Orange County NC Website
209 <br />ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS AND <br />PLANNING BOARD <br />QUARTERLY PUBLIC HEARING ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: February 24, 2014 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. C.6 <br />SUBJECT: Comprehensive Plan and Unified Development Ordinance Text Amendments <br />for Agricultural Support Enterprises Within the Rural Buffer Land Use Classification <br />DEPARTMENT: Planning and Inspections PUBLIC HEARING: (Y /N) Yes <br />ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: (919) <br />1. Comprehensive Plan /UDO Amendment Perdita Holtz, Planning, 245 -2578 <br />Outline Form (UDO /Zoning 2013 -10) Craig Benedict, Planning, 245 -2592 <br />2. Proposed UDO and Comprehensive Plan <br />Text Amendments <br />PURPOSE: To hold a public hearing on Planning Director initiated text amendments to the <br />Comprehensive Plan and Unified Development Ordinance to implement a program commonly <br />referred to as "Agricultural Support Enterprises" within the Rural Buffer land use classification. <br />BACKGROUND: The form in Attachment 1 contains additional information and analysis <br />regarding these County initiated amendments that will implement a program that has been in <br />development since 2001. The proposed amendments are contained in Attachment 2. <br />The "Amendment Outline Form" (Attachment 1) for the entire Agricultural Support Enterprises <br />(ASE) project was approved by the BOCC at its September 5, 2013 regular meeting. After the <br />November 21, 2013 Assembly of Governments meeting, the decision was made to separate the <br />amendments into two parts: 1) for areas outside the Rural Buffer land use classification, and 2) <br />for areas within the Rural Buffer land use classification. Please see Section B.2 in Attachment <br />1 for further explanation. <br />Advisory Board Review <br />The amendments have been reviewed three times by the Agricultural Preservation Board and <br />twice by the Planning Board's Ordinance Review Committee (ORC) (see Section C.2.b in <br />Attachment 1 for more information) and comments made by these boards have been <br />incorporated into the proposed amendments. Both advisory boards are supportive of moving <br />forward with the ASE program. <br />At the BOCC work session on May 14, 2013, the BOCC asked staff to get input from the <br />advisory boards, especially the Agricultural Preservation Board, on whether removing the more <br />intensive uses from the new conditional zoning district (ASE -CZ) would be acceptable. Both the <br />Agricultural Preservation Board and the ORC are supportive of allowing applicants to apply for <br />as many agriculturally - related uses as possible since the new ASE -CZ enables projects to be <br />considered on a site - specific, case -by -case basis. However, both boards also agree that <br />