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2 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> PLANNING BOARD <br /> ORDINANCE REVIEW COMMITTEE <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: December 3, 2025 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 2 <br /> SUBJECT: Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) Text Amendment — Subdivision <br /> Administration <br /> DEPARTMENT: Planning and Inspections <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> 1. Proposed Amendments (25 pages) Cy Stober, Planning Director, (919) 245-2592 <br /> Tyler Sliger, Erosion Control Officer I, (919) <br /> 245-2582 <br /> Steve Kaltenbach, Erosion Control & <br /> Stormwater Manager, (919) 245-2588 <br /> PURPOSE: To review and comment upon proposed government-initiated Unified Development <br /> Ordinance (UDO) text amendments to 1) correct some internal reference errors; 2) provide an <br /> allowance for existing schools to expand as a legal non-conforming use; 3) eliminate a unique <br /> fence setback applied to swimming pools; 4) eliminate an Erosion Control "waiver" that creates <br /> an unnecessary regulatory burden for applicants; and 5) provide updates reflecting the statutory <br /> requirements imposed by NC Session Law 2025-94 (aka "Regulatory Reform Act of 2025"). <br /> BACKGROUND: North Carolina Session Law (NCSL) 2025-94, initiated as House Bill 926, <br /> instituted several legal changes to the General Statutes that rendered language in the Orange <br /> County Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) obsolete and in need of amendment. <br /> Specifically, it raised the threshold for imposing stormwater regulation to individual single-family <br /> residential lots from 0.5 acres of disturbance to 1 acre of disturbance; prohibits any waiting <br /> period for denied land use applications (zoning, special use permits, subdivision); prohibits local <br /> land use control of properties owned by the University of North Carolina in Orange County; and <br /> clarified the landowner rights and process to clarify regulatory authority on properties in multiple <br /> zoning jurisdictions. The amendments to reflect these statutory changes can be seen in <br /> Sections 1.1.6, 2.2.8, 5.8.3, and 6.14.5 of the UDO. There is also language in Section 2.8.8 <br /> regarding the Planning Board recommendation that is incompatible with the language of NC <br /> General Statutes 160D-604 & 605 and is proposed for amendment accordingly. <br /> The Planning Director is also proposing amendments that address language that presents staff <br /> difficulty in clearly and confidently administering the UDO. These include a unique and arbitrary <br /> swimming pool fence setback found in the "Accessory Use" definition; several erroneous internal <br /> cross-references for wireless telecommunication tower standards in Section 5.10; an allowance <br /> for existing schools to expand by up to 50% on their presently-used properties as a legal non- <br /> conforming use; correcting small but significant errors to the NR-CD, HP-CD, and MPD-CD <br /> descriptions in Section 3.8; and clarification of public notification requirements in Section 2.3.5. <br /> The Planning Director is also recommending the amendment of the UDO to eliminate of the <br /> Land Disturbance Permit "waiver", as proposed by the Erosion Control & Stormwater Division <br />