Orange County NC Website
15 <br /> 1 Buckhorn Area Plan areas C, D and E were ranked in the study, but no known development <br /> 2 interest at this time. Further public engagement and analysis of those Growth Areas may occur <br /> 3 in the future following direction from the Board of Commissioners. <br /> 4 <br /> 5 1. Overview of County Wide Planning Framework <br /> 6 <br /> 7 In 1994, the County designated three distinct areas in the County outside of the incorporated <br /> 8 municipalities where water and sewer service may be extended and where more dense, <br /> 9 primarily non-residential would occur. <br /> 10 ➢ The Eno Economic Development District (EDD) is approximately 600+ acres located <br /> 11 along Highway 70 bordering Durham County. The City of Durham provides utilities in <br /> 12 this area, and annexation of the served parcels into the City is possible. Staff is <br /> 13 currently working on a proposal to reduce the general size of the Eno EDD to the <br /> 14 approximately 200 acres that are suitable for development based on the SWOT analysis <br /> 15 conducted in 2018 and property owners/developers are willing. <br /> 16 ➢ The Hillsborough EDD is approximately 370 acres located along the southern boundary <br /> 17 of the Town of Hillsborough. The Town is the utility provider in this area, and annexation <br /> 18 by the Town upon development is possible. <br /> 19 ➢ The Buckhorn EDD (includes areas from Efland west to Mebane) is approximately 1500 <br /> 20 net acres along the eastern boundary of the City of Mebane. The City is the utility <br /> 21 provider in this area, and annexation is possible upon development. <br /> 22 ➢ Overall, 13% of the County's total land area is located in the incorporated areas of <br /> 23 Hillsborough, Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Mebane <br /> 24 ➢ Three percent (3%) of the County's total land area is in the County's planning jurisdiction <br /> 25 (OCPJ) and currently authorized for utility extensions and the accompanying more urban <br /> 26 intensities and densities. Utility extensions in these areas are limited by the Water and <br /> 27 Sewer Management and Planning Boundary Agreement (WASMPBA). Chapel Hill, <br /> 28 Carrboro, Hillsborough and Orange County are parties to that agreement. Utilities in <br /> 29 these areas are further guided by interlocal agreements with local governments. <br /> 30 ➢ The remaining eighty-four percent (84%) in Orange County's Planning Jurisdiction is <br /> 31 limited to low density, low impervious rural residential, agricultural uses, preservation, <br /> 32 and watershed protection areas. 96.6% of Orange County's Planning Jurisdiction has <br /> 33 limited development potential. <br /> 34 <br /> 35 2. Water and Sewer Investments within the EDD <br /> 36 <br /> 37 The County has invested over$5.5 million to install water and sewer infrastructure in the <br /> 38 Economic Development Districts. The debt service on these investments is paid through the <br /> 39 Article 46 Economic Development sales tax. <br /> 40 <br /> 41 The Buckhorn Mebane Phase 3 Capital Improvement Plan map (provided as Attachment 2) <br /> 42 shows the proposed phasing of an incremental series of infrastructure phases and timing to <br /> 43 prepare for buildout development in an orderly and engineering efficient manner in the Buckhorn <br /> 44 EDD. The PowerPoint for this item (Attachment 5) will illustrate the prior phases one by one. <br /> 45 The FY2021-22 Capital Investment Plan recommends a $1.2 million Buckhorn Mebane Phase 3 <br /> 46 project to extend utilities to Growth Area A. A water system is on site. <br /> 47 <br /> 48 Orange County has invested in this area since a joint venture with the City of Mebane to build <br /> 49 utilities for the middle school and north Buckhorn community since 2004. Further investments <br /> 50 were made in CIP phases to a master planned infrastructure `backbone.' <br /> 51 <br />