Orange County NC Website
Because these two points necessitate changes in existing process, additional discussion has <br />arisen. The most important points to consider are: <br />• Does the Planning Board recommendation occur before or after a BOCC-only public <br />hearing? <br />• Does increasing the frequency of public hearings cause too great a change in BOCC <br />meeting agenda internal processes and potentially impact BOCC meetings/calendars <br />too much? <br />• What is the role of the Planning Board in quasi-judicial matters (Special Use Permits) if <br />the Planning Board is no longer an official board at the public hearing? <br />• Additionally, a separate text amendment related to neighborhood information meetings in <br />advance of Special Use Permit applications has raised questions about how the public <br />can be more involved in matters prior to the public hearing. <br /> <br />In analyzing this topic, Staff believes it may be helpful to breakdown future discussion based on <br />the type of decision being made: <br />1. Legislative <br />a. Comprehensive Plan Text <br />b. Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map <br />c. UDO Text <br />d. Zoning Atlas (map) Amendments (general use districts and conditional <br />zoning districts) <br />2. Quasi-Judicial <br />a. Class A Special Use Permits (SUP) <br />3. Legislative/Quasi-Judicial Mix <br />a. Conditional Use District (a rezoning that also requires a Class A SUP) <br /> <br />At the present time, Orange County’s process is generally the same for these three different <br />(from a legal perspective) types of public hearings. However, the process can be different for <br />each type if the local government so chooses. Quasi-Judicial matters have very specific legal <br />requirements whereas there is significant discretion in Legislative matters. <br /> <br />Staff compiled a list of public hearing items since May 2011 (the date was chosen because the <br />UDO was adopted in April 2011) to determine the breakout of the types of items Orange County <br />has considered in recent years and the initiator of the item (Application by an Individual or <br />County-initiated). The following table illustrates the information: <br /> <br />Summary by Application Type/Initiator <br /> Total Legislative Quasi-Judicial Legis./ QJ Mix <br />Applicant 16 (24%) 8 6 2 <br />County 50 (76%) 50 - - <br />Totals 66 58 (88%) 6 (9%) 2 (3%) <br /> <br /> <br />Planning staff met with Planning Board Chair Pete Hallenbeck on September 25 to discuss this <br />topic. The most salient points discussed during this meeting are included in Attachment 1 and <br />may be helpful in framing thoughts. The Planning Board extensively discussed this topic at its <br />October 8, 2014 meeting (minutes are available as a separate item on the November 5th <br />Planning Board agenda). Discussion at that meeting intermingled Legislative and Quasi- <br />Judicial processes but was clear enough on Legislative items to allow staff to prepare an interim <br />report for the November 6th Board of County Commissioners meeting. The interim report <br />48