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1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> NORTH CAROLINA <br /> PLANNING and INSPECI`IONS <br /> Cy Stober,AICP,Director I cstober@orangecountync.gov 1 131 W.Margaret Lane,Hillsborough,NC 27278 1919.245 2575 <br /> MEMORANDUM <br /> DATE: January 20, 2026 <br /> TO: Orange County Board of County Commissioners <br /> Travis Myren, Orange County Manager <br /> CC: Perdita Holtz, Deputy Director, Long-Range Planning & Administration <br /> Patrick Mallett, Deputy Director, Development Services <br /> FROM: Cy Stober, Director, Planning and Inspections <br /> RE: Pending Amendments to the Unified Development Ordinance <br /> The purpose of this Information Item is to provide an update and proposed schedule for <br /> pending amendments to the Unified Development Ordinance. <br /> Subdivision Amendment <br /> At the March 7, 2024, business meeting, Commissioner Greene petitioned the Board for <br /> staff to initiate amendments to the UDO to better support the realization of"conservation <br /> subdivisions" in Orange County. <br /> Concurrently, commissioner direction and public feedback on the 2050 Land Use Plan <br /> effort has required more information on multiple elements of the conservation subdivision <br /> (rather than the current "flexible subdivision" standards) approach to protecting open <br /> space and valuable farmland and sensitive environmental assets through the <br /> subdivision/development process. Accordingly, technical presentations have been made <br /> to the BOCC on community septic and well systems as well as the theory and practices <br /> of conservation subdivisions from the author of Rural By Design, Randall Arendt. <br /> Research of the UDO has identified Articles 2, 7, and 10, minimally, as requiring <br /> amendment to better realize conservation subdivision. <br /> In 2025, Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked that staff proceed with efforts to amend UDO <br /> standards to better enable the administrative approval of major subdivisions and to <br /> streamline the administrative process for conservation subdivisions. This requires <br /> comprehensive amendment of Articles 2, 3, 7, and 10 of the LIDO, and the current <br /> amendment package is 96 pages long. <br /> Omnibus Amendment <br /> In the 2025 legislative session, the NC General Assembly voted into law over Governor <br /> Stein's veto NC Session Law 2025-94 (aka "Regulatory Reform Act of 2025"). Staff has <br /> responded to this statutory change by initiating appropriate amendments to the UDO, and <br /> taking the opportunity 1) correct some internal reference errors; 2) provide an allowance <br /> for existing schools to expand as a legal non-conforming use; 3) eliminate a unique fence <br />