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3 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> PLANNING BOARD ORDINANCE REVIEW COMMITTEE <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: March 3, 2021 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 2 <br /> SUBJECT: Unified Development Ordinance Text Amendments — "160D" Legislation <br /> DEPARTMENT: Planning and Inspections <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: (919) <br /> 1. Proposed UDO and Comprehensive Plan Perdita Holtz, Planner III 245-2578 <br /> Amendments (has not received final Craig Benedict, Director 245-2575 <br /> approval by the County's legal staff) <br /> 2. Proposed Amendments to the Planning <br /> Board Rules of Procedure <br /> PURPOSE: To review County-initiated amendments to the Unified Development Ordinance to <br /> conform County regulations to a new chapter, 160D, of the North Carolina General Statues. As a <br /> result, amendments to Appendix F of the Comprehensive Plan and to the Planning Board's and <br /> Board of Adjustment's Rules of Procedure are also necessary. <br /> BACKGROUND: In July 2019, the North Carolina General Assembly adopted legislation that <br /> entailed the first major recodification and modernization of city and county development regulations <br /> since 1905. The effort was several years in the making; it began in 2013 when the endeavor was <br /> initiated by the Zoning and Land Use Section of the NC Bar Association. All local governments in <br /> North Carolina are required to adopt conforming regulations by July 1, 2021 (pushed back from an <br /> earlier date due to the COVID-19 pandemic). A blog post by staff at the School of Government at <br /> UNC-Chapel Hill provides helpful background information on the legislation: <br /> https://canons.sog.unc.edu/chapter-160d-and-other-zoning-legislation/ <br /> Planning and County Attorney staff are still in the process of finalizing UDO amendments to comply <br /> with the new legislation with the aim of leaving existing processes as unchanged as possible while <br /> also conforming the UDO to statutes. The amendment packet in Attachment 1 has not received <br /> final approval bV the County's legal staff. However, Planning staff is bringing the latest version to <br /> the ORC since the amendment package is lengthy and doing so will enable Planning Board <br /> members to have a preview of the amendments and the ability to ask questions and/or make <br /> comments. <br /> Planning staff provided an overview of the legislation at the September 2, 2020 Ordinance Review <br /> Committee (ORC) meeting, seeking and receiving approval to bring the amendment package <br /> directly to the Planning Board for review since the revisions are required by the State legislation and <br /> there is limited ability to make substantial changes to the proposed revisions. Since the internal <br /> process has taken longer than expected, Planning staff is bringing the package to ORC, as <br /> explained above. At the September meeting there was a request that staff identify areas that are <br /> not strictly required by statute; staff has done so below where Special Use Permits are discussed. <br /> There are a limited number of proposed revisions that are more substantive in nature and are being <br /> proposed to conform the County's UDO to state requirements and best practices. These more <br /> substantive revisions include: <br />