Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
335 <br /> Goal 8 relates to communication and information. FC will have high-speed internet connectivity with <br /> which residents can use web search and other tools to learn of resources. FC will be aware of Orange <br /> County senior services and inform its members about them. Members will be informed of volunteer <br /> engagement opportunities in the larger community. Information about resources related to health, faith <br /> practices, public events, and civic and community organizations will be disseminated within the <br /> community. <br /> The Proposed Amendment and the Goals of the Comprehensive Plan - Sustainability <br /> Environmental sustainability is a core aspect of the Planning Principles expressed in the <br /> Comprehensive Plan. In planning Fiddlehead Corner, environmental sustainability has been a high <br /> priority because several members of Fiddlehead Corner are active in local and state environmental <br /> sustainability efforts. These members will bring their energy, enthusiasm, knowledge, experience and <br /> dedication to the development of the community. <br /> We acknowledge the human role in climate change and seek to actively address its prevention and <br /> mitigation. Features such as water conservation, solar energy, geothermal energy, and overall energy <br /> efficiency are being carefully considered and will be incorporated to the greatest extent feasible. The <br /> technology and economics of these areas are evolving so rapidly that we consider it unwise to commit <br /> to specific measures in this application, but go on record to state that we give high priority to <br /> environmental sustainability in our planning. <br /> Other Factors in Support of the Proposed Amendment <br /> Implicit in planning a community that will be able to meet the needs of an older population is sufficient <br /> scale to provide the services. In other words, it must be large enough to support those services. In the <br /> case of Fiddlehead Corner, a size of 150 residences and about 225 individuals is projected to be the <br /> minimum size required to make the planned amenities and services financially viable. The intensity of <br /> land use required is generally available only in an urban setting. Our consultants have identified <br /> state-of-the-art wastewater treatment technologies that make it possible to use available rural land <br /> much more efficiently for wastewater discharge and thereby make feasible housing densities that were <br /> previously out of consideration. <br /> Potential Impact of the Proposed Project on Rural Character <br /> Life sometimes presents situations where two or more valuable goals come in conflict. Choices must <br /> be made in order to strike a sustainable balance between the economic, social, and environmental <br /> systems that make up the community. In this application, proposing to locate a sizable development in <br /> a rural area could potentially threaten to disrupt the rural character of its location that the <br /> Comprehensive Plan seeks to maintain. <br /> Our members called for a location close to Chapel Hill and Durham, where our families, friends, <br /> activities, shopping, medical services and other supports are located. Finding a site that was already <br /> zoned for a development of the type we are seeking proved to be an exercise in futility due to the area <br /> being a high growth region with rocketing land values. Alternatively, reasonably priced land was <br /> available in adjacent rural areas. However, we recognized that siting Fiddlehead Corner in a rural <br /> location risked disrupting the rural character of the land. <br /> Fortunately, we arrived at what we believe is an excellent solution that strikes a balance, preserving <br /> the rural character while meeting our needs. We propose compact neighborhood clusters that allow <br /> individuals of all mobility levels to access all locations within the community. The Fiddlehead Corner <br /> Master Plan sites the development on 30 acres nestled deep within the center of the property, leaving <br /> nearly all of the remaining 60 acres of forest undisturbed, including buffers at the periphery on all <br /> sides. In this sheltered location, the development would not be visible from most of its neighboring <br /> FLUM Amendment Narrative, Pg. 3 <br />