Rural Buffer where a <br />residential density of 1 unit /.92 acres would be <br />applied. The creation of spot zoning within the Rural <br />Buffer would create an undesirable precedent, and <br />erode the effectiveness and purpose of the Rural <br />4 <br />