Orange County NC Website
proposed zoning atlas amendment will bring the existing school site into compliance with <br /> the current LIDO and allow for improvements in the areas identified in the site plan for <br /> future development , as shown on the submitted Site Plan . The site is surrounded by low <br /> density residential uses , undeveloped parcels , including Duke Forest , and agricultural <br /> uses , including Duke Farm . Any additional traffic , lighting , or noise will be mitigated in <br /> compliance with NCDOT standards and the LIDO . The proposed School : Preparatory use <br /> is permitted in the NR- CD zoning district , complies with the UDO standards , and meets <br /> the standards of evaluations as reviewed by the Planning Board . <br /> The PDHRB ( Planned Development Housing - Rural Buffer) applied to one of the <br /> properties is a legacy of prior zoning ordinance and is not captured within the 2030 <br /> Comprehensive Plan . Similar to this presented NC -CD application , the PDHRB residential <br /> district currently applied to one of the properties is specific to the Carolina Friends School <br /> campus . Such districts were established for specialized purposes where tracts were <br /> deemed suitable for a specific intensity of development . Development within this district <br /> was regulated by the approved 1990 Special Use Permit and subsequent modifications , <br /> which permitted the operation of Carolina Friends School . There is not a history of land <br /> use violations or non - conformities associated with these owners or properties . <br /> The conditions proposed by the applicant will ensure that both the " Rural Buffer" future <br /> land use classification provided by the 2030 Comprehensive Plan (" Land adjacent to an <br /> urban or transition area which is rural in character and which should remain rural , contain <br /> very low- density residential uses , and not require urban services during the plan period " ) <br /> and the Orange County- Chapel Hill- Carrboro Joint Planning Land Use Plan (" . . . rural in <br /> character and which will remain rural , contain low-density residential uses , and require <br /> urban services , ") will not be compromised . The site -specific plan presented for the <br /> proposed Zoning Atlas Amendment will not use public utilities and the Carolina Friends <br /> School will continue to utilize private onsite wells for any future development . <br /> The 2030 Comprehensive Plan , Appendix G , Land Use Classification and Overlay <br /> Locational Criteria , identifies the Rural Buffer Land Use Classification as " Located in areas <br /> directly outside of Transition and Urban areas where prevailing uses are rural residential <br /> and agricultural in nature . " The existing use of Carolina Friends School and any future <br /> expansion will conform with all applicable LIDO regulations to ensure development does <br /> not create undue impacts to the surrounding uses of low-density residential , agriculture , <br /> and forestry . The school maintains a portion of forested area on the three subject parcels <br /> and incorporates outdoor education elements that necessitates a rural setting . The <br /> applicant has proposed land use buffers surrounding the parcels making up Carolina <br /> Friends School to further mitigate impacts to adjacent properties . <br /> The Carolina Friends School is constraining any expansion to 108 , 000 square feet total to <br /> accommodate new students , including students from outside of Orange County . The <br /> impacts to this 110 - acre property will be minimal with all buffers to remain in place and all <br /> environmental features (e . g . streams ) being protected from development impacts . Indeed , <br /> as articulated by the applicant , the site plan features design considerations of the exterior <br /> environmental learning facilities , such as stream buffers and wetlands , as well as walking <br />