Orange County NC Website
Jay Bryan made reference to Commissioner Cordon's comments and said that it might <br />be helpful if the cities had a better idea of the criteria for compatibility issues. Craig Benedict <br />said that before the information is sent to the joint area partners, the criteria need to be fleshed <br />out a little more. <br />Commissioner Jacobs agreed about fleshing the information out more. He thinks the <br />Board should give the staff direction to proceed. He said that the new Agricultural Economic <br />Specialist, after the position is filled, could help people with site planning. <br />Commissioner Foushee made reference to the timelines and the possibility of having <br />more frequent public hearings to speed up the process. She would request looking at other <br />alternatives for enhancing the process that would not require more public hearings. She thinks <br />this takes away from the process. <br />Commissioner Gordon said that quarterly public hearings are a good idea and not more <br />frequent public hearings. She asked that the staff give the Board a first cut at the major criteria. <br />She pointed out that some farms are already so close to developed residential areas that some <br />of these uses would not fit. <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that sometimes the farms that are the most pressed by <br />suburban development are the ones that most need options to stay in agriculture. He would not <br />want to preclude those farms. <br />Renee Price asked about protection for farmers and what would be in place to enable <br />the farmers to keep up their operations. She asked how long the zoning would be in effect. <br />Geof Gledhill said that the short answer is that the zoning runs with the land. The North <br />Carolina Supreme Court helps also by not recognizing nuisances that would typically be thought <br />as nuisances. <br />Noah Ranells said that this is an opportunity for the Board of County Commissioners to <br />strongly support what staff has done and ask them to take the next steps as aggressively as <br />possible. He noted that this was shared at the Assembly of Governments meeting last year, so <br />it is not new to the municipalities. <br />Craig Benedict said that the recommendations are to proceed with developing the <br />criteria and flesh out the details and present it to the joint planning area partners in the fall. <br />Later the Board will discuss whether to follow the next steps on page 8 of the agenda abstract. <br />2. Orange County Comprehensive Plan -Land Use Element Update Text <br />Amendments <br />a. Overview of what has been processed to date with stakeholder involvement, what <br />comprehensive questions need to be answered, and what steps lie ahead. <br />b. Outline for the Land Use Element including Introduction, Existing Conditions, Growth <br />Management and Future Land Uses, Goals, Objectives, and Policies, <br />Implementation, and Monitoring Procedures. <br />c. Outline for the Entire Comprehensive Plan and the specific interest areas addressed <br />by each element. <br />3. Update on Residential Zoning Density and Minimum Lot Size Text Amendments <br />a. Planning Staff will present six (6) options far Residential Zoning Density within the <br />County's rural planning jurisdiction that range from existing zoning density to <br />increasingly resource-based, limited-density plans addressing water and air quality <br />and limiting traffic. No changes are suggested for Urban Transition Areas or Rural <br />Activity Nodes. <br />b. Presentation of a proposal to raise the Minimum Lot Size from 0.92 acres {40,000 sf) <br />to two (2) acres (87,120 sf) to address identified growth challenges in the areas of <br />sustainability, water and air quality, and groundwater recharge. <br />