Orange County NC Website
D.2 Conservation-Cluster Option (cont.) <br />smaller than the minimum lot size permitted in the zoning district are allowed provided <br />such lots and subdivisions are developed in accordance with the following standards: <br />Land saved through lot size reductions shall consist of designated Primary and/or <br />Secondary Conservation Areas. <br />The total amount of land set aside as Primary and Secondary Conservation <br />Areas shall equal the sum of all reductions in minimum lot area and shall <br />comprise at least thirty-three percent (33%) of the total land area in the <br />subdivision. <br />• Both Primary and Secondary Conservation Areas shall be .placed in undivided <br />preserves which adjoin housing areas that have been designed more compactly <br />to create larger conservation units that may be enjoyed by all residents of the <br />subdivision and, if possible, enjoyed visually by the general public. Such <br />undivided open space shall be accessible to the largest number of lots within the <br />development. To achieve this, the majority of houselots should abut undivided <br />open space to provide residents with direct views and access. Safe and <br />convenient pedestrian access to the open space from all adjoining houselots <br />shall be provided, except in the case of farmland or other resource areas <br />vulnerable to human disturbance.. The design must meet Section F Evaluation <br />Criteria which sets forth conservation area design characteristics. <br />Where undivided open space is designated as separate non-contiguous parcels, <br />no parcel shall consist of less than .three (3) acres in area, nor have alength-to- <br />width ratio in excess of 4:1, except such areas that are specifically designed for <br />neighborhood commons or greens; playfields; buffers adjacent to wetlands, <br />watercourses, and rural roads; wildlife corridors; or trail links. <br />• Each lot must contain a buildable area of sufficient size to accommodate a <br />--_ <br />limited to storage buildings and garages patios and decks lawns, driveways, <br />septic systems including repair areas and well sites. Aseptic system and/or well <br />site mad be located in a secondary conservation open space area provided it <br />does not occupy more than one quarter of the secondary conservation area. No <br />septic system repair area and/or well can be located in the primary conservation <br />area. <br />• Provided the arrangement, design, and shape of cluster lots is such that lots <br />provide satisfactory and desirable sites for building, and contribute to the <br />preservation of designated Primary and/or Secondary Conservation Areas, <br />minimum lot area, lot width, and setback requirements as specified in Article <br />4.1.2 of the Orange County Zoning Ordinance may be reduced as set forth <br />below. <br />