Agenda - 04-06-1989 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Following the Public Hearing, the Chapel Hill Town Council 140 made a final recommendation of "Rural Transition" zoning for this property (RT) . Chapel Hill's RT district is intended to be applied to land which is used for agricultural, very low-intensity residential, or open space- uses, but which is projected in the Comprehensive Plan for conversion to more intensive urban uses at such time as community services are available and community needs for such uses are present. Minimum lot size in the RT District is 100,000 square feet. Permitted uses include agriculture, single-family and two-family dwellings, churches, child day care facilities., public use and cultural facilities, and schools. Permitted subsequent to issuance of a Special Use Permit are group care facilities, mining, and landfill uses. When the RT recommendation came before the Orange County Board of Commissioners in the fall of 1988, the County Attorney advised that the property could not be rezoned to RT because that designation had not been a part of the legal advertisement for the June Public Hearing. The Attorney advised that another hearing be called. Discussion The definition of the Rural Transition zoning district fits this property. This parcel is in low-intensity use right now, but is projected in Chapel Hill Land Use Plan and the Joint Planning Area Land Use Plan as a candidate for Conversion to more intensive use at such time as needs for such uses are present. Specifically, the land use plans refer to this property as "Potential Landfill, Pending Further Study." This property may or may not be used as a landfill. Before it could be so used, further study would need to be undertaken, State permits obtained, and a Special Use Permit applied for and obtained. The Chapel Hill Town Council, in making the recommendation that the property be zoned RT, noted that such zoning serves to continue to make area property owners aware that the parcel may, at some future time, be used as a landfill. It was noted that the tract may.never be used for a landfill, but that now it is the only publicly-owned possibility. Efforts are underway to search for alternatives to landfilling as a primary means of solid waste management and for additional sites as well. It was suggested that, until • another site is identified, acquired and permitted by the State, full disclosure and notice to the public of the potential use is a compelling argument for RT zoning. Recommendation The Chapel Hill Town Council voted on August 23, 1988 to approve Rural Transition zoning for this property, and to recommend that the Orange County Board of Commissioners so amend its Zoning Atlas.