Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
12 <br /> 1 processes that could reduce the amount of time and workload on staff. He said increasing fees <br /> 2 for special use permits could be a discouraging policy signal to people who may be considering <br /> 3 zoning or a special use permit for their property. <br /> 4 Vice-Chair Fowler asked if the potential efficiencies would reduce the number of FTEs <br /> 5 needed in the department. <br /> 6 Cy Stober said it may result in the amount of work staff would do on subdivisions. He said <br /> 7 staff could manage it at current levels, but he did not think it would result in less staff. <br /> 8 Commissioner Carter asked how the Town of Chapel Hill is doing while they update their <br /> 9 land use plan and what county staff is learning. <br /> 10 Cy Stober said they don't have data since the plan was approved six weeks prior. <br /> 11 Commissioner Carter asked what was the last subdivision that came before the Board of <br /> 12 Commissioners. <br /> 13 Cy Stober said the Stonewall subdivision on Miller Road came through in September <br /> 14 2025. <br /> 15 Commissioner Carter asked if they came to the Board in a different form than by right. <br /> 16 Cy Stober said no. <br /> 17 Commissioner Greene said she remembered when those came through and she was <br /> 18 confused because they were by-right. She said it also confuses the community. She said she <br /> 19 supports that change. <br /> 20 Cy Stober said it recently was reviewed by the Ordinance Review Committee. <br /> 21 Chair Hamilton said she would like to see more data and hard numbers before the Board <br /> 22 decides. She would like to see the current fee structure. <br /> 23 Kirk Vaughn said they are hoping to learn more about what the Board is interested in, and <br /> 24 they will bring that information back to the Board. <br /> 25 Chair Hamilton said it's a lot of information to go over in short amount of time. <br /> 26 Commissioner Bedford read from page 48 of the agenda packet. She said the best <br /> 27 opportunity per the consultant was to combine and reduce the number of fee listings within the <br /> 28 building, miscellaneous and trades permits. She supported that change. <br /> 29 Cy Stober said it is underway. <br /> 30 Commissioner Bedford suggested setting a fee structure that acknowledges long-time <br /> 31 homeowners. She also suggested setting a tiered fee structure. <br /> 32 Cy Stober said the erosion control fee schedule is tiered. He said for building inspections <br /> 33 he'd like to have one or two pro rata approaches. He said the highest service level, which would <br /> 34 be in a larger building with typically a larger developer, would have a progressive fee to it. He said <br /> 35 it would not be just proportional, it would be a higher tier. <br /> 36 Commissioner Bedford said that's what she favored, but she didn't want to be the highest. <br /> 37 <br /> 38 <br />