Orange County NC Website
18 <br />CONCLUSIONS: <br />lu staff's opinion the issues surrounding specific azeas of zoning enforcement within Orange <br />County aze as follows: <br />1. Junked/Wrecked Motor Vehicles: With respect to the storage of junked or <br />wrecked motor vehicles there is currently no flexibility in the Ordinance to allow <br />for a property owner to store a functioning automobile on their property if it is <br />unlicensed or unregistered. There is na flexibility to allow individuals to work on <br />vehicles that may need minor repair work as they are now designated as `junked <br />vehicles' as per our existing Ordinance. While it is not in the best interest of the <br />County to allow for unlimited storage of vehicles on private property, staff <br />believes there is a middle ground that can be achieved that will further the <br />County's interests while at the same time allow for some flexibility for those <br />individuals desiring to store a couple of vehicles on their property that aze <br />unlicensed ar umregistered but are still in an operational condition. <br />2. Sign Ordinance: With respect to violations of the Sign Ordinance, staff believes <br />that there is a need for a comprehensive overhaul of the existing regulations to <br />remove contradictory sign standazds and create a more uniform Ordinance. Staff <br />arrived at this conclusion after conducting a study of past problems encountered <br />in the enforcement and interpretation of existing regulations, as most notably <br />exhibited by the recent confusion concerning the legal placement ofpolitical signs <br />in 2004. Tn staff's opinion, the current sign regulations fail in meeting citizen's <br />expectations for appearance and clarity and are weak and illegal, in certain <br />circumstances, from a legal standpoint. Staff believes that this review is <br />necessary to address on-going enforcement issues as well as update existing <br />regulations so that they conform to recent court fmdings concerning sign <br />regulation. <br />Staff has already identified the following azeas of the existing sign regulations <br />that need to be reviewed or azeas that may need to be added: <br />1. Definitions of various types of signs. The current Ordinance has <br />no definitions or examples of the vazious types of signs permitted <br />within the County, <br />2. Size (height and square footage) of signage. Currently, there are <br />several contradictory sections of the Ordinance that have lead to <br />multiple interpretations from various staff members concerning the <br />allowable sign area allowed per parcel of property. These <br />contradictory provisions need to be eliminated to avoid future <br />confusion, <br />3, Number of signs permitted (per lot, per building, per use), Once <br />again there are contradictory sections of the Ordinance that need to <br />be revised, <br />4. Signage not subject to permit requirements (i.e. temporary real <br />estate signs, temporary real estate development signs, construction <br />signs, special event signage, home occupation signage, and <br />