Orange County NC Website
232 <br /> Consistency of the North Carolina General Statutes, the Board finds sufficient <br /> documentation within the record denoting that the amendment is consistent with the <br /> adopted 2030 Comprehensive Plan, and, more specifically, the Orange County-adopted <br /> Central Orange Coordinated Area Land Use Plan (COCA). <br /> The zoning atlas amendment for a 49-lot Conservation Cluster subdivision is consistent <br /> with the 2030 Comprehensive Plan's stated goals. The 2030 Comprehensive Plan, <br /> particularly Appendix G: Land Use Classification and Overlay Locational Criteria, identifies <br /> the Rural Industrial Activity Node land use classification as "land... that is focused on <br /> designated road intersections which serves as a nodal crossroads for the surrounding <br /> rural community and is an appropriate location for small-scale industrial uses which do not <br /> require urban type services," and the "Agricultural Residential" land use classification as <br /> "land in the rural areas where the prevailing land use activities are related to the land <br /> (agriculture, forestry) and which is an appropriate location for the continuation of these <br /> uses." The proposed R-CD zoning district is recommended as a zoning district in both the <br /> Rural Industrial Activity Node and Agricultural Residential Land Use Classifications <br /> reflected in the 2030 Comprehensive Plan's Appendix F: Relationships Between Land Use <br /> Classifications and Zoning Districts. Furthermore, the proposed residential use is more <br /> harmonious with the present land uses, particularly the two schools, than a "smaller scale <br /> industrial use" would be. <br /> This is the type of development was envisioned by Orange County when it adopted and <br /> further revised the COCA in partnership with the Town of Hillsborough. The COCA <br /> identifies this property as having a future land use of "Mixed Residential Neighborhood", <br /> which recommends a "dominant [residential] land use" that "...may contain a single or <br /> variety of dwelling types and densities or may integrate a variety of supportive <br /> commercial, public and semi-public uses and open or public space." The proposed project <br /> is consistent with this description. The adoption of the COCA and the recommended land <br /> use for the subject property was deemed consistent with the Comprehensive Plan, as the <br /> COCA was adopted after that countywide plan. The subject property is located outside the <br /> Town's incorporated limits and its extraterritorial jurisdiction and, as such, was always <br /> envisioned for land use regulation by Orange County as a "Mixed Residential <br /> Neighborhood". <br /> The applicant proposes a Flexible Subdivision following the Conservation Cluster model, <br /> which concentrates the development outside of environmentally sensitive areas and <br /> maintains contiguous Common Open Space on 42.25 acres, or 53.97% of the parcel <br /> subject to rezoning, respecting the rural character and environmental protections <br /> prioritized by the Comprehensive Plan. The subdivision proposed with the binding site <br /> plan adheres to the density of rural development reflected in the surrounding area's <br /> residential land use patterns, with an overall density of 1 dwelling unit per 0.61 acres. The <br /> proposed lot count for the future subdivision does not exceed the maximum density <br /> permitted by the density regulations in the UDO. This measured approach is compatible <br /> with the nodal crossroads location, introducing more households in an environmentally- <br /> sensitive conservation cluster pattern that will support the node's present and future non- <br /> residential uses while being consistent with the residential development densities of the <br />