Orange County NC Website
ISSUE: <br /> Rural Traffic Impacts— During the review of a Class A Special Use Permit, local residents <br /> expressed concern over the threshold levels of standards governing traffic generated by a <br /> proposed development within a rural portion of the County. <br /> It was suggested that staff begin looking at the need to modify existing regulations to <br /> differentiate between acceptable levels of traffic being generated for projects within rural vs. <br /> urban areas. <br /> PROCESS/TIMELINE <br /> Because there are a variety of land uses with different traffic generation attributes the <br /> subject must be examined comprehensively and not.necessarily as a response to a specific <br /> case. Staff will soon begin work on addressing this issue with draft text to be presented at a <br /> Quarterly Public Hearing in the latter part of 2009. <br /> ISSUE: <br /> Rural Lighting Impacts -- The County has received a complaint from a iota! resident <br /> concerned over the use of outdoor ball field lights at a local church adjacent to her <br /> residence. The resident has indicated that the lights are out of character with the rural <br /> setting of the area and detract from her ability to make reasonable use of her property. <br /> Staff has inspected the church and determined the erected ball.field lights do not fully <br /> adhere to the requirements of the Ordinance. A Notice of Violation has been issued and we <br /> are currently in the process of coordinating, with the church, efforts to address the various <br /> inconsistencies. <br /> PROCESS/TIMELINE <br /> in terms of addressing the need for Ordinance amendments, relating to our existing outdoor <br /> lighting standards, staff is in the process of finalizing a report to present to the Planning <br /> Board Ordinance Review Committee and then report to the•BOCC in January or February of <br /> 2009 outlining various options in an effort to solicit guidance on appropriate amendments. <br /> In staffs opinion it will not be sufficient to merely amend existing regulations to require <br /> outdoor athletic field lights within the rural portions of the County be turned off earlier than in <br /> more urban areas of the County. Staff believes there is a need to re-evaluate our current <br /> • regulatory philosophy and complete a wholesale revision of the existing lighting standards. <br /> • <br /> • <br /> • <br />