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122 <br />processes has indicated that most local governments put all applications that were <br />received by the filing deadline on the designated agenda, even if some must get <br />tabled to a future meeting due to time constraints; some will call a special meeting in <br />months that are particularly busy. A small number of local governments limit the <br />number of items that can be placed on any one agenda or informally work with <br />applicants to get permission to place items on a later agenda if the agenda for a <br />particular meeting has gotten very full. <br />Planning Board Involvement <br />The existing practice of holding a joint public hearing (governing body /Planning <br />Board) is also fairly unique (although the Town of Hillsborough also operates this <br />way). With a joint hearing, a quorum of members of both boards is necessary in <br />order to legitimately hold the hearing. Some local governments have the Planning <br />Board make a recommendation on items prior to the public hearing while other local <br />governments have the Planning Board make a recommendation after the public <br />hearing. Either process can work well, depending on the desires of the local <br />government. If a recommendation is made before the public hearing, the Planning <br />Board focuses its review on the technical merits of an item. If a recommendation is <br />made after the public hearing, the Planning Board's recommendation can take into <br />consideration comments made at the public hearing. BOCC input at the September <br />9, 2013 work session leaned strongly toward having the Planning Board make its <br />recommendation after the public hearing and this is how the proposed amendment <br />has been written. <br />Closure of Public Hearings <br />In April 2014, Planning staff became aware that the BOCC may also wish to discuss <br />the current process related to closing public hearings and /or how the closure of public <br />hearings appears on the BOCC agenda. The current process, which has not <br />proposed for changes at this time, is to keep the public hearing open in order to allow <br />interested persons to submit written comments to the Planning Board and to appear <br />before the Planning Board, so long as the person's oral comments are consistent <br />with their submitted written comments. This has been the process for well over a <br />decade, and possibly since the establishment of zoning in Orange County, because it <br />allows people to address the Planning Board but also ensures that comments made <br />after the oral public hearing are documented and the BOCC is aware of additional <br />comments. <br />Because the UDO allows written comments to be made after the oral public hearing, <br />the public hearing is held open in order to receive any submitted written comments. <br />Formerly, the public hearing was not necessarily held open to a date -time certain but <br />in the `00s, case law was made in North Carolina which prompted the County <br />Attorney at the time to begin advising the County that public hearings must be <br />adjourned to a specific date /time because failure to do so could result in legal <br />challenges. <br />If the current process regarding allowing written comments is kept intact, a solution to <br />the potential confusion that might result with a planning - related item being listed on <br />the BOCC agenda under "Public Hearings" but with no additional comment accepted <br />could be that a new Section is added to the BOCC agenda specifically for planning- <br />