ORD-2007-201 - Planning -Land Use Element Text Amendment – 10-Year Transition Areas 08-21-2007-4u

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2 for non - residential uses would not be consistent with the definition and, therefore, would be inconsistent with the Land Use Element. The fact that the definition requires additional implementing measures before changes could potentially occur 'on the ground' is the safeguard that is built into the proposed Text Amendment. Therefore, although the 10 -Year Transition Areas in the vicinity of Hillsborough are included in the overall Land Use Category text changes, there would be no. actual change from what is currently permitted unless a small area plan and /or zoning overlay district were adopted for this specific area of the County. The concept is that even though various areas of the County are designated as the same Land Use Category, specific areas may have unique attributes that are addressed through the regulations that implement the Land Use Element (i.e., Zoning and Subdivision regulations). The Small Area Plan process as it relates to land use can be summarized as follows: 1. Small Area Plan is written and adopted 2. Implementing Amendments are written and adopted. Land Use Implementing Regulations normally can consist of the following: a. Land Use Element Text Amendments b. Land Use Element Map Amendments c. Zoning Ordinance Text Amendments d. Zoning Ordinance Map Amendments e. Subdivision Regulation Amendments It should be noted that a specific Small Area Plan may recommend amendments to any or all of `a' through `e' above and that there can be numerous amendments that are implemented over time as conditions become appropriate. Small Area Plans can also make recommendations to topics other than Land Use and Zoning, such as Transportation and Utility Provision. In the case of the proposed Land Use Element Text Amendments now being considered, there are other ways that the recommendations contained in the Efland- Mebane Small Area Plan could be implemented. However, those other methods would require much more extensive revisions to the Land Use Element Text and would also require revisions to the Land Use Element Map, which would be a much more extensive process than a text amendment. County staff chose to recommend that a Land Use Element Text Amendment be proposed since it could efficiently implement a recommendation contained within an adopted Small Area Plan and could also be written in such a way that there would be zero net effect on other areas of the County that are designated as the same Land Use Category. The Planning Board considered the proposed text amendment at its regular meeting on July 11, 2007. The Planning Board voted 6 -3 in favor of recommending approval of the text amendment. (Planning Board vote -'Yes': Crawford, Knight, Lasris, Pelissier, Quinn,. Schmitt; 'No': Bryan, Goodwin, Price; Absent: Kempinski, Wegner). FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no direct financial impact in amending the Land Use Element Text. Staff time has been accounted for in the departmental budget. RECOMMENDATION: The Manager recommends that the Board adopt the Land Use Element text amendments as presented.