Agenda - 03-29-2012 - D1 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Rezoning requests in the Joint Planning Area, such as the St. Paul Village application, are subject to provisions of the Joint Planning Agreement, between Orange County, the Town of Carrboro, and the Town of Chapel Hill. The Joint Planning Agreement pertains to the Rural Buffer and Transition Areas in the County and Town's zoning jurisdictions. Requests that are located in the Transition Area in the Chapel Hill Joint Development Area(CHJDA) are subject to the Chapel Hill Land Use Management Ordinance and approved by the Orange County Commissioners and Chapel Hill Town Council. Approval by both governing bodies is required for the rezoning request to be enacted. PROTEST PETITION Opportunity for a protest petition to a proposed amendment to the Zoning Atlas is provided for under North Carolina Statutes pertaining to municipalities.Normally, Chapel Hill accepts a sufficient protest petition if the petition is filed with the Town Clerk at least 2 business days prior to the date of the public hearing. However,this application is located in the Joint Planning Area and is subject to the Joint Planning Agreement with Orange County. In this circumstance, Orange County adopts Chapel Hill's zoning regulations but because protest petitions are not allowed under County enabling legislation,protest petitions cannot be accepted for the rezoning action. ANALYSIS OF THE REZONING APPLICATION The zoning designation of a property determines the range of land uses and development intensities permitted on the property. Article 4.4 of the Land Use Management Ordinance establishes the intent of Zoning Atlas Amendments by stating that, "In order to establish and maintain sound, stable, and desirable development within the planning jurisdiction of the Town it is intended that this chapter shall not be amended except: A. "to correct a manifest error in the chapter; or B. because of changed or changing conditions in a particular area or in the jurisdiction generally; or C. to achieve the purposes of the Comprehensive Plan." Article 4.4 further indicates: "It is further intended that, if amended, this chapter be amended only as reasonably necessary to the promotion of the public health, safety, or general welfare, and in conformance with the Comprehensive Plan." We have evaluated the application as a request for rezoning from Residential-1 (R-1)to the Residential-S-Conditional (R-S-C)zoning district for each of the findings. A)An amendment to the Land Use Management Ordinance(rezoning) is warranted to correct a manifest error in the chapter(zoning atlas).