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3 <br />MAINTAINING RURAL CHARACTER <br />In January of 1987, as part of joint planning activities with <br />Chapel Hill and Carrboro, Orange County incorporated a new <br />district, the Rural Buffer, into its zoning regulations. Residents <br />of the area around Chapel Hill and Carrboro were opposed to the new <br />district, because permitted densities were lowered from one unit <br />per acre to one unit per two acres. <br />Although the intent of the Rural Buffer was to maintain the <br />rural character of the area around the two municipalities, the <br />Board of Commissioners viewed the zoning measures as an <br />interim solution. In November of 1987, the Commissioners <br />created a Rural Character Study Committee and charged it with <br />the responsibility of developing alternative strategies for <br />preserving rural character. In May of 1990, the Study <br />Committee presented a set of strategies which offered density <br />bonuses in return for greater amounts of open space in <br />developments. As part of its recommendations, the Study <br />Committee also suggested that a purchase of development rights <br />program be instituted and used as a tool for agricultural <br />preservation. <br />THE CHARGE <br />Each of these initiatives culminated in action by the Board of <br />Commissioners in December of 1989. As part of its annual goal - <br />setting retreat, the Board established a goal to develop a proposal <br />for a purchase of development rights program. In August of 1990, <br />after work had been completed on University Lake watershed <br />protection measures and the annual budget cycle was finalized, the <br />Board of Commissioners reconstituted the Agricultural Districts <br />Advisory Board and charged it with the responsibility of achieving <br />the goal. The Advisory Board initiated its work during the <br />following month. <br />PLAN OF ACTION <br />As it began its work, the Agricultural Districts Advisory <br />Board focused on the successful program implemented by Forsyth <br />County. Since the first purchases in 1987, Forsyth County had <br />acquired development rights to 19 farms with a total of 1,192 <br />acres. The _. :County acquired these rights through purchases and <br />leases for a1-total of $1.71 million or an average of approximately <br />$1,500 per acre. <br />As Forsyth County had done, <br />Advisory Board started with the most <br />go about deciding which farms should <br />purchase of development rights? Two <br />bid procedure and by evaluation <br />Conservation Service's LESA system. <br />successfully across the nation. <br />the Agricultural Districts <br />basic question - how does one <br />have priority in terms of the <br />methods were identified - by <br />Df the farm using the Soil <br />Both methods had been used <br />