Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
12 <br /> o If there is to be no/limited flexibility in the meeting end time, this option would need <br /> to be added to the Planning Board's Rules of Procedure, which must be approved <br /> by the Board of County Commissioners. <br /> Public Comments <br /> In many North Carolina jurisdictions, the Planning Board acts as technical reviewers and public <br /> comments are not taken by the Board. There is no statutory or case law that requires Planning <br /> Boards accept public comments. In Orange County, the requirement that the Planning Board <br /> hear and consider public comments is found in Section 2.8.8(A) of the Unified Development <br /> Ordinance (UDO) which states: <br /> The Planning Board shall allow public comments at its meeting and those comments <br /> shall be taken into consideration by the Planning Board in making its recommendation. <br /> If the Planning Board wishes to limit or eliminate public comments at its meetings, the following <br /> are potential options: <br /> • The Planning Board could limit public comments to a set time period per agenda item, <br /> perhaps one hour with a per-speaker limit of 3 minutes. <br /> o Formalizing a limit would require an amendment to the Rules of Procedure, which <br /> must be approved by the BOCC. <br /> ■ Language could be added to discourage repetitive comments while allowing <br /> for a range of viewpoints. <br /> ■ Language could be added to encourage written comments prior to the <br /> meeting rather than oral comments at a meeting. <br /> • Amend the UDO in such a way that the Planning Board will no longer hear public <br /> comments and instead will act as a technical review board. <br /> o Several sections of the UDO would need to be amended as there would no longer <br /> be a need to send out notifications nor post a sign on the property advertising the <br /> Planning Board meeting if the Planning Board is not going to hear from the public. <br /> ■ If the Planning Board wishes to pursue this option, staff will evaluate the <br /> UDO more thoroughly for necessary edits. <br /> o The Planning Board has the authority to initiate an amendment to the UDO (see <br /> Section 2.8.2(A) of the UDO). A motion and affirmative vote would be necessary to <br /> initiate an amendment. <br /> FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact to discuss these topics. <br /> RECOMMENDATION(S): The Planning Director recommends the Planning Board discuss the <br /> topics and, if necessary, provide direction to staff on any next steps. <br />