Agenda - 5-a - Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) Table of Permitted Uses

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2 Specifically, the amendment collapses existing tables of permitted uses as contained in Section(s) 5.2.1 (general use zoning districts), 5.2.2 (EDD general use zoning districts), and 5.2.3 (Conditional Zoning districts) into a centralized table in order to clarify permitted and prohibited land uses consistent with recent court decisions. The amendment also updates existing regulations and addresses formatting issues to ensure legal sufficiency. BACKGROUND: This project was initiated to address the findings of the State Supreme Court in Byrd versus Franklin County related to the delineation of prohibited land uses. The court, in rendering its decision, placed the onus on local governments to `spell out' what land uses were allowable and prohibited within their respective jurisdictions. A copy of the Court's ruling in the Franklin County case can be viewed at: https://www.nccourts.gov/documents/appellate-court- opinions/byrd-et-al-v-fanklin-county. Work on the project began in the spring of 2017 with staff focusing on collapsing the existing tables and creating an `exhaustive list' of permitted and prohibited land uses. This was to address concerns from the Planning Director, Director of Economic Development, and several BOCC members over ensuring developers were readily able to `verify' if a proposed land use was permitted within the County. In August 2017, the BOCC held a work session with Planning staff and the County Attorney to review the status of this project and provided the following direction: 1. Abandon the concept of an exhaustive list of allowable land uses; 2. Collapse, where feasible, similar land uses into single categories; 3. Review existing definitions to eliminate the reliance on `example land uses' with respect to outlining what constitutes a permitted land use within that category; and 4. Consolidate and eliminate, where feasible, duplicative references to regulations within the UDO. The Planning Board Ordinance Review Committee (ORC) reviewed this item at several ORC meetings beginning in January 2017. Agenda materials from these various meetings can be viewed at: http://www.co.orange.nc.us/AgendaCenter/Planning-Board-26. A total of four open house meetings were held soliciting public input and comment on the proposed amendments. Meetings were held on the evenings of July 25 and 27, 2017 and August 23 and 27, 2018. Notices of the meetings were placed on the County website, and further advertised through press releases issued through the County's Community Relations Department. Staff finalized an amendment package (Attachment 7 including 7-a, 7-b and 7-c) that: a. Collapses existing tables as contained in Section(s) 5.2.1 (general use zoning districts), 5.2.2 (EDD general use zoning districts), and 5.2.3 (Conditional Zoning districts) into a centralized permitted use table. b. Collapses similar land uses into single land use categories. STAFF COMMENT: Current regulations, for example, define retail land uses differently within Section(s) 5.2.1 and 5.2.2. There are different methodologies employed to denote various permitted retail land uses in both sections that appear to contradict one another.