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.Draft 10/8/99 <br /> D. <br /> <br />how new types of crop production, such as organic: farming, turf <br />farming and other new changes to the agricultural field that have <br />occurred in the last 15 years affect the scoring system. <br />The acquisition of conservation. easements from interested farmers <br />,may. be the best tool -for the County's efforts o keep the County's <br />most valuable prime farmland in long-term cultivation. for food <br />production: This tool would allow the farmer to retain ownershipto <br />the .land.. (see Section ~. In further developing a program for <br />farmland preservation, it should be recognized however, that the <br />visual resource and .rural character :components of farmland are <br />also important factors and warrant consideration. <br />Criteria for Historic and Cultural Sites <br />(dev%ped in conjunction with the Historic Preservation Commission) <br />Orange County has been an important -locus -for human activity <br />since well before the first European settlers arrived in the 1740's. <br />The ancient Trading. Path, used first by Native American: tribes like <br />the Occoneechee, crossed through the County. Hillsborough was <br />"ground zero" for the Regulator movement in the colonial era, and <br />even: served as the seat of state government for a short while.. <br />Other significant activities, both architectural, cultural and <br />archaeological, have occurred in the past 250 years. <br />In 1992, the- County adopted a Historic Preservation Element of the <br />Comprehensive .Plan. This document and concurrent .surveys of <br />historic sites in .the County, contains a preservation plan for the <br />County that focuses on tools such as national and local <br />designations,. legal and regulatory measures, financial incentives <br />and public awareness. The Element was not developed- with <br />potential 'acquisition of historic or cultural sites in mind, but does <br />note the potential for preserving historic sites through park <br />creation. It also notes the importance of stream corridors for future <br />archaeological potential. The Preservation Plan map is shown as <br />Appendix K. <br />In recent years, the Historic Preservation Commission has been <br />involved in a number of initiatives. A number of National Register <br />nomination have been approved or are pending for important <br />historic sites such as Chatwood and the Bingham School. property. <br />One National Register landmark. district (Cedar Grove) as also been <br />approved... Work is underway at this time of a preservation plan for <br />the St. Mary's Road corridor. <br />21 <br />