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• For applicant-initiated amendments that have little controversy, the <br />review/decision timeline has been shortened by at least one month because the <br />revised process allows a decision to be made by the BOCC the night of the <br />public hearing. <br />o An earlier application deadline, to accommodate the Planning Board’s <br />review/recommendation prior to the public hearing, is offset by the time <br />gains achieved at the back-end of the review/decision process. Because <br />a Planning Board meeting and an additional BOCC meeting are no longer <br />required after the public hearing, the timeframes associated with these <br />post public hearing agenda processes have been eliminated. <br />o The public has a clearer opportunity to attend the night of the final <br />decision. <br />o The former process also included BOCC review/approval of the public <br />hearing legal advertisement which necessitated an additional BOCC <br />meeting early-on in the process. The revised process does not require the <br />BOCC to approve the legal ad which has decreased the timeframe <br />needed before the public hearing. For the September hearing date, the <br />timeframe from application due dates to decision has been significantly <br />shortened because the legal ad was approved in June to accommodate <br />the BOCC’s summer break. Whereas application due dates were <br />previously at the beginning of April for the September hearing, the <br />application due date is now in mid-July. <br /> <br />Government-Initiated Legislative Items <br />• In 2016, all 10 legislative items were government-initiated. <br />• Since 2011 the “Amendment Outline Form” has been used to outline proposed <br />amendments and schedules and to obtain formal BOCC approval for staff to <br />proceed with work on government-initiated amendments. Approval of the form is <br />the first step towards staff initiating substantive work on amendments. The <br />timeframe between initial form approval and proposed amendments being ready <br />for Planning Board review depends on the level of complexity an amendment <br />involves. <br />o Many government-initiated amendments are low controversy (70% of the <br />items were adopted or, in the case of a rezoning action involving <br />numerous parcels, partially adopted, the night of the hearing). The <br />revised public hearing process has shortened the review/decision process <br />for low-controversy items in the same manner the process has been <br />shortened for applicant-initiated items. <br />o An additional positive outcome of the BOCC having the option to decide <br />on amendments the night of the hearing is that items do not have to <br />appear on later BOCC regular meeting agendas, thereby shortening later <br />agendas. <br /> <br />Quasi-Judicial Items <br />• In 2016, there was one quasi-judicial item for a solar array in Cheeks Township. <br />(All quasi-judicial items are applicant-initiated). <br />3