Orange County NC Website
4 <br /> 1 Comprehensive Plan (2008) and Unified Development Ordinance (2011) about the perceived <br /> 2 need to streamline and speed up decisions on applications. <br /> 3 This topic was discussed extensively in 2014 after being heard at the September 2014 <br /> 4 quarterly public hearing. The public hearing for the amendments, as proposed in 2014, was <br /> 5 closed in November 2014 when it became apparent that the proposal would change significantly <br /> 6 enough to require another public hearing. The topic was recently discussed at the May 12, <br /> 7 2015 BOCC work session. <br /> 8 The Ordinance Review Committee (ORC), a function of the Planning Board, reviewed draft <br /> 9 language in July and August 2015. At the time, internal staff/attorney review was ongoing and <br /> 10 the materials to be presented at public hearing have been modified from the versions the ORC <br /> 11 reviewed. <br /> 12 The following revisions are being proposed: <br /> 13 • Planning Board review/recommendation would occur prior to the public hearing for both <br /> 14 legislative and quasi-judicial (Class A Special Use Permit) items. (The existing process <br /> 15 is for Planning Board review/recommendation to occur after the public hearing). <br /> 16 <br /> 17 • Notification of the Planning Board meeting would be mailed/posted for items requiring <br /> 18 such notice (e.g., map amendments or development projects) and the public would be <br /> 19 able to address the Planning Board at its meeting. The proposed process would allow <br /> 20 for public notification and involvement earlier than the existing process. <br /> 21 <br /> 22 No longer require a quorum of Planning Board members in order to hold a quarterly <br /> 23 public hearing. Planning Board members would still be expected to attend the hearing <br /> 24 but a quorum of members would not be necessary in order for the hearing to be held. <br /> 25 This revision would mean that the quarterly public hearings would no longer be <br /> 26 considered joint BOCC/Planning Board hearings since, without a quorum requirement, <br /> 27 the Planning Board could not be considered an official board in attendance. <br /> 28 <br /> 29 Revise the Planning Board Policies and Procedures to require that the Planning Board <br /> 30 Chair, or Vice-Chair in the Chair's absence, attend the quarterly public hearings and also <br /> 31 the BOCC meetings at which a decision is scheduled for items on which the Planning <br /> 32 Board has made a recommendation. <br /> 33 <br /> 34 Allow Comprehensive Plan amendments to be heard at any quarterly public hearing <br /> 35 (QPH). Existing language that states "principal" Comprehensive Plan amendments are <br /> 36 "generally" considered only once per year at the quarterly public hearing in February is <br /> 37 proposed for deletion (Section 2.3.7). Additionally, language that classifies <br /> 38 Comprehensive Plan amendments into "principal" and "secondary" amendments <br /> 39 (Section 2.3.4) is proposed for deletion because it is relevant only in conjunction with <br /> 40 Section 2.3.7. <br /> 41 <br /> 42 Legal advertisement of quasi-judicial hearing items: the Attorney's office has suggested <br /> 43 that Special Use Permit applications (both Class A and Class B) no longer be included in <br /> 44 legal advertisements since the general public does not have standing to participate in <br /> 45 quasi-judicial hearings. Language modifications in Sections 2.7.6 and 2.12.6 reflect this <br /> 46 suggestion. <br /> 47 <br />