Agenda - 11-05-2015 - 5-e - Unified Development Ordinance Text Amendment – Public Hearing Process Revisions - Closure of Public Hearing and Action (No Additional Comments Accepted)

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Article 2: Procedures 18 Section 2.3: Comprehensive Plan Amendments 2.3.5 Public Hearing Required A public hearing shall be held before adoption of any proposed Comprehensive Plan amendment. The Board of County Commissioners and th8 RIaRRiRg Bea F l6 shall hear applications and receive public comment for proposed Comprehensive Plan amendments in a Quarterly Public Hearing. 2.3.6 Notice Requirements for Planning Board Meetings and Public Hearings (A) The Planning Director shall provide notice of Planning Board meetings at which the Planning Board is to review and make a recommendation on Future Land Use Map amendments and Quarterly Public Hearings at which an amendment to the Future Land Use Map is to be reviewed. Notifications of proposed Future Land Use Map amendments shall occur as follows: (1) Notice of the Planning Board meeting and public hearing shall be posted on the affected parcel or on an adjacent public right of way a minimum of ten days prior to the Planning Board meeting. Said notice shall contain the time and location of both the Planning Board meeting and public hearing.' (a) When multiple parcels are affected, a posting on each individual parcel is not required, but sufficient notices shall be posted to provide reasonable notice to interested persons. (2) Written notice of the Planning Board meeting and public hearing shall be sent by first-class mail to all property owners, as listed in the Orange County tax records, whose property is affected or within X89 one thousand feet of the affected parcel(s). Said notice shall be mailed at least 15 days prior to the date of the Planning Board meeting and shall include the times and locations of both the Planning Board meeting and public hearing. The outside of the envelope or postcard shall be marked "Notice of Public Hearing."9 (B) The Planning Director shall provide public notice for any Comprehensive Plan amendment to be heard at a Quarterly Public Hearing. The notice shall include the time and location of the public hearing. e (C) For all proposed amendments, Ngtase notice of the public hearing shall be given by publishing said notice at least twice in a newspaper of general circulation in the County, stating the time and place of such hearing and the substance of the proposed amendment." (1) This notice shall appear in said newspaper for two consecutive weeks with the first notice appearing not less than ten days nor more than 25 days before the date set for the public hearing. In computing the notice period, the day of publication is not to be included, but the day of the hearing is to be included. 6 Since a quorum of Planning Board members will no longer be necessary to hold a public hearing,the public hearing would no longer be considered a joint hearing. 'The Planning Board has stated that it would like the public to have notice of its meetings when it is considering amendments so the public can attend the meetings and provide comments if desired. Staff is proposing that the notice for the Planning Board meeting and the later quarterly public hearing be combined into one notice so that two notices are not required to be mailed for Comprehensive Plan amendments. 8 As a result of comments made at the September 8,2015 public hearing,the notification boundary is proposed to be expanded from 500 feet to 1,000 feet. 9 At its October 7t"meeting,the Planning Board indicated that since the notices would be mailed via first class mail, that the outside of the envelope should indicate the contents of the envelope to better ensure that the envelope would not be tossed out unopened by the recipient. Since some notices are mailed via postcards, staff has suggested language that is consistent with the two types of mailings that can occur. 10 Proposed addition made by the Staff Attorney. 11 This language is currently(A) but has been automatically re-numbered due to a new(A)and (B) being proposed for addition. Orange County, North Carolina—Unified Development Ordinance Page 2-6