Orange County NC Website
Article 2: Procedures <br /> Section 2.3: Comprehensive Plan Amendments <br /> <br /> <br />Orange County, North Carolina – Unified Development Ordinance Page 2-6 <br /> <br />2.3.5 Public Hearing Required <br />A public hearing shall be held before adoption of any proposed Comprehensive Plan amendment. <br />The Board of County Commissioners and the Planning Board 6 shall hear applications and receive <br />public comment for proposed Comprehensive Plan amendments in a Quarterly Public Hearing. <br />2.3.6 Notice Requirements for Planning Board Meetings and Public Hearings <br />(A) The Planning Director shall provide notice of Planning Board meetings at which the <br />Planning Board is to review and make a recommendation on Future Land Use Map <br />amendments and Quarterly Public Hearings at which an amendment to the Future Land <br />Use Map is to be reviewed. Notifications of proposed Future Land Use Map <br />amendments shall occur as follows: <br />(1) Notice of the Planning Board meeting and public hearing shall be posted on the <br />affected parcel or on an adjacent public right of way a minimum of ten days prior <br />to the Planning Board meeting. Said notice shall contain the time and location of <br />both the Planning Board meeting and public hearing.7 <br />(a) When multiple parcels are affected, a posting on each individual parcel is <br />not required, but sufficient notices shall be posted to provide reasonable <br />notice to interested persons. <br />(2) Written notice of the Planning Board meeting and public hearing shall be sent by <br />first-class mail to all property owners, as listed in the Orange County tax records, <br />whose property is affected or within 500 one thousand 8 feet of the affected <br />parcel(s). Said notice shall be mailed at least 15 days prior to the date of the <br />Planning Board meeting and shall include the times and locations of both the <br />Planning Board meeting and public hearing. <br />(B) The Planning Director shall provide public notice for any Comprehensive Plan <br />amendment to be heard at a Quarterly Public Hearing. The notice shall include the time <br />and location of the public hearing.9 <br />(C) For all proposed amendments, Notice notice of the public hearing shall be given by <br />publishing said notice at least twice in a newspaper of general circulation in the County, <br />stating the time and place of such hearing and the substance of the proposed <br />amendment.10 <br />(1) This notice shall appear in said newspaper for two consecutive weeks with the <br />first notice appearing not less than ten days nor more than 25 days before the <br />date set for the public hearing. In computing the notice period, the day of <br />publication is not to be included, but the day of the hearing is to be included. <br />(2) The minimum published size of the notice shall be 25 square inches.11 <br />(D) In the case of amendments to the Land Use Plan (map), the Planning Director shall <br />prominently post a notice of the public hearing on the site proposed for the land use <br /> <br />6 Since a quorum of Planning Board members will no longer be necessary to hold a public hearing, the public <br />hearing would no longer be considered a joint hearing. <br />7 The Planning Board has stated that it would like the public to have notice of its meetings when it is considering <br />amendments so the public can attend the meetings and provide comments if desired. Staff is proposing that the <br />notice for the Planning Board meeting and the later quarterly public hearing be combined into one notice so that <br />two notices are not required to be mailed for Comprehensive Plan amendments. <br />8 As a result of comments made at the September 8, 2015 public hearing, the notification boundary is proposed to <br />be expanded from 500 feet to 1,000 feet. <br />9 Proposed addition made by the Staff Attorney. <br />10 This language is currently (A) but has been automatically re-numbered due to a new (A) and (B) being proposed <br />for addition. <br />11 (C)(1) and (C)(2) are currently (C) and (D) but have been recommended as subparagraphs by the Staff Attorney. <br /> 68