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1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: February 21, 2023 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 5-a <br /> SUBJECT: Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) Text Amendment — Neighborhood <br /> Information Meetings <br /> DEPARTMENT: Planning and Inspections <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> 1. Statement of Approval and Consistency Tyler Sliger, Planner II, (919) 245-2586 <br /> 2. Planning Board Recommended UDO Text Perdita Holtz, Deputy Director, Long- <br /> Amendment Range Planning & Administration, <br /> 3. Planning Director Recommended UDO Text (919) 245-2578 <br /> Amendment Cy Stober, Director, (919) 245-2592 <br /> 4. Planning Board Signed Statement of Consistency <br /> and Excerpt of Draft December 7, 2022 Minutes <br /> PURPOSE: To hold a public hearing, receive the Planning Board and staff recommendations and <br /> public comment, close the public hearing, and consider action on staff-initiated amendments to the <br /> Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) regarding proposed revisions to the current requirements <br /> for Neighborhood Information Meetings. <br /> BACKGROUND: Neighborhood Information Meetings (NIMs) are a common requirement of <br /> Planning Departments throughout the state and country. NIMs are an opportunity for an <br /> "...applicant to initiate a conversation with the community members most directly affected by the <br /> proposed [action]..." (City of Raleigh). These meetings are a separate and distinct opportunity from <br /> the statutory obligations of a community to provide an applicant due process for a rezoning, major <br /> subdivision, special use permit, or similar action, as provided for by the Planning Board meeting and <br /> public hearing before either the Board of Adjustment (BOA) or the Board of County Commissioners <br /> (BOCC). NIMs are informal meetings with the community most affected by a proposed land use <br /> change. With the exception of publication of the meeting notice in a local paper of record, public <br /> notification requirements for an informal NIM are similar to that for the formal Planning Board <br /> meeting and BOA and BOCC public hearings. <br /> Orange County's requirement for a NIM for a special use permit (Section 2.7), conditional zoning <br /> (Section 2.9), and subdivisions (Section 2.14 & 2.15) are consistent with the requirements of North <br /> Carolina peer counties, including Chatham, Durham, and Mecklenburg. Orange County is <br /> inconsistent with these counties by having staff administer the public notification and host these <br /> informal meetings rather than the applicant. This practice has created confusion for the public <br /> regarding the respective roles of the applicant and staff at the NIM to request and represent a land <br /> use change; and to disclose the facts and the consistency of the application with Orange County's <br /> adopted ordinances and plans. Planning staff's role in the latter is detailed in both local and <br /> statutory language on the proceedings of the Planning Board, BOA, and BOCC in making land use <br /> determinations. Having staff present at a NIM can confuse this role, and places Planning staff in a <br /> central role at a meeting that should be a constructive discussion between the applicant and the <br /> affected community as to how a proposed project could be modified to respond to concerns before <br />