Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
15 <br /> This tsunami of aging adults will produce a demand for a substantial increase in the number <br /> of housing units that are designed specifically to meet the needs of an aging population. The <br /> housing stock of Orange County is geared to families, typically 3 or more bedrooms, whereas <br /> the space needed by seniors declines as their activities and family size decreases. In <br /> addition, most seniors need smaller dwellings and housing with barrier-free access, which is <br /> not generally available. At the same time, housing prices are increasing rapidly, while the <br /> incomes of seniors decrease as they age and retire. Clearly, there is a strong need for <br /> creative solutions to provide the needed senior housing. H4D seeks to answer that need. <br /> Regarding scale and financial viability, H41D determined through financial modeling that the <br /> scale needed to make a project of this type financially viable is a minimum of 150 residences, <br /> with approximately 225 residents, at full build-out. A project of this magnitude requires <br /> substantial acreage on which to locate. <br /> Regarding location in the urban vs. rural setting, H4D members strongly desired to locate in <br /> an urban setting in the Durham-Chapel Hill area in their retirement, because this is where <br /> most members reside currently. An urban location allows ready access to desired amenities. <br /> However, an extensive years-long search for an urban property on which to develop was <br /> fruitless. It was concluded that it would be necessary either to abandon the project or to <br /> develop outside the urban boundary. <br /> The property H4D has acquired exhibits ideal primary characteristics for the community. The <br /> land is only 10 minutes drive from the urban district via a major artery. It has sufficient area to <br /> accommodate the number of residences needed for financial viability in a compact footprint <br /> while conserving the majority of the property in its natural state. <br /> The appropriate zoning classification for H4D's purpose is Master Plan Development <br /> Conditional District (MPD-CD). However, MPD-CD does not have a linkage to the current AR <br /> land usage classification. The applicants propose a two step process to harmonize the <br /> zoning, land classification and intended uses. First is to extend the current land use <br /> classification of Rural Neighborhood Activity Node that applies to the northernmost aspect of <br /> the property to the entire property. Second is a text amendment to the 2030 Comprehensive <br /> Plan to create a linkage between MPD-CD and RNAN in the matrix of Appendix F, Land Use <br /> and Zoning Matrix. <br /> The property is partially within, and contiguous with, a Rural Neighborhood Activity Node. <br /> Reclassification of the remainder of the property to allow its most appropriate use at this time <br /> is a logical step. Rural Neighborhood Activity Node "identifies areas in the County where <br /> small scale commercial uses serving the population in the surrounding area are appropriate" <br /> (Appendix F). In the Appendix F matrix, RNAN is linked with LC-1, NC-2, ASE-CD, R-CD and <br /> NR-CD. Rural Community Activity Node is linked to all the preceding, plus MPD-CD. The <br /> applicants request addition of a linkage between MPD-CD and RNAN. MPD-CD development <br /> standards appear to be more restrictive and allow the County at least as much discretion to <br /> control the characteristics of a development as the other three Conditional Districts. In fact, 52 <br /> permitted uses in Table 5.2 of the UDO are allowed in R-CD or NR-CD but not in MPD-CD. <br /> H4D Narrative, Pg 2 <br />