Agenda - 10-03-2005-10a - Laserfiche WebLink

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2. Orange County's participation in the New Hope Creek corridor is not limited to 0 the 43 -acre property mentioned above. It has offered to purchase, and Duke University has agreed to sell, an adjoining 8 -acre parcel (brown informally as the Hollow Rock access) owned by Duke within Orange County for a purchase price of $72,000. This land is located adjacent to the subject property above and is west of Pickett Road at its intersection with Erwin Road, In so doing, the County continues a series of collaborative efforts with Duke over the past several years to work together on conservation and open space projects. Orange County remains extremely appreciative of Duke's willingness to work with Orange County on matters of common interest, and commends Duke for its cooperative spirit in helping to preserve open space. 3. Furthermore, Orange County is appreciative of the role played by Durham County in this project to date, which continues a collaboration of the two bodies that includes previous partnership on the award - winning Little River Regional Park project.. The County also notes the role played by citizens and the Erwin Road Neighborhood Group (FANG), which has announced plans to raise $200,000 toward the project, for their assistance in heightening awareness and funding potential for the project. By way of background, Orange County was a participant in the New Hope Corridor Open Space Master Plan in the early 1990s, and incorporated the New Hope Master Plan into the County's Comprehensive Plan in 1992. In more recent years, the County's Lands Legacy Program, created in 2000, identified the New Hope Creek corridor as a priority area for open space acquisition, and the Lands Legacy Action Plan includes planned acquisitions along the creek corridor. Working with Triangle Land Conservancy, Orange County currently holds an easement on 1.7 acres where Erwin Road crosses over New Hope Creek, and owns outright one- acre where the New Hope crosses into Durham County. Negotiation for acquisition of additional lands in between these two points along the New Hope corridor was underway prior to the Erwin Trace subdivision approval and subsequent proposed joint inter -local initiative, including the aforementioned tentative acquisition of 8 acres from Duke. Although acquisition of all of the lands in the planned Preserve at Erwin Trace were not specifically called for in the New Hope Master Plan, Orange County recognizes in agreeing to participate in the joint project that the subject property is complementary to the New Hope Corridor and that the opportunity for expansion of the open space holdings in this area offers many potential benefits to the citizens of all jurisdictions. Orange County remains committed to the principles and goals of the New Hope Corridor Master Plan, and will continue with plans for acquisitions in the corridor between Envin Road and the Durham County line that are planned or already underway. The planned acquisitions outlined above would alone result in a commitment by Orange County of over $200,000 toward land protection in the New Hope corridor.