Orange County NC Website
e. The requirement for written comments only after the public hearing could be <br />dropped and the BOCC could hear from interested parties again at the <br />meeting they make a decision (if the BOCC opted not to vote the night of the <br />public hearing) <br />4. The PB Ordinance Review Committee (ORC) is involved early on in shaping any <br />County-initiated UDO text amendments, so any PB members who are interested in a <br />text amendment have fairly early “access.” <br /> <br />Quasi-Judicial Items <br /> <br />1. There are concerns about the Planning Board being involved in any <br />recommendation on quasi-judicial (QJ) items if they are not an official board (quorum <br />required) at the public hearing. There are ways around this concern but the <br />Planning Board will have to be very careful about how it allows public comment and <br />how that comment weighs into its recommendation. <br />2. QJ items involve a yes/no checklist of whether a project meets the requirements <br />spelled out in the UDO. By and large, review is relegated to determining whether a <br />specific standard is met or not and if all standards are met, the permit must be <br />issued. <br />a. If the PB is not in attendance at the public hearing, it should not make findings <br />on the requirements contained in Section 5.3.2(A)(2) which are: <br />a) The use will maintain or promote the public health, safety and <br />general welfare, if located where proposed and developed and <br />operated according to the plan as submitted; <br />b) The use will maintain or enhance the value of contiguous property <br />(unless the use is a public necessity, in which case the use need not <br />maintain or enhance the value of contiguous property); and <br />c) The location and character of the use, if developed according to the <br />plan submitted, will be in harmony with the area in which it is to be <br />located and the use is in compliance with the plan for the physical <br />development of the County as embodied in these regulations or in the <br />Comprehensive Plan, or portion thereof, adopted by the Board of <br />County Commissioners. <br />2. The three points listed directly above are the main findings that must be made <br />in order to issue a permit and are the basis of much of the expert testimony that <br />is made at the QJ hearing. <br />3. Some PB members in the past have mused that going through the checklist felt a bit <br />like “rubber stamping” an approval. <br />4. If the PB is to remain part of the QJ process, consideration should be given to <br />having the PB make its recommendation prior to the QJ hearing in order to avoid <br />51