Minutes 05-20-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Perdita Holtz said staff is asking for a study to be done to determine if there is water flow available on the property for the use. Commissioner Gordon said this has been discussed, and she feels confident that this can be calculated. She thinks it is important to keep this analysis in there. She said this County is fortunate to have a pure water supply, but there is not a lot of water. She said the point was made in the public hearing that it would be important to find out if the use was comparable to a residential use. She said she lives in an area that does not have a lot of groundwater, and this would be important in areas like that. She urged the Board to keep this requirement. Commissioner Gordon said she is concerned in some cases about the intensity and size of the uses, particularly with the Agricultural Support Enterprises Conditional Zoning ASE- CZ. She said the point was to be more flexible with the standards. She said in some cases it has gotten a little more flexible and a little less predictable. She has general concerns of that nature, but she feels the general concept of agricultural support enterprises is a worthy one. Commissioner Gordon noted for future reference, that the R-1 zoning is not included in Agricultural Support Enterprises outside of the rural buffer. Commissioner Price referred back to the water issue and said she agrees that it is important to know. She is concerned about how much it will cost to do a study and how it will affect others in the vicinity. She questioned whether it will be helping or hurting people to require a study that could cost thousands of dollars. Perdita Holtz said when staff spoke with potential consultants the answer was $3000 to $6000 for a simple study and up to $20,000 for an extensive study. Commissioner Price noted that the outside storage cannot be in the front of the building but could be at the side. She asked how this will work. She said this is on page 74 in the packet. Perdita Holtz said this means outdoor storage would not be allowed in the front of a building between the building and road. She said storage would be allowed from the front building line backwards to the rear yard, and this is meant to limit unsightly storage in the front of buildings. She said for the purposes of zoning, the front yard is defined as the area between the road and the building, regardless of the direction the building faces. Commissioner Pelissier said she hopes that the Board will pass this item, since it has been around since 2001. She said some of the advisory boards have lost faith in the County. She hopes that the passage of this might redeem the Board and the County. She hopes that if this passes the Board would find a way to let the community know that this is opening up rural Orange County for more entrepreneurship related to agriculture and food. Chair Jacobs agreed with Commissioner Pelissier's comments. He said this has been adjusted several times to make it more feasible in every possible way. He is pleased that this is moving on a parallel track with similar uses in the rural buffer. He said residents were promised 30 years ago that they would not be disadvantaged by being zoned rural buffer. He said it has taken a little while but the Board is now at the threshold of fulfilling an obligation and creating opportunities. He said he hopes that the planning department will monitor the effect of the water analysis costs and let the Board of County Commissioners know if changes are needed. A motion was made by Commissioner Pelissier, seconded by Commissioner Rich to: adopt the Ordinance for Agricultural Support Enterprises as outlined in Attachment 2 which approves the amendments. VOTE: 6-1 (Commissioner Gordon)