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H <br />3 <br />might experience in order to further the <br />public purpose of protecting farmland; <br />2. That OWASA be requested to create a watershed <br />protection fund to acquire rights in sensitive <br />lands; and <br />3. That the County conduct a study of the possible <br />use of transferable development rights for <br />purposes of watershed protection. <br />Because of the number of watersheds in the county <br />and the proportion of land (60 %) situated therein, <br />Orange County opted to consider an approach similar <br />to that recommended for OWASA - the acquisition of <br />development rights. Another reason for this was the <br />apparent reluctance of local municipalities to be <br />receiving areas for transferred development rights. <br />A PDR program would also serve a dual purpose - <br />watershed protection and farmland preservation. <br />Maintaining Rural Character <br />In January of 1987, as part of joint planning <br />activities with Chapel Hill and Carrboro, Orange <br />County incorporated a new district, the Rural <br />Buffer, into its zoning regulations. Residents of <br />the area around Chapel Hill and Carrboro were <br />opposed to the new district, because permitted <br />densities were lowered from one unit per acre to one <br />unit per two acres. <br />Although the intent of the Rural Buffer was to <br />maintain the rural character of the area around the <br />two municipalities, the Board of Commissioners <br />viewed the zoning measures as an interim solution. <br />In November of 1987, the Commissioners created a <br />Rural Character Study Committee and charged it with <br />the responsibility of developing alternative <br />strategies for preserving rural character. In May of <br />1990, the Study Committee presented a set of <br />strategies which offered density bonuses in return <br />for greater amounts of open space in developments. <br />As part of its recommendations, the Study Committee <br />also suggested that a PDR program be instituted and <br />used as a tool for agricultural preservation. <br />The Charge <br />Each of these initiatives culminated in action by <br />the Board of Commissioners in December of 1989. As <br />part of its annual goal - setting retreat, the Board <br />established a goal to develop a proposal for a <br />PDR program. In August of 1990, after work had been <br />completed on University Lake watershed protection <br />