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1 Orange County Commission for the Environment Meeting Summary December 14, 2015 Richard Whitted Meeting Facility, Hillsborough ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ PRESENT: Lynne Gronback (Acting Chair), May Becker, Peter Cada, Loren Hintz, David Neal, Jan Sassaman, Gary Saunders, Sheila Thomas-Ambat ABSENT: Tom Eisenhart, Bill Newby, Jeanette O’Connor, Rebecca Ray, David Welch, Lydia Wegman STAFF: Rich Shaw, Tom Davis GUEST: Michael Harvey (OC Planning & Inspections) _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ I. Call to Order – Gronback called the meeting to order at 7:35 pm. II. Ad ditions or Changes to Agenda – There were none III. Minutes – Gronback asked for comments on the November 9 meeting summary. Hintz motioned approval as written; seconded by Saunders. Approved unanimously. IV. Proposed Rule Changes for Airport Development – Michael Harvey (Current Planning Supervisor, Orange Co. Planning & Inspections) presented a draft amendment to the regulations governing the development of public airports and private air strips in Orange County. The draft amendment was referred to the CFE, Economic Development Advisory Board, and towns of Hillsborough, Chapel Hill and Carrboro for comments. Harvey began by noting that some key dates in the written materials had changed. The open houses that had been scheduled for December 17 and 21 were postponed until spring 2016. Draft rule change won’t be ready for public hearing until September 2016. Harvey noted the proposed rule changes are not in anticipation of any applications to be filed. The rules for airport development were one of several key issues that the Planning Board chose not to address when the Unified Development Ordinance was created in 2009-10. Harvey said the current rules are about 30 years old and in need of updating; staff feels there is ample need to improve the standards and process for permitting airports and air strips. He noted, for instance, that currently the same rules apply to both private airstrips and public airports. Harvey said the amendment would provide a different process and set of standards for private airstrips and public airports. Private airstrips would require a special use permit (SUP) and be limited to five airplanes, prohibit drones, and require hazardous materials plan. Public airports would require conditional zoning, which he described as a “floating district.” A proposed airport district would allow for a heightened level of public review than is allowed in the current SUP process. Harvey said, unlike the SUP process, the general public could provide comments without having to go to the expense of obtaining expert testimony. Also, the BOCC and applicant could negotiate on conditions to be applied toward the airport development. Harvey provided examples of key standards that would be applied to public airports, such as no residential housing allowed in the district, and airports could not be sited in