Minutes 11-23-2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

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E. BOCC WORK SESSION 1. Impact of 2015 Legislative Updates on Orange County's Erosion Control/Stormwater Programs and Riparian Buffer Regulations —To review how legislative changes made in 2015 have or will impact the County's Erosion Control/Stormwater programs and riparian buffer regulations. Craig Benedict, Orange County Planning Director, said this item was a product of work amongst planning staff and the County Attorney's office. He said there have been meetings over the past month regarding legislative changes that have been passed. He said some of these changes would be reviewed this evening, as well as some short-term actions that will help the County adapt to these new regulations. BACKGROUND: • Session Law (SL) 2015-149 (H634) -An act to clarify the definition of built-upon area (BUA) for purposes of stormwater programs. The basic change per this SL is, for the purposes of implementing stormwater programs, "built-upon area" does not include...a surface of number 57 stone, as designated by the American Society for Testing and Materials, laid at least four inches thick over a geotextile fabric; or a trail as defined in G.S. 113A-85 that is either unpaved or paved as long as the pavement is porous with a hydraulic conductivity greater than 0.001 centimeters per second (1.41 inches per hour)."Please refer to Attachment 4 for a copy of the legislation. This only (at this time in our planning opinion) affects the stormwater calculations for runoff retention which would require less storage. This BUA will likely not be widely used. • Session Law 2015-246 (H44) -An act to reform various provisions of the law related to local government including modifications to riparian buffer standards and changes to the enforcement of voluntary State regulations (i.e. stormwater). A copy of the legislation is contained in Attachment 5. An analysis on the legislations impact on the County's stormwater program in contained in Attachment 1 and Attachment 3 contains our assessment of its impacts on our riparian buffer program. This will greatly affect the existing stormwater program in the Jordan Lake watershed where we implemented rules in advance of pending state regulations (which have been delayed). A primary consideration relates to what regulations should be implemented if current ordinances are determined to be non-enforceable? • Session Law 2015-286 (H765) -An act to provide further regulatory relief to the citizens of North Carolina by providing for various administrative reforms, by eliminating certain unnecessary or outdated statutes and regulations and modernizing or simplifying cumbersome or outdated regulations, and by making various other statutory changes. A copy of the legislation is contained in Attachment 6. An analysis on the legislations impact on the County's stormwater program in contained in Attachment 2. Craig Benedict made the following Power Point presentation: November 23, 2015 Work Session Item E-1 Synopsis of Impact(s) of 2015 State Legislation on Orange County's Erosion Control/Stormwater Program and Land Use Program Orange County Planning Department