Agenda - 05-04-2021; 5-b - Unified Development Ordinance Text Amendments

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345 DRAFT 112 Neighborhood Information Meetings are sent out 14 days prior and it is a 1,000 feet requirement and a sign is also 113 required to be posted on the property. 114 115 Lamar Proctor: My concern is notice,there are plenty of spots where notice gets sent but they seem to be shrinking under 116 these amendments. Is there a mechanism when there is an application for a zoning amendment that would include an 117 informational meeting in front of the County Commissioners prior to the Planning Board considering it? It feels like these 118 applications go out and come through the Planning Board and then we get surprised or even they get surprised at what is 119 being put in front of them. Is there any mechanism that could be initiated or put in place where there is an application and 120 then there is an informational session with the Board of Commissioners at a Public Hearing that says this is a zoning 121 change that's being applied for,the process has starting and we're letting you know this is coming and we are following the 122 process next where the Commissioners are put on notice and the public is put on notice. I feel like things kind of popped 123 up and then interested parties hear about them by word of mouth and I want to make sure the public is getting the proper 124 notice. Most people don't get newspapers anymore so those are some of my concerns regarding notice. 125 126 Michael Harvey: When an application is submitted, staff has five business days to determine sufficiency. Once it's 127 sufficient and formally accepted, that's when our internal clock for the UDO starts. There is an internal review by Planning 128 Department staff and other County staff through our Development Advisory Committee (DAC),we then schedule the 129 Neighborhood Information Meeting. With Conditional District applications, the Neighborhood Information Meeting is 130 required to occur in a set timeframe before Public Hearing. Notices of the Neighborhood Information Meeting are sent to 131 property owners within 1,000 feet. The notices have to be sent 14 days prior to the date of the Neighborhood Information 132 Meeting and we post signs on the property. After the Neighborhood Information Meeting it then goes to the Planning 133 Board and there is a separate mailing required for Conditional District applications before the Planning Board, not required 134 by State law but something the County is going to continue to do. After the Planning Board, there is a Public Hearing with 135 a separate advertising component. There are three public meetings, Neighborhood Information Meeting, Planning Board 136 meeting and Public Hearing with three separate advertisings for each application.As for an initial public review, at last 137 night's meeting,there was a petition submitted by a County Commissioner to study whether or not we need to amend the 138 Unified Development Ordinance to create a concept plan meeting where a conditional application would be reviewed by 139 the County Commissioners before a Neighborhood Information Meeting is scheduled to offer comments to the applicant. 140 That is in an infant stage in terms that we haven't been given formal direction by the BOCC to investigate that process but 141 it is something that is being discussed. It was looked at several years ago but we were not authorized to submit the formal 142 procedure to amend the LIDO to include it but it is something the BOCC is tinkering with having us look at again. 143 144 Craig Benedict: It did come up last night and it will be referred to BOCC Chair/Vice-Chair to be discussed and will include 145 the County Manager/Deputy Manager and myself on what modifications could be necessary to have such a process. The 146 reason it wasn't followed through with before was in the interest to have as much technical input on an application to offer 147 to the applicant before someone looks at an application that might not be fully vetted. It may be part of our process that 148 after all the various departments, NCDOT, Emergency Services, Fire, everybody makes their comments, and we let 149 everybody know that we are looking at the aspects of an application. Then maybe there's another opportunity for the 150 public to see it sooner rather than later. It might not—they thought having an un-vetted project by all those different 151 internal agencies would make it look like the work was not being done. 152 153 Lamar Proctor: Board of Adjustment is appealed to Superior Court and does not go before the County Commissioners? 154 155 Perdita Holtz: Correct. 156 157 Lamar Proctor: The minimum 10 days and the removal of the exclusions is a huge deal and I question that. It seems to 158 be something that is part of the history of our LIDO and now it's wide open and those exclusions are removed. Those are 159 my concerns. 160 161 Perdita Holtz: Maybe it would help you to know, all of these uses are allowed somewhere already they just weren't going 162 to be allowed as a Conditional Use District but they are allowed in certain Zoning Districts if you look in the Table of 163 Permitted Uses. It's not like these uses were not allowed anywhere, all of these use types occur in the Table of Permitted 164 Uses as allowed somewhere. 165 166 Lamar Proctor: For some specific zoning, all of it is allowed? 167