2010-032b Planning - Contract Professional Services Related to Orange County Unified Development Ordinance

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Issues Summary ACHIEVE HIGH QUALITY DEVELOPMENT AND REDEVELOPMENT, The community has expressed a desire for more infill and redevelopment in these areas through numerous policies and goals that encourage development and redevelopment in areas already served by infrastructure, maintenance of a vibrant mixed-use downtown, new planned development alternatives for establishment of higher intensity development in selected areas, and conversion of auto- dominated commercial corridors to walkable mixed-use areas. Redevelopment and revitalization of older areas is a common problem in communities,and effective solutions require a wide variety of responses—many of which are outside the scope of zoning ordinance provisions. However, there are actions that can be taken in the new UDO to help remove obstacles and create some incentives for redevelopment in the downtown and along the major corridors. The basic philosophical approach is to make the desired forms of development or redevelopment easier to accomplish. The basic questions for the consideration by the town are: 1) where, exactly, are redevelopment and infill desired, and 2) how can changes to the zoning provisions best contribute to a comprehensive strategy for redevelopment in these areas? There are a variety of approaches, including targeted changes in the various procedural and development standard sections to recognize redevelopment situations, use of special procedures like planned developments or development agreements to facilitate keystone projects, and other approaches. Determination of the most appropriate approach for Hillsborough will require additional discussion. The following sub-sections set out some options for the town's consideration. ESTABLISH CONTEXTUAL STANDARDS Contextual standards are used by many communities in mature areas where the established development context differs from the minimum dimensional or development standards. Contextual standards are typically flexible and rely on consistency with adjacent existing development instead of fixed numbers or requirements. For example, contextual standards might include a maximum front setback provision for a district that requires development to be within 125 percent of the established front setback for existing buildings along the same block face instead of a rigid fixed dimensional standard. Similar kinds of provisions may be established for building heights, lot coverage, and other dimensional provisions. Contextual standards are also used for some development standards in targeted redevelopment areas. For example, the long axis of a building's orientation, the presence or absence of a front porch,the amount of glazing on a storefront, or location of off-street parking can all be effectively regulated through contextual standards that rely on existing conditions along particular block faces. This approach allows maximum flexibility for new development, as long as it is compatible with the existing context It does, however, require the applicant or the town to document existing conditions. MODIFY DISTRICT AND DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS TO PROVIDE FLEXIBILITY Another option for consideration is modifications to some of the key district and development standards as a means of providing greater flexibility in redevelopment areas. For example, the range of allowed uses in some of the zoning districts can be reviewed to ensure they are consistent with the desired mix of uses for the downtown and major commercial corridors. The individual permitting procedures for particular uses can also be reexamined to ensure the establishment of preferred uses (e.g., mixed-use, higher density residential, "entertainment" uses, convenience retail, etc.) is as procedurally simple as possible. It is also possible to make the establishment of discouraged uses slightly more difficult procedurally by requiring more detailed review. Additional flexibility can also be built into the development standards by waiving or reducing the minimum requirements for a variety of standards like parking, landscaping, and signage. For example,a different set of perimeter buffer standards can be utilized in redevelopment areas that reduce minimum buffer widths through use of fencing, or reduced minimum stocking requirements. Off-street parking requirements can be reduced, waived outright, or modified to recognize adjacent on-street parking resources. Signage provisions can be adjusted to provide increased face area for desired sign types (e.g. wall signs, projecting signs, arcade signs, etc.). It is also possible to reduce some of the land-consumptive standards like open space set- aside or tree canopy retention. In terms of open space, credit can be given for roof gardens, public plazas, or provision of pedestrian amenities.Specific criteria for these reductions would need to be developed and included within the new UDO. MODIFY REVIEW PROCEDURES TO ENCOURAGE REDEVELOPMENT In addition to modifications to development standards, it is also possible to adjust some of the development procedures to produce incentives for redevelopment. Hillsborough,North Carolina Unified Development Ordinance I Draft Annotated Oudine Page 11 November,2009