Agenda - 02-17-2003-9c - Laserfiche WebLink

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Rachel Preston said that the North Carolina Landscape Contractors Registration Board is the licensing board and anyone doing landscaping has to have a license and has to go through a rigorous exam. She asked for some type of reference to this. She said that this should be enforced. Craig Benedict said that he agreed that we need to look at the landscape standards. He said that they have added the concepts of xeri-scaping, which is using native trees and low water use trees to reduce overall water consumption. Rachel Preston said that there are nurseries in the area that provide plants native to Orange County and non-native plants that are not invasive. She suggested putting in phrases that encourage people to purchase plants within Orange County - both native and non-native. Commissioner Brown asked about setbacks from creeks. Craig Benedict said that storm water, drainage, and erosion control refer back to the stream buffer requirements that are in other sections of the code. There are very good standards in this area. There is a minimum of 50 feet on either side of the stream. In the Neuse River Basin, there are additional requirements. The hope is to use these rules in the Cape Fear Basin. Chair Jacobs made reference to landscaping and Orange County becoming a non-attainment area for air quality. He said that maybe we could take a leadership role with landscaping requirements to be more energy efficient. Commissioner Brown asked if the ordinance will actually protect open space in terms of design. She asked how this ordinance would affect design in terms of open space. Craig Benedict said that in the analysis, we define primary and secondary conservation areas. Primary conservation areas are stream buffers, wildlife corridors, etc. Secondary conservation areas could be a wooded area or an open field. This amendment will ask developers to do a more elaborate analysis of an inventory of a native tree area and an open space analysis. Commissioner Brown said that a smaller developer is going to need assistance in understanding what this says. Craig Benedict said that there is an example that will be used for the general public and property owners that is called Above and Beyond. It will be air photos showing how subdivisions fit or do not fit into the landscape. Also, it will show what happens over time to inappropriately placed open space areas. This was a very good study of things that happened in the Vermont/New Hampshire area. Discussion ensued about open space design in subdivisions. Chair Gooding-Ray said that she did not see anything about light pollution. Craig Benedict said that it is in the ordinance. He said that there is a Dark Skies initiative coming forward. There was no public comment on this item. d. Amend Section IV-B-10.B to allow all Flexible Development options except the village option in the Rural Buffer. Craig Benedict said that this amendment is to allow flexible development within the rural buffer. He referred to the County map. Presently, in the rural buffer, there is only the conventional plan allowed. The amendment is that any developer within the rural buffer would provide two plans. In the rural buffer, it is suggested that flexible development standards be identical to all other areas in County jurisdiction. Developers could either bring in an estate option (four-acre lots) or a conservation cluster option, which would be at least 33% open space. This is an effort to have the