Agenda - 05-21-2007-c2 - Laserfiche WebLink

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NC Highway 57 Speedway Area Small Area Plan those imposed by the County, prior to commencing earth disturbing activity on a parcel of property. The REDA process gives the County greater flexibility in imposing reasonable conditions to ensure that ancillary off -site impacts are-properly addressed to minimize impacts on surrounding property owners. Any conditional zoning applications would be subject to valid protest petitions. B. CONDITIONAL USES —BACKGROUND The Zoning Ordinance contains regulations that establish zoning districts and assigns land uses to one or more of these districts as permitted by right or though the review and issuance of a Special Use Permit authorizing the land use to be developed on a specific parcel of property. The ordinance also provides standards for development that regulate lot size, setbacks, parking and open space. There are, however, certain unique circumstances that arise when a general zoning district designation would not be appropriate for a certain property, but a specific use permitted under the district would be consistent with the policies of this ordinance. The conditional use process can accommodate these unique situations. The conditional use process is established to address situations involving a rezoning when a particular use may be acceptable, but the general classification that would allow that use would not be acceptable. The conditional use process allows the BOCC to approve a rezoning proposal for a specific use with reasonable conditions to assure the compatibility of the use with surrounding properties. Any use permitted under this process must also conform to all other development regulations outlined within the Zoning Ordinance. This is a voluntary procedure that is intended for firm development proposals with the review and approval of a site specific conceptual site plan. It is not intended or suited for securing early zoning for tentative proposals that may not be undertaken for some time. Because all re- zonings are legislative decisions, the BOCC, through a public hearing process, would review such applications, whether for a general or conditional zoning district. Using the conditional district approach, the BOCC could allow some commercial ventures to occur in the rural parts of the county, based on the suitability of the use to the particular community. Re- zonings would be allowed based on the appropriateness of a specific project to a specific community and based on consistency with the Land Use Element and the any Small Area Plan. This process would eliminate the problems associated with arbitrary zoning decisions and afford greater scrutiny of development proposals in rural areas to ensure the appropriateness of a specific land use. C. RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AREA (REDA) A Rural Economic Development Area (REDA) should be created to allow for additional non- residential development within rural areas of the County and, with specificity to the Study Area, M