Agenda - 05-06-1991 - Laserfiche WebLink

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14 the opinion of the Committee that rural property owners, who have for years been stewards of the very land that embodies the area's rural character, will endeavor to provide for and protect the natural resources present in the future as well. The RCSC recommends that one strategy to be pursued should be a Purchase of Development Rights Program -- to be instituted in Orange County for use by designated agencies to purchase development rights on property that has special natural resource or water quality significance. One such use of this system would be a programmed purchase of prioritized, vulnerable inventory sites. The RCSC recognizes that a PDR program will by necessity be limited in scope. Therefore, the Committee recommends the following voluntary measures be undertaken. In three of the five development options for the Rural Buffer, the oven space set - asides can be utilized to provide for the protection of special resources. Environmental) - sensitive site design, along with this open space, should adequately protect resources. In the two "large -lot" development options, open space set - asides are not required but can be voluntarily utilized. The development of five -acre and two -acre lot minimums will in and of itself help preserve the rural character of the Rural Buffer to some degree. Beyond that, however, the Committee recommends the use of environmentally - sensitive site design through the encouragement and.cooperation of the Planning Department. For lands that contain special natural or other identified sites, the Committee further recommends the following measures: The Committee recommends that, upon receipt of any development proposal for land that contains a site identified on the two inventories aforementioned, the Planning Department shall work with the developer and recommend the use of a voluntary Conservation Easement to protect the site in question. Such an easement would be designed to allow development to occur at the behest of the property owner, while preserving portions of the natural or other site contained within private property. This Conservation Easement should allow for annual inspection by a designated party, but should otherwise be maintained as private open space -- not for public use unless so deemed by the property owner. The Committee further recommends that, upon receipt of a development proposal as described above, the Planning Department will contact private conservation organizations in order to facilitate mutual protection by discussion between the potential developer and the conservation organization. The committee wants to emphasize that any decision by a landowner to establish some form of conservation easement will be strictly voluntary. 10