Orange County NC Website
3 <br /> PROPOSED ORDINANCE AMENDMENT <br /> ORDINANCE: ZONING ORDINANCE <br /> REFERENCE: Article 6.23.11 Watershed Protection Overlay Districts(Administration) <br /> ORIGIN OF AMENDMENT: _X_Staff Planning Board <br /> BOCC _X_Public <br /> Other: Board of Adjustment <br /> County Attorney <br /> STAFF PRIORITY RECOMMENDATION:_X_High Middle Low <br /> Comment: <br /> PUBLIC HEARING DATE:February 26, 1996 <br /> PURPOSE OF AMENDMENT: <br /> To authorize the Board of Adjustment to grant variances to allow the use of septic easements in <br /> watersupply watersheds. <br /> IMPACTSASSUES: <br /> Article 6.23.8 (Watershed Protection Overlay Districts- Water Supply/Wastewater Disposal) of the <br /> Zoning Ordinance prohibits the use of off-site septic easements in all water supply watersheds. <br /> Article 6.23.11 (Watershed Protection Overlay Districts-Administration)provides for the Board of <br /> Adjustment to grant minor variances of requirements of the watershed protection overlay districts <br /> in accordance with Article 2.3.6. Article 2.3.6 (Application of the Variance Power) authorizes the <br /> Board of Adjustment to grant variances related to dimensional requirements only. <br /> On November 13, 1995, the Board of Adjustment considered a variance request by Danny <br /> Freshwater for a septic easement. The Freshwater property contains 10 acres, Because the plat was <br /> exempt from subdivision regulations, soil suitability was not determined prior to creation of the lot. <br /> It has been determined by Environmental Health that the lot does not contain soils suitable for <br /> septic disposal. A suitable site was identified on an adjacent 10-acre parcel which has already been <br /> developed with a single-family residence. The owner of that parcel agreed to grant a septic <br /> easement, but would not agree to a recombination which would allow the suitable soils to be <br /> incorporated into the lot owned by Mr. Freshwater. <br /> A residence cannot be built on the Freshwater parcel unless wastewater disposal can occur on an <br /> easement on the adjacent parcel. Under current regulations, a variance cannot be granted because <br /> delayed action on the November 13, 1995 variance request for eight months, to allow time for <br /> consideration of an amendment to the Zoning Ordinance to address this issue. <br />