Orange County NC Website
Commissioner Yuhasz said that there should be a difference if an applicant responds to <br /> what is heard at a public hearing and wants to revise. He thinks that this should be rewarded <br /> and not punished. <br /> Commissioner Gordon asked for clarification on the notifications and Shannon Berry said, <br /> for Comprehensive Plan amendments, only those affected property owners will be notified. <br /> Commissioner Gordon feels uncomfortable about this and thinks that adjacent property owners <br /> within 500 feet should also be notified. <br /> Shannon Berry said that the property will be posted and there will be signs, but the <br /> adjacent owners will not receive a mailing. <br /> PUBLIC COMMENT: <br /> Reverend Robert Campbell said that he has asked to be notified of issues that affect the <br /> entire community. He thinks that everyone should be notified if something affects the whole <br /> community. <br /> Commissioner Nelson arrived at 7:59 pm. <br /> Susan Walser said that she lives in the County on 20 acres and the people that border <br /> her have a lot of acreage. If there was something going on with her property, only one or two <br /> people would be notified, and she does not think that this is sufficient. <br /> A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs to <br /> clarify the language in the case of amendments to the land use plan map, that written notice of <br /> the application will be sent by first class mail to all property owners as listed in the Orange <br /> County tax records whose property is affected, which means that the site is proposed for the land <br /> use change; and also sent to those who are within 500 feet of the affected property. <br /> Commissioner Jacobs said that the public asked the County Commissioners to extend the <br /> notification beyond 500 feet. He asked for direction from staff on this. <br /> Laura Blackmon said that for large tracts of land the notifications could be for contiguous <br /> properties. <br /> Craig Benedict said that there is a challenge explaining to people greater than 500 feet <br /> that really were not being affected by anything. If the notification is 1,000 feet for <br /> Comprehensive Plan amendments and 500 feet for zoning, the letter of clarity will be a <br /> challenge. He suggested keeping it 500 feet so that the letter will be simpler. <br /> VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br /> Commissioner Jacobs said that at the last work session the Board talked about <br /> communicating better with the public. When this came up at the Quarterly Public Hearing on <br /> February 23rd, this came up about trying to limit Planning-ese when running advertisements. He <br /> said that this is some of the most forbidding language that could be put in a newspaper. He said <br /> that the American Planning Association must have a listsery and there might be more creative <br /> ways to draw people's attention to advertisements. <br /> A motion was made by Commissioner Jacobs, seconded by Chair Foushee to close the <br /> public hearing and approve the proposed amendments, with the changes by the Commissioners, <br /> to Article 2 of the Zoning Ordinance to clarify the language and clearly articulate the procedures <br /> for amendments to the adopted Comprehensive Plan. <br /> VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br />