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