OCPB agenda 050714 - Laserfiche WebLink

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and urban services (i.e. water and sanitary sewer) are not a necessary component to support development. As previously indicated, this area corresponds to the Rural Buffer Land Use Classification as detailed within the adopted 2030 Orange County Comprehensive Plan and the Rural Buffer (RB) general use zoning district as defined within Section 3.3 of the Orange County Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). The Town’s also review development proposals and text/atlas amendments occurring within this area in accordance with the JPA. These are broad categories of land uses composed of additional sub-categories of defined development areas allowing for varying intensities of development and land uses. The Rural Buffer area is currently broken down into eight separate land use categories, specifically: a. Resource Protection Areas, b. Public/Private Open Space Areas, c. New Hope Creek Corridor Open Space Areas, d. Agricultural Areas, e. University Lake Watershed Area, f. Rural Residential, g. Retail Trade Areas, and h. Extractive Use. ISSUE(S): In completing a recent assessment of the Plan and JPA, County Planning staff noted the following concern(s): 1. The Agricultural Areas land use category is not depicted on the various maps contained within the Plan and, to staff’s knowledge, no properties were ever designated as being within this category. While staff is unsure why no properties were delineated, recent changes in State regulations as well as planning practice no longer lend credence to the notion that agricultural activities can somehow be limited or restricted with respect to their location in the areas covered by the Plan. 2. The Rural Residential land use category does not specify a density limit. While it does require a minimum lot size of 2 acres, there is no mention of a maximum permissible density within the category. It should be noted staff has always interpreted there is a 1 dwelling unit for every 2 acres of land area density for parcels located within the category. 3. The clustering of lots, through the County’s subdivision process, is not viable in the Rural Residential land use category. The existing process allows for the reduction of required lot sizes, not below 1 acre in area, so long as 33% of a parcel is preserved in open space and established density limits are observed. The technique is utilized throughout the county, including the University Lake Watershed Area, but is not feasible within the Rural Residential land use category due to existing language within the Plan and JPA. While clustering of lots may be allowed within the category, the minimum lot size shall be 2 acres. There little incentive to convince a developer to go through the process of preserving 33% of the property in perpetual open space. Developers will therefore choose to go through the conventional subdivision process where the preservation of 118