Orange County NC Website
2—1 <br />Orange County Comprehensive Parks and Recreation Master Plan <br />CHAPTER 2 - Overview of Existing and Previous Plans 2 <br />Overview of Existing and Previous Plans <br />Background <br /> <br />Orange County and the Towns of Hillsborough, <br />Chapel Hill and Carrboro have made parks and <br />recreational facilities an important priority among <br />local and County government services. This is <br />exhibited by the strong interest and effort to plan <br />for recreational amenities in the county. <br /> <br />There are a number of existing and previous plans <br />and reports that support the efforts of the parks and <br />recreation programs in Orange County, including the <br />County’s initial master plan completed in 1988 and <br />more recent plans completed by the other local <br />jurisdictions. <br /> <br />A. Master Recreation and Parks Plan for <br /> Orange County (1988) <br /> <br />Orange County’s Master Recreation and Parks Plan <br />called for dividing the responsibilities for providing <br />parks among municipal and county governments, <br />quasi-public entities (e.g., OWASA, UNC Chapel Hill), <br />and private entities (e.g., Duke University), with <br />public entities taking on most of the responsibility. <br />The plan recommended cooperation among the <br />County, the two school systems, OWASA, University <br />of North Carolina, Duke University, and the munici- <br />palities. In 1988 recreational facilities were mainly <br />provided by the towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro, <br />while the County focused on providing programs. <br /> <br />The 20-year master plan recommended that the <br />County provide four types of park and recreation <br />areas and facilities: 1) community parks, 2) district <br />parks, 3) greenway trails, and 4) swimming pools. <br /> <br /> Community Parks (4) - should provide active <br />and low-impact recreation opportunities for <br />the entire family. These parks serve the more <br />densely-populated, unincorporated areas. <br /> <br /> District Parks (4) - should be accessible to the <br />public within a 1/2-hour drive, with same <br />amenities found in community parks plus an <br />indoor recreation building and a pond or lake. <br /> <br /> Greenway Trails (1 per township minimum) - <br />should link recreational spaces with residential <br />areas and other compatible land uses. <br /> <br /> Swimming Pools (2) - ideally these would be <br />located at the [then] two county high schools <br />located in Hillsborough and Chapel Hill. <br /> <br />The plan recommended 447 acres of community <br />parks for Orange County by 2005, 70% (313 acres) of <br />which was to be provided by public agencies. <br /> <br />The master plan called for 895 acres for district <br />parks, 70% (626 acres) to be provided by the public <br />sector. The master plan also noted that a regional or <br />countywide park might become necessary by 2008, <br />but noted that in 1988 that need was being filled by <br />Eno River State Park and Duke Forest. <br />27