ORD-2015-006 Ordinance Amending the Orange County Comprehensive Plan, Unified Development Ordinance, and Zoning Atlas

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Article 6: Development Standards Section 6.6: Additional Standards for Overlay Districts being developed, or other methods determined during site plan review. (ii) shall be required to designate stub outs to adjoining properties on the site plaR se that shared aGGeSS GaR be developed if and tr;Affir_ safety hazaFd by the County and NGDQT. The location of shared driveways shall be determined during site plan review. Shared driveways do not necessarily need to be located at the front of lots if rear or side access is proposed and feasible. (9) All driveway entrances must have an approved NCDOT driveway permit and must be paved to NCDOT standards from the edge of the existing roadway pavement to the existing right -of -way limit on the interior of the property. (10) Pedestrian Circulation" (a) Unless deemed unnecessary by the Planning Director during site plan review, large projects, defined in (b), shall may be-required encouraged to provide an internal pedestrian circulation system, owned and maintained by the property owner. The system shall may be requir -ed encouraged to provide pedestrian walkways to outparcels and also within any large parking areas. (b) For the purposes of this subsection, a large project is defined as one located on 5 or more acres or proposing more than 50,000 square feet of building area. A large parking area is one containing parking for 100 or more vehicles. (B) Landscaping and Buffering31 In lieu of the requirements outlined in Section 6.8 of this Ordinance, the following standards shall apply: (1) There shall be a minimum ten feet wide vegetative buffer along all rights -of -ways comprised of vegetation that complements surrounding plantings and which includes trees planted in accordance with Section 6.8 where possible. (2) There shall be a minimum 15 feet wide vegetative buffer along all common property lines separating non - residential and residential land uses. The required plantings shall be in accordance with those required for Buffer Yards Type A outlined within Section 6.8 of this Ordinance. (3) There shall be a minimum eight feet wide landscaped strip along all property lines separating non - residential uses from non - residential uses. The landscaped strip shall be comprised of vegetation that forms a semi- opaque intermittent visual obstruction from the ground to a height of at least 15 feet, except in required sight triangles. Joint use agreements between adjacent property owners for shared ingress /egress and /or parking may result in a waiver regarding the exact location(s) of the required buffers. 30 In October 2011, the issue of sidewalks was discussed at a BOCC work session and the decision was made that, due to NC counties' challenges in funding maintenance of public sidewalks, public sidewalks would not become a requirement for development in Orange County at this time. However, walkability in large commercial projects is generally desirable as is the ability of pedestrians to safely traverse large parking areas. Therefore, staff is suggesting that some projects may be required to provide privately maintained walkways. 31 These lesser buffer requirements are in keeping with those required in the ECOD and are suggested in order to provide for a more urban style of development in areas of the county served or to be served by public water and sewer systems. Orange County, North Carolina — Unified Development Ordinance Page 6 -33