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2 <br /> <br />B. RATIONALE <br />1. Purpose/Mission <br />In accordance with the provisions of Section 2.8 Zoning Atlas and Unified <br />Development Ordinance Amendments of the UDO, the Planning Director has <br />initiated a text amendment to revise existing regulations governing the review and <br />approval of airports. This is one of the items in the UDO implementation bridge. <br />During the time period the UDO was being developed (2010-11) there were efforts by <br />the State and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to locate a new airport in <br />rural Orange County. The State General Assembly created a new airport authority in <br />Orange County for the purpose of developing a new facility intended to take the <br />place of Horace-Williams airport, which was slated to be closed with the development <br />of Carolina North, in the Town of Chapel Hill. <br />These efforts were, ultimately, abandoned due to local community concerns over the <br />process initiated by the State Legislature and the University. The State rescinded <br />the airport authority and, as of the writing of this document, no additional activity has <br />occurred. <br />At that time staff and residents identified a need to revise existing regulations <br />governing the development of airports. Work on this issue was delayed while more <br />pressing UDO amendments were pursued. <br /> <br />2. Analysis <br />As required under Section 2.8.5 of the UDO, the Planning Director is required to: <br />‘cause an analysis to be made of the application and, based upon that analysis, <br />prepare a recommendation for consideration by the Planning Board and the Board of <br />County Commissioners’. <br />Airport and other similar facilities are currently combined into a central land use <br />category, specifically Airports, General Aviation, Heliports, STOL, defined within the <br />UDO as follows: <br />• “Airport (Heliport: S.T.O.L. Port), Air Carrier: A public airport served by a certified air <br />carrier. This includes any runways, land areas or other facilities designed or used for <br />landing, taking off, processing passengers or cargo. <br />• Airport, Commuter Service (Heliport: S.T.O.L. Port): A public airport, not served by a <br />certified air carrier, but is served by one or more commuter airlines which enplaned <br />2500 or more passengers in the preceding calendar year. <br />• Airport, General Aviation (Heliport: S.T.O.L. Port): A public airport serving aviation <br />other than airlines. This includes any runway, land area, or other facility designed or <br />used for the landing and taking off of small aircraft.” <br />Such use(s) are permitted only through the review and approval of a Class A Special <br />Use Permit by the BOCC in the following general use zoning districts: <br />1. Rural Buffer (RB); <br /> 44