Agenda - 09-01-2009 - 5a - Laserfiche WebLink

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13 Approved 8/5/09 Minutes ORANGE COUNTY PLANNING BOARD JULY 1, 2009 REGULAR MEETING MEMBERS PRESENT: Brian Crawford, At-Large Eno Township (Chair); Judith Wegner (Vice-Chair), Bingham Township; Mary Bobbitt-Cooke, Cheek Township Representative; Mark Marcoplos, At-Large Bingham Township; Earl McKee, Little River Township Representative; Larry Wright, At-Large Cedar Grove Township; Tommy McNeill, Eno Township Representative MEMBERS ABSENT: Samantha Cabe, Chapel Hill Township At-Large; May Becker, At-urge Chapel Hill Township; Rachel Phelps Hawkins, Hillsborough Representative; Peter Hallenbeck, At-Large Cheeks Township; Jeffrey Schmitt, Cedar Grove Township; STAFF PRESENT: Craig Benedict, Planning Director; Perdita Holtz, Planning Systems Coordinator, Michael Harvey, Planner III; Glenn Bowles, Planner II; Tina Love, Administrative Assistant II; (Documents handed out: Letter to Planning Board from Vicky Hendel; Memorandum from Robert Davis; Newsletter, Upper Neuse News) AGENDA ITEM 7: ZONING ORDINANCE AMENDMENT: Article Six (6) Application of Dimensional Requin;ments Section 6.23.1 Land Use Restrictions to modify existing regulations prohibiting non-residential development within the University Lake Critical and Protected, Cane Creek Critical, and Upper Eno Critical Watershed Protection Overlay Districts. To consider a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners regarding this item heard at the May 18, 2009 Quarterly Public Hearing Presenter: Michael Harvey, Planner III Michael Harvey: Good evening. As you all recall from the May quarterly public hearing, we presented a proposal to amend section 6.23.1 of the Zoning Ordinance seeking to allow the development of non-residential land use within certain Critical and Protected watershed overlay districts in instances where such areas are located within previously established nodes. Section 6.23.1 of the Zoning Ordinance establishes protected and critical watershed overlay districts as well as a list of prohibitions on certain class cations of land uses. Within the University Lake Critical and Protected watersheds, the Cane Creek Critical, and Upper Eno Critical there's a prohibfion on commercial and industrial uses. When staff started modifying the Comprehensive Plan as part of the recently completed update, as referenced within attachment two (2), staff identified an existing rural community activity node within the Cedar Grove Township at the intersection of Carr Store and Efland Cedar Grove Road. This node is almost entirely encumbered by the Critical watershed boundary and essentially cannot allow and will not support non-residential development. It is staffs contention that the County never intended for the nodes, which where specifically designed to go in strategically located areas throughout the County, to be overly restricted from what would or would not be allowed to be located within them. Staff certainly does not believe the County intended to restrict development within the node when it adopted the watershed overlay district standards. It should be known that there is another node, specifically a rural industrial node, located off NC 54 and Bethel Hickory Grove Church Road that contains a rock quarry that's located within the University Lake Protected Watershed. What staff has proposed with this amendment is adding language under 6.23.1 that would read as follows: No commercial or industrial uses are permitted except within established nodes as detailed within the Orange County Comprehensive Plan. (Reviewed Map) This is the land use element map of the Comprehensive Plan that delineates and designates acceptable areas of development within County. The aforementioned rural industrial node (NC 54) corresponds to the location of an existing rock quarry operation that according to the Special Use Permit (SUP) it is to become a future reservoir. There will be no future commercial or industrial land use of this specific property. There is an end plan for this operation once the permits for the quarry expire. What this amendment is designed to do is stipulate that in those specific watersheds, the University Critical and Protected, Cane Creek Critical, Upper Eno Critical, if there is a node located within the critical or protected watershed boundary then non-residential development can occur within the node as the Orange County Comprehensive Plan had originally envisioned. It does not allow for wholesale, non-residential development within the Critical or Protected Watersheds.