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12 <br /> 1 A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Fowler, to <br /> 2 approve and authorize the Chair to sign the proclamation. <br /> 3 <br /> 4 VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br /> 5 <br /> 6 Chris Pendergrass, Interim Division Chief of Fire and Life Safety thanked the Board for <br /> 7 approving this proclamation. On this week's theme, he shared a success story about a smoke <br /> 8 alarm in Orange County. He said the Fire Marshal recently installed a smoke alarm in a residence <br /> 9 and just weeks after that the fire department responded to a fire there. He said without that smoke <br /> 10 alarm alerting to an emergency, that situation could have been devastating. <br /> 11 Commissioner McKee announced that the Fire Departments in Orange County are doing <br /> 12 donation drives for victims of Hurricane Helene. <br /> 13 <br /> 14 5. Public Hearings <br /> 15 a. Unified Development Ordinance Text Amendment— Landscaping Standards <br /> 16 The Board held a public hearing, received the Planning Board and staff recommendations and <br /> 17 public comments, closed the public hearing, and considered action on County-initiated text <br /> 18 amendments to the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) pertaining to Landscaping standards <br /> 19 to allow for better achievement of established UDO and 2030 Comprehensive Plan goals, clarify <br /> 20 language for improved administration and enforcement, and reflect contemporary best <br /> 21 professional standards. <br /> 22 <br /> 23 BACKGROUND: The Orange County Planning Department initiated an amendment to the UDO <br /> 24 Landscaping standards, as found in Section 6.8 "Landscaping, Buffers & Tree Protection". The <br /> 25 proposed amendments are intended to be comprehensive in addressing overly-complex text, <br /> 26 improve interpretation and application for both staff and applicants, and to resolve an existing <br /> 27 ambiguity determined by staff and upheld by the courts regarding Table 6.8.6(D). Minor <br /> 28 amendments in Articles 3 and 5 are also necessary to update references and reflect amendments <br /> 29 in Section 6.8. <br /> 30 <br /> 31 Joint Planning Area (JPA) Review: In compliance with the Orange County-Chapel Hill-Carrboro <br /> 32 Joint Planning Land Use Plan and Agreement, the proposed amendments were sent to both towns <br /> 33 for comment on March 22, 2024. To date, no comments have been received. <br /> 34 <br /> 35 Planning Board Recommendation: At its September 4, 2024 meeting, the Planning Board voted <br /> 36 unanimously to recommend approval of the Statement of Consistency and the UDO text <br /> 37 amendments, with some changes to the proposed text amendments. The changes recommended <br /> 38 by the Planning Board have been incorporated into the proposed Ordinance contained in <br /> 39 Attachment 2. The Planning Board's signed Statement of Consistency and excerpt of draft <br /> 40 September 4, 2024 meeting minutes are included in Attachment 3. Prior to making its <br /> 41 recommendation, the Planning Board had reviewed the materials in an "Ordinance Review <br /> 42 Committee" meeting on April 3, 2024. <br /> 43 <br /> 44 Planning Director's Recommendation: The Planning Director recommends approval of the: <br /> 45 <br /> 46 1. Statement of Approval and Consistency indicating the text amendments are <br /> 47 reasonable and in the public interest, as contained in Attachment 1; and <br /> 48 2. Unified Development Ordinance (UDO)text amendments, as contained in Attachment <br /> 49 2. <br /> 50 <br /> 51 <br />