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TOWN OF MORRISVILLE
4-2
Table 4-1 provides detail on the area (square miles) within each general land use category.
As shown in the table, approximately 71 percent of the Planning Area is developed, 10
percent is open space, and another 19 percent is currently undeveloped and represents
forested or vacant land (no building on the parcel). This category also includes parcels that
are 10 acres or greater and have a single residence on them; these lands could be subdivided
in the future.
Figure 4-1 illustrates the riparian buffers within the Town’s Planning Area; these buffers
account for 1.8 square miles or 18 percent of the Planning Area. The Wake County
hydrology coverage, which includes perennial and intermittent streams, was used as the
basis for determining the riparian buffer area. Floodplains inside the Planning Area are 0.7
square mile (or 7 percent of the Planning Area). Because of the manner in which the data
were developed and analyzed, the riparian buffer and floodplain areas can occur in various
land use categories. Other areas within developed categories, such as perimeter buffers, are
actually open space. Additionally, the non-residential developed land use category is
assumed to be over-estimated because of the inclusion of areas identified in the Town’s GIS
data as mixed use.
The actual percentage of open space within the
Planning Area is likely greater than the amount
indicated in Tables 4-1 and 4-2, and on Figures 4-1
and 4-2 because of the following factors: 1) large
portions of the areas classified as residential are
open space because of the large amount of low-
density development; 2) the Town requires open
space in residential and commercial developments;
and 3) the Town requires the protection of 50-foot-
wide undisturbed riparian buffers. In addition, as
land is developed, the Town requires open space
to be provided with the new developments.
Therefore, many areas are undeveloped open
space within the various general land use
categories.
Table 4-2 provides a detailed breakdown of the
Town’s general land use categories. Non-
residential use (41 percent) is predominant, while
residential use (30 percent) is the second-most
predominant land use within the Planning Area.
The majority of residential use (14 percent of total land use) is classified as low density.
TABLE 4-1
Planning Area Existing Land Use
General Land Use
Type
Square
Miles
Percent
of
Planning
Area
Residential Developed
2.9
30%
Non-residential
Developed
1
4.0
41%
Undeveloped/Vacant
2
1.9
19%
Open Space
3
1.0
10%
Total
9.8
100%
Source: Town of Morrisville, 2013.
1
Transportation and mixed use are included
within the Non-Residential Developed
category.
2
Undeveloped land is any undeveloped land
that as the potential for development.
Undeveloped land may be forested or
vacant . The Town does not have any active
farms,