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Tina Moon continued with the PowerPaint. The recommendation is for the creation of a <br />new Article 20A called Amendments to Rezone for Agricultural Service Districts (page 11 of the <br />agenda packet): <br />- Serves as companion to existing Article 20, Amendments <br />- Outlines two parallel tracks: general rezoning for AS and conditional <br />district rezoning for AS-CD <br />- General AS applications considered only at quarterly public hearings <br />- Conditianal District AS applications considered at any BOCC regular <br />meeting - so long as public notice requirements can be met <br />- All applications go to the Planning Board, Agricultural Preservation <br />Board and Economic Development Commission for input prior to <br />BOCC consideration <br />All Agricultural Service Conditional District (AS-CD} applications will include a Site <br />Specific Development Proposal - a simplified version of our existing site plan focusing an those <br />items the Board will need to determine the compatibility of use with the surrounding community <br />-size, scale, buildings, trips, hours, screening, soil suitability, road capacity, etc. <br />Conditional District Zoning appears to be the most appropriate mechanism to allow <br />commerciallindustrial farm uses in the rural parts of the County without disrupting the existing <br />residential zoning designations, and provide a more streamlined alternative to our existing <br />general rezoning process. <br />Planning staff requests authorization from the Board to further the Agricultural Support <br />Enterprises initiative by providing: <br />Direction on the draft zoning text amendments, particularly the <br />proposed Article 20A; <br />Authorization to develop minor revisions to the Land Use Element, <br />only where required to establish support and/ar consistency; and <br />Permission to continue the preparation of the remaining zoning text <br />amendments to complete the project far consideration at the quarterly <br />public hearing in November 2006. <br />Commissioner Gordon said that for these kinds of intents and uses, it is quite a variation <br />from the County's normal process. She said that they generally have a hearing and then refer <br />it to the Planning Board and have nat made decisions an the same night as the hearing. She <br />said that this proposal is a major change and they should think about these changes. <br />Commissioner Gordon made reference to the rural buffer zoning district and said that it <br />is time to take the rural buffer zoning district out of this process. Orange County already has <br />an agreement with Chapel Hill and Carrboro about the rural buffer. There is a lot of concern <br />about preservation in the rural buffer and this includes that the uses in the rural buffer would <br />not be changed. She cautioned against a unilateral approach with the joint planning partners. <br />She thinks that this is the time to go to Chapel Hill and Carrboro and tell them that Orange <br />County is thinking about this approach for new uses in the rural buffer and get some feedback. <br />Chair Jacobs said that he thinks he agrees with Commissioner Gordon regarding the <br />intensive uses not being a conditional use permit. He thinks that these are of sufficient impact <br />on a neighborhood that it ought to go through the same deliberative process that includes the <br />Planning Board. He said that large-scale rural ventures could proceed on a conditional use <br />