Orange County NC Website
VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br /> 5. Public Hearings <br /> a. Zoning Ordinance Amendment Establishing Regulations for Drive-thru <br /> Facilities <br /> The Board received the Planning Board recommendation and considered taking action <br /> on a staff initiated Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment to Article Six (6) Application of <br /> Dimensional Requirements to establish regulations governing the development of drive-thru <br /> facilities with the County. <br /> Orange County Planning Director Craig Benedict made a PowerPoint presentation. <br /> AGENDA ITEM: 5-A <br /> PUBLIC HEARING <br /> Review of a proposal to amend <br /> the Orange County Zoning Ordinance to establish regulations for drive-thru facilities <br /> ISSUE: <br /> •Concern has been expressed over the pollution generated by vehicles idling within a drive- <br /> thru lane and what effect this would have on the environment as well as passing pedestrians, <br /> •There is also concern over the interaction between vehicles attempting to park versus those <br /> attempting to access the drive-thru, <br /> •Currently there are no regulations governing the development/use of drive-thru facilities, <br /> •Drive-thru facilities are banned within the Hillsborough Area Economic Development District <br /> and within the Efland Cheeks Overlay Zoning District (ECOD), which was adopted in 2008 <br /> PROPOSAL: <br /> Staff recommended adopting regulatory standards that would include the following <br /> standards: <br /> •Require a fifty (50) foot setback for such facilities from property lines, <br /> •Require a twenty-five (25) foot vegetative buffer separating the drive-thru lane from <br /> pedestrian and parking areas, <br /> •Require that menu boards utilized in connection with drive-thru facilities shall not be visible <br /> from external roadways, <br /> •Limit the overall number of drive-thru facilities that can be developed within a multi-use non- <br /> residential development to one (1) per ten (10) acres with a maximum cap of five (5) per <br /> project, <br /> •Require one hundred eighty (180) feet of drive isle to support drive-thru facilities, <br /> Planning Board Recommendation: <br /> The Planning Board reviewed this item at their April 1, 2009 meeting where the <br /> following motion was made: <br /> •Recommend the County initiate a comprehensive and countywide awareness education <br /> program about idling and the contaminants it puts in our air, and <br /> •Recommend the BOCC disregard staff's two (2) options and take no action on adopting <br /> regulations banning development of drive-thru facilities within the County's planning jurisdiction <br />