PB Agenda Packet 5-6-26 - Laserfiche WebLink

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The changes resulting from these amendments can be summarized as: 1) Assignment of by-right subdivisions (i.e. subdivision applications creating fewer than 21 lots) to administrative staff reviews and eliminating Planning Board and BOCC reviews of these non-legislative applications that do not permit discretionary reviews or conditional approvals under NC State laws; 2) Clarifying the administrative reviews of phased subdivision applications; 3) Aligning the definitions and regulatory standards for Exempt, Minor Expedited, Minor Regulated, and Major Subdivisions with NC General Statutes, and making them internally consistent; 4) Eliminating the Concept Plan as an application requirement but retaining it for yield analysis purposes to demonstrate the amount of open space protected and the resulting number of lots for Flexible Development subdivision applications, as the Concept Plan is only required for Flexible Developments and may discourage applicants from pursuing this more environmentally-protective approach; 5) Expanding Expedited Subdivision standards to eliminate a regulatory penalty for property owners of 2.01 — 4.99-acre parcels that is not applicable to larger properties; and 6) Eliminating Economic Development, Commercial, and/or Commercial/Industrial Node subdivision standards, which have never been used and the applicability of the Major Subdivision standards for such purposes; 7) Revising language of administrative requirements such as Performance Guarantees; and 8) Consolidating and clarifying subdivision plat notes and criteria for both internal references and consistency. The UDO amendments were reviewed by Planning staff over three iterations, and reflects input from the Development Advisory Committee, as required by the UDO. In compliance with the Orange County-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Joint Planning Land Use Plan and Agreement, the proposed amendments were sent to both towns for comment on December 19, 2025. No relevant comments were received from either Town that altered the staff-drafted language. Proposed text amendment language can be found in Attachment 1 within a "track changes" format. FINANCIAL IMPACT: None known. The proposed amendments will reduce staff administrative tasks currently associated with subdivision applications and is intended to encourage more open space protection through changes to administrative processes. This may result in more open space dedications that will need to be verified by staff on a regular schedule but open space maintenance and protection, in accordance with application approval, will ultimately be private financial responsibility. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Planning Director recommends the Board: 1. Review and discuss the proposed UDO text amendments; 2. Consider the Planning Director's recommendation; and 3. Make a recommendation to the BOCC on the Statement of Approval and Consistency (Attachment 2) and the draft Ordinance to amend the UDO (Attachment 1) in time for the July 9, 2026, BOCC meeting.