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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 02-28-2005-c3ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: February 28, 2005 Action Agenda Item No. C.3 SUBJECT: Update of the Rural Character and Farmland Protection Work Group DEPARTMENT: Planning Board (Planning and PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) NO Inspections) ATTACHMENT(S): 1. Summary of Exempted Orange County Subdivision Activity (1994 to 2003) 2. State Exempted 10+ Acre Tract Divisions (Advantages/Disadvantages) INFORMATION CONTACT: Jay Bryan, Planning Board Chair, 933- 1200 TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough 732-8181 Chapel Hill 968-4501 Durham 688-7331 Mebane 336-227-2031 PURPOSE: To receive an update from the Planning Board Chair on the activities and products of the Planning Board-initiated, Rural Character and Farmland Protection Work Group. BACKGROUND: At its August 4, 2004 regular meeting, the Planning Board formed a Work Group charged with the following Mission: "Examine strategies and make recommendations, if any, regarding approaches for the protection of rural character and farmland in Orange County, taking into account the comments from the public outreach process that is ongoing." The Work Group consisted of five (5) Planning Board members, a local surveyor, and a representative from each of the following: Agriculture P~esenration Board, ERCD, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Environmental Health Division with Planning Staff providing logistical support. Between August and November 2004, the Work Group met eight (8) times, and in general, discussed the following topics: American Farmland Tnast's list of farmland protection tools; elements of cluster subdivisions; wastewater treatment options; additional applications of temporary and permanent farmland preservation easements; and existing subdivision regulations. The Work Group also discussed the implications of the State 10 acre lot exemption (see Staff report, Attachments 1 and 2). The Work Group prepared and presented its 'Outline of Options' report to the Planning Board at the January 12 and February 2, 2005 regular meetings. Before official consideration, the full Board requested a joint meeting with the Agriculture Preservation Board to discuss the report and receive input. This meeting is scheduled for April 6, 2005, FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact associated with this decision. RECOMMENDATION(S): Receive as information. _ -y'n dh ~i =nunig I ~T71~.::1 fi (utd~C iiria n _ I i~':-I u I ..^.~u. kr , .-n i~2 nil r . L+NI eh "L L,i r.i" v ut ~ aL~~b>~a Attachment 1 Summai°y of Exempted Orange County Subdivision Activity (1994 to 2003) 3 North Carolina statutes exempt certain types of subdivisions from local review and approval. Subdivisions of land involving a combination or recombination of land, public road right-of--way acquisitions, an utility lot, a boundary survey, dedication of an easement, the division of land affecting two acres of less in a single ownership with no right-of-way dedication, or lots greater° than ten acres are exempt. Table 1 summarizes exempted subdivision activity in the county since 1994. Resulting lots greater than twenty acres were not included because they potentially could be re- subdivided later. Table 1. Exempted Subdivisions. Year Number of Subdivisions Number of Lots < 20 ac. Area Subdivided (ac.) Average Ai°ea er Lot (ac.) 1994 28 67 795.77 11.88 1995 26 48 582..98 12.15 1996 .3 7 101 1,061.98 10.51 1997 40 73 807.84 11.07 1998 39 97 1,154..34 11.90 1999 43 124 1,.308.52 10.55 2000 45 93 1,039.87 1L18 2001 33 82 936.53 11.42 2002 40 134 1.502.21 11.21 2003 25 57 643.70 11.29 Total 345 876 9,873.92 11.27 The two charts below compare exempted subdivisions from other minor and major subdivision activity. Exempted platted lots account for about 22% (with a range of 11% to 43%) of the total lots created and 12% of the lots with new residences. Attachment 1 Summary of Subdivided Lots by Type (1994 to 2003) 500 450 400 350 300 250 200 tso goo 50 0 Exempt Nejor Subdivision ~ O Mnor Subdivision 4 Attachment 1 Table 2. Exempted Subdivision Listing (200.3 and 2004). Subdivision Acres Lots Involved Comments 1 Larry T. Watson 55.42 2 Active Farrn Created residential lots Z David T. S uires 21.80 2 Res./Forest Created residential lots 3 Marlc & Lori Vole 65.70 4 Res./Forest Created residential lots 4 Lillian Ta for 43.20 2 Active Fann Family 5 William Allen Pearson 73.36 3 Active Fann Estate 6 Milton Julian 47.60 2 Farm/Forest Created residential lots 7 Gre ory F. Hulka 72.40 2 Forest Created residential lots 8 Phase IV La Mesa 20.63 2 Forest Created residential lots 9 John Hartwell 76.07 6 Res./Forest Created residential lots 10 Winfree 33.50 2 Lalce/Forest Created residential lots 11 Colteena Clark 21.50 2 Active Farm Created residential lots 12 Seven Mile Creek 76.44 6 Forest/Pasture Created. residential lots 13 Carol n Llo d 54.26 2 Active Farm hilreritance/Tax Pu oses 14 Gre or Man um 53.26 2 Active Farm Created residential lots 15 Charlie & V. Wilkerson 19.16 2 Res./Forest Recombination 16 William Finle Heirs 39.18 4 Fann/Forest Estate 17 Isabeth Davis 26.45 2 Active Fann billeritance/Tax Purposes 1.8 Mar H. C. Durham 35.29 2 Fann/Forest Estate 19 Eno Farms, Inc. 1858:5 2 ` Forest Sale to State`ofN.C. ` 20 Mar Scarlett 65.80 2 Res./Forest -- 21 Birdson R.O.W. 0 0 Res./Forest Road R.O.W. 22 Frank Jones 20.10 2 Forest Created residential lots 23 Walter Durham 172.65 2 Forest Family 24 Tri le Creek II 70.15 7 Forest Created residential lots 25 Lee Bradsher Heirs 134.77 2 Farm/Forest Estate 26 Thomas W. Parker 61.40 2 Active Farm Family 27 Taylor Blakel 34.87 2 Active Fazm Created residential lots 28 Bradsher 93.37 2 Active Farm Estate 29 Don Ann 190.24 4 Active Farm Created. residential lots 30 Ta for Farms 95.14 3 Active Fann -- 31 Toben Pro erties 33.26 3 Forest Created residential lots 32 Robert P. Nutter 111.40 4 Forest Created residential lots 33 Rou emont, Invest, Co. 47.51 4 Active Farm Created residential lots 34 Charles Tillman, Jr. 62.14 2 Farm/Forest -- 35 Tille 's Farm 93.25 4 Forest Created residential lots 36 Law's Farm 101.71 5 Active Farm Created residential lots 37 Richard Roberts 133.58 3 Active Farm Created residential lots 38 William Wilkerson 138.01 2 Lalce/Forest -- 39 Pelco Enter rises, LLC 85.86 3 Res./Forest Created residential lots 40 Candise P. Griffin 58.02 2 Active Farm Created residential lots 41 Julia M. Blackwood 84.76 Z Active Fann Created residential lots Attachment 1 6 42 Sue Holey Ho ood 148.65 2 Active Fazrn Family 43 Mary Ellen Godwin 20.35 2 Active Farm Created residential lots 44 Asie & Sandra Glas ow 159.60 2 Farm/Forest Family 45 Kenneth Strown 202.64 2 Active Farm Family 46 Malbrooke Pro ., Inc. 28.14 3 Forest Created residential lots 47 Geor a Horton, III 480.07 4 Active Farm -- 48 Stanford & Stanford 45.70 2 Forest Created residential lots Total 3,809.5 127 Created residential lots Discussion Lots SubdiriderG Exempted subdivisions, since 2003, have created 48 recorded plats of 5,668 acres on 129 lots. Of the 48 exempted subdivisions recorded, 13 (27%) involved an inheritance, family estate or family member. The use before the land division has not changed, according to 1998 and 200.3 air photographs. Two other divisions involved a public road right-of--way and a recombination. The 1,858-acre tract, which involved the sale of over 800 acres to the State of North Caroluia, is not considered because it did not create more land for development and would skew the data. In five subdivisions, (19%), the intent of the recordation was not cleaz. Only three of these land divisions involved active farmlands. Residerrtial Lots. From the remaining 27 (56%) exempt subdivisions, 84 lots, or an average of .3.1 lots per subdivision, were created on 1,703 acres. Each newly platted lot averaged 20.28 acres, including any residual parcels. Fifteen of these subdivisions (51 lots) were carved from land in forest cover. The remaining twelve exempt subdivisions divided over 849 acres of farmland into 37 lots Esiirrrate of Affect or: Active Far•rr:lar:ds. According to the State of North Carolina Department of Agriculture data, roughly 52% of all Orange County farms are considered active cropland. Thus, about 450 acres of active farmland potentially could have been saved since 2003 if the "farmstead minor cluster" subdivision option were available. This represents about eight percent of the total subdivided acreage over the study period. Farutstead Minor Cluster Affect. On thirteen of the 129 (10%) of the newly created, exempted lots building permits for single-family detached residences have been issued. Eight have certificates of occupancy approved and five are under construction, according to the County's building permit tracking system. Attachment 2 State Exempted 10+ Acre Tract Divisions ADVANTAGES: 1, Lower density means fewer lots/houses 2, Less traffic resulting in less air pollution 3. Less impact on schools and libraries 4. Less demand for parks and recreation 5, Less demand for social and health services 6, Fewer demands on fire, police and EMS 7. Less demand on Planning, Inspections and Environmental Health 8. Typically, less land disturbance 9. Subject to erosion control regulations 10. Fiscal impact is less DISADVANTAGES: 7 1. The State exempt tracts are not subject to all subdivision regulations 2. No dedication or provision of open space/on-site recreation 3, No opportunity to ensure preservation of environmentally sensitive features until individual lots come under zoning review for building permit 4. No parkland payment-in-lieu fees 5. No opportunity to review roadway access point, alignment, or grade and connectivity to adjacent parcels 6, No input into design/layout 7. No provisions for tree protection or roadside buffers 8. Stream buffers are not shown on plat causing same confusion to future buyers 9. Ten-acre lots created from active farmland may consume farmland at a more rapid pace than if lots were smaller NOTE: This is astaff-generated listing and does not reflect consensus on the part of various boards.