Orange County NC Website
34 <br /> petition, two bills were filed in the North Carolina House of Representatives (House) that <br /> potentially severely impact Orange County's ability to fund school capital needs. <br /> On March 20, 2017 House Bill 406 was filed in the House. If it passes, House Bill 406, <br /> which specifically targets Orange County, will strip the County of its authority to levy <br /> impact fees. On March 22, 2017 House Bill 436 was filed in the House. House Bill 436 is <br /> similar to House Bill 406 in that it would strip the County of its impact fee levying <br /> authority. Unlike House Bill 406, House Bill 436 targets numerous jurisdictions <br /> throughout the state and eliminates all regulatory fees on new construction unless the <br /> fee is specifically authorized by general law. Should either bill pass Orange County will <br /> lose millions of dollars annually that is used to assist in school capital projects. This will <br /> leave a deficit that ultimately must be filled with a tax increase that requires all property <br /> owners in Orange County to pay for the costs of new development. <br /> Staff has analyzed the submitted petition and suggests revising the dates in the current <br /> resolution to allow for a longer grandfathering period for projects 90-units or greater in size <br /> rather than adopting the language suggested by the petitioner, which is tailored for a specific <br /> project. Other projects that are currently in various planning phases could potentially take <br /> advantage of the longer grandfathering period if submittal deadlines are met. <br /> Staff shared the staff recommendation with the petitioner. The petitioner provided the following <br /> suggestions: <br /> • Move the staff-recommended Zoning Compliance Permit (ZCP) issuance date of July <br /> 31, 2017 out to December 31, 2017; alternatively, require only submission of the ZCP <br /> application by May 15, 2017. <br /> o Staff notes an alternative exists where the ZCP submission is in May and the <br /> issuance is in December. Petitioner's position on this alternative was unclear at the <br /> time of publication. <br /> • Move the Building Permit application date from January 1, 2019 to January 31, 2019. <br /> • Move the fee paid-by date from June 30, 2019 to June 30, 2020 (to be more in-line with <br /> the Certificate of Compliance date of December 31, 2020). In accord with the attached <br /> resolution, the BOCC intends that any additional grandfathering requests for projects <br /> 90-units in size or greater must be submitted prior to July 31, 2017. <br /> FINANCIAL IMPACT: Allowing for a longer grandfathering period is likely to result in a lesser <br /> amount of school impact fee collections than might otherwise be collected. <br /> Commissioner McKee asked if this applicant came before the Board in February. <br /> Craig Benedict said yes. <br /> PUBLIC COMMENT: <br /> Wayne Hadler said he was before the BOCC on February 21St. He said they are <br /> hoping to submit their ZCP tomorrow. He said the way the resolution is written now, on page 2 <br /> of the agenda, calls for an issuance of a ZCP by July 31, 2017. He said when the ZCP is <br /> submitted it will likely be reviewed by Chapel Hill, come back to him, and be resubmitted with <br /> corrections. He said due to this slow timeline, it is likely that he will be unable to meet the <br /> proposed deadlines for the County. He said his proposed solution is to change the language <br /> to read that the ZCP will be submitted by May 2017, and the issuance will occur by December <br /> 31, 2017. <br /> Wayne Hadler said this is a project that will build out an estimated $625,000 per year of <br /> tax revenue, and one that has a wonderful affordable housing component to it, providing $4 <br />