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8 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />5. Public Hearings <br /> <br />a. Unified Development Ordinance Text Amendment – Flags and Flagpoles <br />The Board held a public hearing on a Planning Director/County Attorney’s Office <br />initiated Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) text amendment clarifying regulations <br />associated with flags and flagpoles. The Board considered a decision on one of the following <br />options: <br />a. Adopt the proposed amendments by approving the Statement of Consistency <br />(Attachment 3) and EITHER the Ordinance and Proposed UDO Text <br />Amendments in Attachment 4, or the Ordinance in Attachment 4 and the <br />County’s Attorney’s May 10, 2018 Proposed UDO Text Amendments in <br />Attachment 7; <br />b. Defer a decision to a later BOCC regular meeting date; or <br />c. Refer the item back to the Planning Board for a specific purpose. <br /> <br />Michael Harvey reviewed items in the agenda abstract, and the information below: <br /> <br />BACKGROUND: <br />The UDO Amendment Outline Form (Attachment 1) for these amendments was approved by <br />the BOCC at its March 20, 2018 regular meeting. The County Attorney’s <br />Office has provided staff with recommended language. The purpose of these proposed <br />amendments is as follows: <br />• To address concerns over the lack of clear and comprehensive regulation(s) to ensure <br />that the display of a flag does not dominate local skylines. <br />• To clarify existing regulations on flags and flagpoles. Specifically: <br />o The allowable height, location, and number of flagpoles, and <br />o The maximum allowable area (size) of flags that can be displayed on a given parcel <br />of property. <br /> <br />Please note the proposed amendments do not attempt to regulate flag content. Regulating flag <br />content would be inconsistent with numerous court proceedings, including the US Supreme <br />Court Case Reed versus Town of Gilbert. The County cannot regulate the content of a flag. <br /> <br />It can, however, establish content-neutral regulations designed to address the size, height, and <br />location at which a flag is displayed. For additional background information, please refer to the <br />UDO Amendment Outline Form contained within Attachment 1 and to the pertinent agenda <br />materials and information via the following links: <br /> <br />• March 20, 2018 BOCC regular meeting agenda materials can be viewed at: <br />http://server3.co.orange.nc.us:8088/WebLink8/DocView.aspx?id=51820&dbid=0. <br />• March 20, 2018 BOCC regular meeting minutes can be viewed at: <br />http://server3.co.orange.nc.us:8088/WebLink8/0/doc/52122/Page1.aspx <br />• April 4, 2018 Ordinance Review Committee (ORC) agenda materials and can be viewed <br />at: http://cms3.revize.com/revize/orangecounty/ORCAgendaPacket.pdf. <br />• April 4, 2018 Planning Board agenda materials can be viewed at: <br />http://cms3.revize.com/revize/orangecounty/PlanningBoardAgendaPacket.pdf.