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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: June 7, 2005 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. ~ a <br />SUBJECT: Approval of Contract to Purchase Real Property -Duke University <br />DEPARTMENT: Environment and Resource <br />Conservation <br />PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />1) Location Map <br />2) Proposed Offer to Purchase and Contract <br />3) Draft Letter Agreement <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />David Stancil, 245-2590 <br />Geoff Gledhill, 732-2196 <br />Rich Shaw, 245-2591 <br />TELEPHONE NUMBERS: <br />Hillsborough 732-8181 <br />Chapel Hill 968-4501 <br />Durham 688-7331 <br />Mebane 336-227-2031 <br />PURPOSE: To consider approval of a contract to purchase 8 acres of land located at the <br />intersection of Erwin and Pickett Roads from Duke University for the future New Hope Creek <br />Preserve. <br />BACKGROUND: In 1992, Orange County, Chapel Hill, Durham County and the City of <br />Durham adopted the New Hope Corridor Master Plan, which called far preservation of lands <br />along the New Hope Creek corridor, as it traverses southeastward from central Orange <br />County to Jordan Lake. Mast of New Hope Creek within Orange County lies within Duke <br />Forest, but the stream segment from Erwin Road to the Durham County line is outside of the <br />forest and privately owned. These lands were identified in 1992 as an area for the focus of <br />preservation efforts, along with lands an the Durham County side of the line, The Triangle <br />Land Conservancy (TLC), in partnership with the different jurisdictions, has been involved in <br />the project since its inception. <br />Most of the creek in Durham County was acquired or otherwise protected from 1992-2004, <br />Recent activities to protect the stretch of the creek in Orange County date back to 2001 and <br />the initial years of the Lands Legacy Program. In conjunction with TLC, a conservation <br />easement was conveyed to Orange County in 2002 on the old Hollow Rock store site (now <br />owned by Jeff Fisher), and TLC purchased an adjoining two acres of land. <br />The 1992 New Hope Plan envisioned a future trail access point, or trailhead, to be located in <br />this vicinity of the TLC parcel and an 8-acre triangular shaped portion of land owned by Duke <br />on the west side of Pickett Road, often referred to as the "Hollow Rock Trailhead". Since <br />