Agenda - 11-06-2002 - 9a - Laserfiche WebLink

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3 At the most basic level, Joint Planning is premised on two land use categories: Transition and Rural Buffer. The Joint Planning Area Land Use Plan defines the two categories as follows: Transition areas are located adjacent to the urban areas of Chapel Hill and Carrboro. They are in the process of changing from rural to urban uses or are already urban in use; are developed at or suitable for urban-type densities; and are now provided or are projected to be provided with urban services. The Rural Buffer is defined as being a low-density area consisting of single-family homes situated on large lots having a minimum size of two (2) acres. The Rural Buffer is further defined as land which, although adjacent to an Urban or Transition Area, is rural in character and which will remain rural, contain low-density residential uses, and not require urban services (public utilities and other Town services). While both areas are technically County jurisdiction, day-to-day administration of land use and development ordinances in the Transition Areas is ceded to the towns as specified in the Joint Planning Agreement while the Rural Buffer is regulated by the County. Chapel Hill Comprehensive Plan On May 8, 2000, the Chapel Hill Town Council adopted a new Comprehensive Plan for the Town along with an accompanying Land Use Plan. The geographic coverage of the Plan includes all areas within Chapel Hill's town limits, ETJ, and Joint Planning Transition Areas. A feature of the new plan was a reduction of the Urban Services Boundary (USB) to the south of Chapel Hill's corporate limits. This resulted in a northward shift of the USB away from the Chapel Hill Southern Triangle Joint Planning Transition Area. This Transition Area contains approximately 205 acres and is bordered by Chatham County to the south, Old Lystra Road to the east, and the Chapel Hill ETJ and US 15-501 to the north. It is currently zoned Chapel Hill R-LD1 (minimum lot size of one acre) as is the adjacent area to the north inside the Chapel Hill ETJ. The area immediately to the east is zoned Orange County Rural Buffer (two acre minimum lot size). Areas now outside the USB that were formerly inside it are part Transition and part ETJ (town standards apply within both). Water and Sewer Management, Planning and Boundary Agreement (WSMPBA) The elected boards of Orange County, Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough and the appointed Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA) Board of Directors adopted resolutions in April 1994 to create a Water and Sewer Service Boundary Task Force. The Task Force was charged with developing water and sewer service boundaries for the County's service providers. The Task Force began meeting in June 1994 and six months later issued a preliminary report with a set of service boundaries and list of inter-related objectives to be addressed. On December 3, 2001, the Board of County Commissioners adopted the agreement in its final form.