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3 or three times a month. In 1989 preliminary recommendations were developed by the consultant and forwarded to the Board of Commissioners. In January of 1990 the Board of Commissioners held a public hearing at the American Heart Association at which time it became extremely clear that there were a significant number of misunderstandings surrounding this effort. That Public Hearing resulted in a redirection for the Committee. They developed subcommittees and worked on improved communication with citizens. During the next several months community meetings were held in various rural areas. These meetings culminated in a public hearing in August of 1990 to hear comment on a development plan which consisted of a number of goals and strategies and a series of development options for the rural buffer. The citizen comments, from both rural and urban residents, was very positive. In late 1990, Phase II (Rural Orange) of the study began. In the Fall of 1991 an economic and carrying capacity analysis was completed which looked at the feasibility of cluster development. A Public Hearing on this Phase was held in November of 1992. The major topic of comment focused on the rural village options. In January of 1993 the final report was completed. The Planning Board reviewed the report and indicated agreement but recommended inclusion of the 1 -Acre conventional lot as a development option. This recommendation led to an additional worksession and another series of community meetings. A Public Hearing was held in June, 1994 at which time the matter was referred to the Planning Board. From that time to the present, the Planning Board has been considering the Rural Character recommendations with all of the comments received throughout the process. Lee Rafalow mentioned that in June of last year a Public Hearing was held to consider rezoning the entire county to 2 acres. He asked what the motivation was for that action. David Stancil indicated that was a first step toward implementing some of the Rural Character Study recommendations. It was an attempt to put all of the rural areas on a "level playing field ". At that public hearing, approximately two- thirds of the speakers were opposed to rezoning. However, there were a substantial minority of speakers who favored the proposals. Stancil mentioned that the RCS had five major goals and objectives. The goals are to preserve agriculture, protect natural and cultural resources, protect visual resources, manage growth in an orderly fashion and give added flexibility to rural residents. David Yelton asked for clarification of forest classifications. He asked if they were considered agricultural for harvesting, vistas to be preserved or wildlife habitat.