Minutes 02-28-2011 - Laserfiche WebLink

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That covers a lot more than commercial septic systems in the rural areas—and with conditional districts that can float anywhere in the county, these systems further enable applications that may be incompatible. We believe that this type of change could be a good idea but it belongs in Phase 2 so that it can be properly researched and discussed in the context of Small Area Plans and Conditional zoning for Agricultural Support Enterprises. Delaying this change should have no impact on the EDDs which have water and sewer. Please reinstate the old definitions of wastewater treatment systems until they can be more fully discussed in Phase 2. Speaker 4: Chapel Hill Experience with Conditional Districts (Julie McClintock, Neighbors for Responsible Growth) Neighbors for Responsible Growth February 28, 2011 Orange County Commissioners: Neighbors for Responsible Growth appreciates the County staff making themselves available for a presentation on the proposed Unified Development Ordinance a few weeks ago. It was a useful session and enabled us to understand the proposal better. This UDO proposal is complicated and challenging to understand and the staff did their best to answer our questions. The staff reassured us that this new proposal merely repackages the existing ordinance with new terminology. However in studying the proposal further, we find there are many areas where the replacement of general use districts with conditional districts would bring about a new process and potentially different results from the current ordinance. Conditional Use can be a valuable tool because case specific conditions can be set by the elected board. However, it is not a tool to be placed everywhere, such as in the rural buffer or watershed critical areas, or in many areas where zoning changes are not appropriate. It would be most desirable in areas where large scale economic development is determined to be desirable by the community. In addition, the conditional use zoning proposed here to apply to the entire County outside the municipalities, would undercut the Comprehensive Plan and zoning map which serve as a structure for the collective aspirations of the County. The County Commission would be compelled to exercise far more discretion on the appropriateness of uses and the application of overlay zones, such as the Critical Watershed Overlay Districts in any given area. We believe the public would be frustrated in this unpredictable environment and find the process much less transparent. I will share an experience relevant to your deliberations. In November of 2008 the Chapel Hill Council, considered a Land Use Management Ordinance Text amendment that would create additions to a special residential conditional district zoning in order to have a new tool to increase densities and economic development in certain areas in Town. This Conditional Use District zoning was to have applied within 5 zones, including the Downtown. The applicant would request this zone, and the Council would decide if an applicant's request met certain goals, such as affordable housing, transportation, protection of the natural environment, protection of neighborhoods and the promotion of economic vitality. In addition, a special use permit was required to accompany the application.