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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS <br />ORANGE COUNTY PLANNING BOARD <br />WORKSESSION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: May 22, 2006 <br />SUBJECT: Agricultural Support Enterprises <br />DEPARTMENT: Planning & Inspections <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />1) Brief Summary of Conditional District Zoning <br />2) Revised Text Article 4 <br />3) New Article 20A <br />4) Color Progression Chart <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. D.2 <br />PUBLIC HEARING: (Y /N) No <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Craig Benedict Planning Director 245- 2592 <br />Dianne Reid EDC Director 245-2326 <br />Tina Moon Planner II 245 -2583 <br />PURPOSE: To begin to discuss draft text amendments related to the on -going agricultural <br />business initiative, particularly the proposed Article 20A that outlines a new planning construct <br />for Orange County -- conditional district zoning. <br />BACKGROUND: Since May of 2002 Planning, Economic Development and Farm Agency staff <br />have been working together to examine, and where appropriate, revise County regulations <br />regarding farm uses. Efforts to expand the scope of the project led to an early name change <br />from Agribusiness to Rural Enterprises. More recently staff have suggested renaming the <br />project, again, to Agricultural Support Enterprises to emphasize the original purpose of the <br />initiative —to improve local farm profitability. <br />As Planning and Economic Development staff begin to explore options to establish more <br />economic opportunities for rural non -farm ventures it seems appropriate to reiterate the purpose <br />of this project. The Agricultural Support Enterprises initiative is designed to offer farmers <br />supplemental- revenue options from agricultural products, businesses that are logical extensions <br />of farms and services related to farming, and to allow these uses to occur in the rural areas. <br />The most challenging aspect of the Agricultural Support Enterprises project has been <br />developing a system to allow uses that are commercial in character (such as feed stores) to <br />occur in rural portions of our residential zoning districts in a way that is consistent with the Land <br />Use Element. At the February 2005 Joint BOCC /Planning Board Work Session, staff <br />introduced the idea of a new planning construct for Orange County -- conditional district zoning- - <br />as the potential mechanism for this purpose. A brief summary of conditional district rezoning is <br />included as Attachment #1. <br />Staff recommends using conditional district zoning as an alternative rezoning method for our <br />existing Agricultural Services floating zoning district. Proposed amendments to the zoning <br />ordinance regarding AS districts are included as Attachment #2 and highlighted in boldface <br />GAGomprehensive Planning Div \GENE \2006 Public Hearings \May 22 QPH\Update Rural Enterprises \AgSupportEnterprAbs..doc <br />