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Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance <br />The Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance for Orange County provides a means for <br />prohibiting or restricting development within areas environmentally constrained by floodways <br />and floodplains. This ordinance seeks to prevent property loss, insure human safety and <br />enable the safe and natural flow of streams. <br />Codes <br />Building, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, fire and housing codes protect the health safety <br />and welfare of individuals in the community by establishing minimum standards for <br />individual structures. These codes supplement the broader influence of the Zoning and <br />Subdivision Ordinances. <br />Thoroughfare Plan <br />A thoroughfare plan addresses the means and manner of transporting goods and people <br />throughout the County and into and from adjacent counties. The major purpose of the <br />thoroughfare plan is to assess the capacity of the existing road and highway system in terms <br />of future development requirements. A Thoroughfare Plan is premised on a road <br />classification system which specifies the level of service provided by each road in the <br />network. <br />Economic Development Plan <br />The physical land use planning activity cannot be separated from economic considerations. In <br />determining the appropriate pattern of land use for the County an assumption is implicitly <br />made regarding the type of growth favored and the response of the economy to such growth. <br />Conscious efforts to broaden and diversify the economic base of the area and promote certain <br />forms of economic development should complement physical planning considerations <br />affecting land use patterns, particularly as they impact on the maximization of opportunities <br />for County residents for housing and work, and the protection of the environment. <br />A key goal of the Strategic Plan for Orange County's Economic Development is to: <br />"...insure the desired quality of life ... by encouraging economic development through <br />investment-in human resources, the expansion of existing businesses, and the creation of <br />diversified and environmentally safe businesses... to provide jobs for county residents and to <br />increase the non - residential tax base...". <br />New Hope Corridor Open Space Master Plan <br />In 1989, the governing boards of Orange County, Durham County, Durham, and Chapel Hill <br />recognized the importance of a system of open space along New Hope Creek and its <br />tributaries between Eno River State Park and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers land north of <br />Jordan Lake. The New Hope Corridor Open Space Master Plan includes recommendations <br />for acquiring critical environmental areas such as stream beds, floodplains, steep slopes, and <br />larger tracts of historic, educational or recreational value. Acquisition could be through <br />donation, purchase in fee simple or purchase of development rights. <br />A -2 <br />