Orange County NC Website
Article 7: Subdivisions <br /> Section 7.12: Flexible Developments <br /> <br /> <br />Orange County, North Carolina – Unified Development Ordinance Page 7-51 <br /> <br />(3) Both Primary and Secondary Conservation Open Space Areas shall be placed in <br />undivided preserves which adjoin housing areas that have been designed more <br />compactly to create larger conservation units that may be enjoyed by all <br />residents of the subdivision and, if possible, enjoyed visually by the general <br />public. Such undivided open space shall be accessible to the largest number of <br />lots within the development. To achieve this, the majority of houselots should <br />abut undivided open space to provide residents with direct views and access. <br />Safe and convenient pedestrian access to the open space from all adjoining <br />houselots shall be provided, except in the case of farmland or other resource <br />areas vulnerable to human disturbance. The design must meet the criteria <br />outlined in Section 7.1312.8 4 which sets forth conservation area design <br />characteristics. <br />(4) Where undivided open space is designated as separate non-contiguous parcels, <br />no parcel shall consist of less than three acres in area, nor have a length-to-width <br />ratio in excess of 4:1, except such areas that are specifically designed for <br />neighborhood commons or greens; playfields; buffers adjacent to wetlands, <br />watercourses, and rural roads; wildlife corridors; or trail links. <br />(5) Each lot must contain a buildable area of sufficient size to accommodate a <br />single-family detached dwelling and customary accessory uses, including, but not <br />limited to, storage buildings and garages, patios and decks, lawns, driveways, <br />septic systems including repair areas and well sites. A septic system and/or well <br />site may be located in a secondary conservation open space areaSecondary <br />Open Space Area provided it does not occupy more than one quarter of the <br />secondary conservation areaSecondary Open Space Area. No septic system, <br />repair area and/or well can be located in the primary conservation areaPrimary <br />Open Space Area. <br />(6) Provided the arrangement, design, and shape of cluster lots is such that lots <br />provide satisfactory and desirable sites for building, and contribute to the <br />preservation of designated Primary and/or Secondary Conservation Open Space <br />Areas, minimum lot area, lot width, and setback requirements as specified in <br />Article 3 of this Ordinance may be reduced as set forth below. <br />(a) For Major Subdivisions, the mMinimum lot area requirements may be <br />reduced by 65% of the minimum lot size permitted by the zoning <br />district including any overlay district requirements; however, minimum <br />lot area may not be smaller than 40,000 square feet within a watershed <br />protection overlay district where lots are served by individual septic <br />systems. <br />(a)(b) For Minor Subdivisions utilizing this option, the minimum amount of <br />open space may increase beyond amount per UDO 7.12.4 (A) (2). <br />(b)(c) Minimum lot width requirements may be reduced to 100 feet in the AR <br />and R1 Districts. Minimum lot width requirements may be reduced by <br />30% in all other zoning districts. <br />(c) Minimum front, rear, and side setback requirements may be reduced <br />by 25% but shall be no less than ten feet. <br />(d) Minimum lot frontage requirements may be reduced to 20 feet for lots <br />fronting on culs-de-sac and “T” turnarounds. <br />(e) Minimum spacing between building envelopes and the subdivision <br />boundary or off-site public street right-of-way shall be 100 feet and <br />may be counted as open space. <br />(7) Conservation-clusterConservation Cluster subdivision road(s) shall be designed <br />to provide internal access to all lots in the subdivision. Private driveways shall <br />access existing state maintained roads only via subdivision roads providing <br />internal access to lots in the subdivision. <br /> 202