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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS <br />WORKSESSION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: February 28, 2005 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. CA <br />SUBJECT: Rural Enterprises <br />DEPARTMENT: Planning & Inspections PUBLIC HEARING: (YIN) No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />1) Project Summary (p. 3) <br />2) Conditional District Zoning Overview (p. 6) <br />3) Samples from Charlotte /Mecklenburg (p. 8) <br />4) Color Progression Chart (p. 16) <br />5) Matrix (p. 17) <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Craig Benedict Planning Director ext. 2592 <br />Dianne Reid EDC Director ext. 2326 <br />Tina Moon Planner II ext. 2583 <br />TELEPHONE NUMBERS: <br />Hillsborough <br />732 -8181 <br />Chapel Hill <br />968 -4501 <br />Durham <br />688 -7331 <br />Mebane <br />336 - 227 -2031 <br />PURPOSE: To update the Board on staff's progress with the Rural Enterprises project, to <br />introduce the idea of conditional district zoning as a new planning construct to allow farm - <br />related businesses in the rural parts of the county, and to seek direction. <br />BACKGROUND: Since the winter of 2002 staffs from several departments have been working <br />on an initiative to provide more income - producing options for local farmers. The key elements <br />of the project have included: <br />• Clarifying what a bona fide farm is (exempt) and what it is not (subject to zoning); <br />• Identifying new agricultural land uses which can offer farmers supplemental income; <br />• Determining which of these uses should require a permit and which type of permit; and <br />• Developing a system to allow farm compatible uses that are commercial or industrial in <br />character to occur in residential zoning districts in a way that is consistent with the Land <br />Use Element. <br />Five attachments are provided to document our progress to date on this initiative. The project <br />Summary (Attachment #1) outlines the impetus behind the project and what we hope to <br />accomplish with the adoption of forthcoming amendments to the zoning ordinance. <br />A key component of this agenda item is the introduction of a new planning construct for Orange <br />County — conditional district zoning. Staff has conducted a considerable amount of research <br />regarding successful agricultural programs and innovative approaches toward land use in other <br />jurisdictions. Based on that research, staff proposes conditional district zoning as a viable <br />method for allowing agricultural related business operations such as processing facilities in <br />rural, residentially zoned districts (AR, R1, RB). Attachment #2 includes a brief summary of <br />conditional district zoning along with suggestions on how to incorporate it within our existing <br />1,N], 2( 05 11uihh I k.'tnnu, 16, 2'( Ag, Bu,; Oi limn, Allan I, 2 -0_`- do( <br />