Orange County NC Website
6 <br /> 1 Trish McGuire presented several maps via PowerPoint. She reviewed the following <br /> 2 information: <br /> 3 <br /> 4 Carrboro town staff along with County staff have been studying opportunities for development in <br /> 5 the NC Hwy 54 West corridor within Carrboro's extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) since this is one <br /> 6 of the few areas in or near the Town that are zoned for light manufacturing. Most of the <br /> 7 properties on the north side of Hwy 54 are split by Town and County jurisdictional boundaries. <br /> 8 Real estate professionals have indicated that this can be a barrier to development by potential <br /> 9 buyers of commercial properties. <br /> 10 <br /> 11 The zoning of these parcels is also split with the portions in Carrboro's ETJ zoned Watershed <br /> 12 Manufacturing (WM-3) and the portions in County jurisdiction zoned Rural Buffer (RB). With <br /> 13 such disparate zoning and the associated limitations on impervious surface area in the <br /> 14 University Lake watershed, the development potential of these parcels is limited. Most of the <br /> 15 neighboring parcels split by the jurisdictional boundary in this area are zoned RB and WR <br /> 16 (Watershed Residential), zoning which mostly allows the same type and amount of <br /> 17 development activity to occur in either jurisdiction. Currently on these five properties, all aspects <br /> 18 of a commercial, manufacturing development have to be contained on the portion of the parcel <br /> 19 that lies within Carrboro's ETJ —about half of each lot. <br /> 20 <br /> 21 The Town has received several inquiries about redevelopment opportunities for one of the <br /> 22 parcels. Another property owner has discussed with staff challenges associated with the <br /> 23 conditions described above. The complications associated with the split jurisdiction and zoning <br /> 24 have apparently proved to be a deterrent to the submittal of formal applications. The Board of <br /> 25 Aldermen has discussed the benefits of uniform jurisdiction and zoning for these parcels, which <br /> 26 could be achieved by an extension of the Town's ETJ to cover the parcels in full or by <br /> 27 encouraging owners to request voluntary annexation into the Town limits and is seeking the <br /> 28 Board of County Commissioners' perspective. <br /> 29 <br /> 30 Information letters have been sent to the affected property owners regarding possible extension <br /> 31 of the Town's ETJ. The initial feedback from property owners is they would like to see an <br /> 32 expansion of existing uses that are allowed in the town's WM3 zoning district. Town staff will be <br /> 33 reviewing this for a possible land use ordinance amendment. <br /> 34 <br /> 35 Expansion of the town's ETJ will require approval from the County Board of Commissioners. <br /> 36 The state statutes describe the procedural requirements that apply to the County and municipal <br /> 37 governments. These requirements are summarized below, with notes indicating which party has <br /> 38 responsibility for the action: <br /> 39 <br /> 40 1. Extraterritorial area must be set by an ordinance adopted by the city governing board. <br /> 41 Newspaper notice, mailed notice and public hearing requirements apply (Town). <br /> 42 2. Approval of a request for the extension into any area where the county is enforcing <br /> 43 zoning, subdivision regulations, and the building code (County and Town). <br /> 44 3. Approvals, requests or agreements must be established by a formally adopted <br /> 45 resolution of the governing board (County and Town). <br /> 46 4. Adopted boundary map must be recorded with the register of deeds and the map <br /> 47 maintained permanently in the office of the city clerk (County and Town). <br /> 48 5. New zoning designation(s) must be applied to ETJ (Town)following procedures for <br /> 49 zoning amendments. The statues provide for a sixty-day transition period, during which <br /> 50 prior county zoning remains in place and enforceable. <br />