Orange County NC Website
16 <br /> A motion was made by Commissioner Greene, seconded by Vice-Chair Hamilton, to deny <br /> the Zoning Atlas Amendments, as the application is not reasonable because it is not in the public <br /> interest, for reasons articulated by Commissioners, and as detailed in the Statement of <br /> Inconsistency (Attachment 8)." <br /> Vice-Chair Hamilton suggested an amendment to the motion, asking for the Statement of <br /> Inconsistency to include Land Use Goal One. <br /> Commissioner Greene accepted the amendment. <br /> VOTE: Ayes, 6 (Commissioner Carter, Commissioner Portie-Ascott, Commissioner <br /> Greene, Chair Bedford, Vice-Chair Hamilton, Commissioner McKee); Nays, 1 <br /> (Commissioner Fowler) <br /> MOTION PASSES <br /> b. Unified Development Ordinance Text Amendments — Impervious Surfaces, Watershed <br /> Protection Overlay Districts, and Stream Buffers <br /> The Board conducted a public hearing and considered action on Planning Director-initiated text <br /> amendments to the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) pertaining to Impervious Surfaces, <br /> Watershed Protection Overlay Districts, and Stream Buffers. <br /> BACKGROUND: The Orange County Planning & Inspections Department has initiated text <br /> amendments to UDO Sections 2.20, 4.2, 6.13, and Article 10. The proposed amendments are <br /> multi-faceted in purpose and are intended to be comprehensive in addressing overly complex <br /> text/tables, and to improve interpretation and application of the LIDO for both staff and applicants. <br /> Specifically, the amendments address: <br /> 1) Refinements and reading clarity improvements related to impervious surface area limits <br /> and existing development definition timelines for the County's thirteen (13) Watershed <br /> Protection Overlay Districts, including deletion of the obsolete "Sliding Scale Table" <br /> (Tables 4.2.5.2 &4.2.5.3); and <br /> 2) Refinement of minimum reservoir buffer widths for the Upper Eno Critical Watershed <br /> Protection Overlay District to better accommodate known non-conforming lots located <br /> around the shoreline of Lake Orange and reduce setback variance requests related to this <br /> specific location. <br /> 3) Refinement of the "Water Feature" definition within Article 10 to clarify and conform with <br /> County/State/Federal regulatory authority. <br /> The proposed amendments can be found in Attachment 2 within a "track changes" format. <br /> Joint Planning Area (JPA) Review: In accordance with the Orange County-Chapel Hill-Carrboro <br /> Joint Planning Land Use Plan and Agreement, the proposed LIDO text amendments package was <br /> sent to Town staffs on July 30, 2025. Town of Carrboro staff sent the comments contained in <br /> Attachment 3 on August 18, 2025, and found no inconsistency with the Joint Planning Area Land <br /> Use Plan. To date, no comments have been received from the Town of Chapel Hill. <br /> Planning Board Recommendation: The Planning Board reviewed this item at its October 1, 2025, <br /> regular meeting. The Planning Board voted unanimously to recommend approval of the proposed <br />