Orange County NC Website
333 <br /> . Hands Four Development Cooperative <br /> "►' it ixFi� ead" PO Box 1201 Carrboro,NC 27510 <br /> Corner HandsFourDevelopment@gmail.com <br /> Letter of Request <br /> A) 2030 Comprehensive Plan - Future Land Use Map - Map Amendment <br /> B) 2030 Comprehensive Plan - Appendix F - Text Amendment <br /> March 20, 2024 <br /> A) 2030 Comprehensive Plan FLUM Map Amendment <br /> This request involves a parcel of land with PIN 9739720339 owned by Hands Four Development <br /> Cooperative (H4D). This land is located at 5824 Morrow Mill Road, 1000 feet from the intersection of <br /> Morrow Mill Road and NC Highway 54. <br /> The current land use classification is Rural Neighborhood Activity Node (RNAN) on the northernmost <br /> segment of the parcel. Agricultural Residential (AR) is the current land use classification for the <br /> remainder of the parcel. This request is for classification of the entirety of the parcel as Rural <br /> Neighborhood Activity Node (RNAN) on the FLUM (see attached Exhibit A). <br /> A concurrent Zoning Atlas Amendment by H4D requests rezoning of this parcel to Master Plan <br /> Development Conditional District (MPD-CD). MPD-CD is not currently linked to Rural Neighborhood <br /> Activity Node in the Orange County 2030 Comprehensive Plan in Appendix F. The applicant requests <br /> in section B of this document that such linkage be made by means of a Comprehensive Plan text <br /> amendment to Appendix F. Approval of that linkage, along with the referenced Zoning Atlas <br /> Amendment, would harmonize the zoning, land classification and intended uses, as will be discussed <br /> further on. <br /> Changing Conditions That Make the Proposed Amendment Reasonably Necessary <br /> A significant and ongoing changing condition in Orange County that makes the proposed amendment <br /> reasonably necessary is "an explosion in the numbers of older persons, a dramatic increase in longer <br /> lives" described in the Orange County Master Aging Plan (MAP) of 2007. The most recent update of <br /> the MAP, (2022-27), reinforces this point with an estimate that the overall population will increase by <br /> 20% from 2020 to 2040, while the number of adult ages 65+ in Orange County is expected to increase <br /> over three times as fast- 68%! <br /> This tsunami of aging adults will produce a demand for increased housing and neighborhoods that are <br /> designed specifically to meet the needs of an aging population. Much of the housing stock of Orange <br /> County is geared to families, typically 3+ bedrooms, whereas the space needed by seniors declines as <br /> their activities and family size decreases. Many seniors need housing with barrier-free access, which <br /> is not generally available. At the same time, housing prices are increasing rapidly, while the incomes <br /> of seniors often decrease as they age and retire. <br /> In planning to meet the need for housing by creating our intentional community with its focus on living <br /> in retirement, H4D members desired to locate in an urban setting in the Durham-Chapel Hill area. <br /> FLUM Amendment Narrative, Pg. 1 <br />