Orange County NC Website
24 <br />Proposed Policy fior Implementing Amendments <br />("Grandfathering" Affected Subdivision Applications) <br />The policy far determining which in-process applications are affected by the proposed <br />amendments can be as strict as requiring compliance with the amendments for all subdivisions <br />that have not yet received preliminary plat approval from the Board ofi Commissioners (for <br />major subdivisions) or the applicant has not yet submitted a final plat for recordation that <br />incorporates all conditions placed on approval of a minor subdivision. Because of the different <br />procedures and time frames for approving minor and major subdivisions; staff recommends <br />different policy for dealing with each type of subdivision. <br />Major Subdivisions <br />Staff recommends that compliance with the amendments be mandatory for all major <br />subdivisions in which private roads are proposed that have not yet received preliminary <br />plat approval by the Board of Commissioners.. This recommendation is based on policy <br />that approval of a preliminary plat by the governing body establishes a vested right to develop <br />accordingly. The proposed amendments do not affect any in-process major subdivisions <br />(there are no in-process concept plans nor preliminary plats for a major subdivision in which <br />private roads are proposed). All applicants proposing a major subdivision with private roads <br />will be advised of the proposed amendments at the concept plan stage. <br />Minor Subdivisions <br />For in-process minor subdivision applications, staff recommends a policy based on "options" <br />1 b, 1 c, 1 d and 2a in the tables on the following pages. The tables exhibit strategies for <br />determining whether a current application for development in which a private road is proposed <br />must comply with the proposed amendments to the Orange County Subdivision Regulations. <br />Using this policy, <br />in-process applications would not be required to comply with the proposed <br />amendments provided those applications were approved prior to June 6, 2000; (first <br />possible date for adoption of the amendments by the BOCC) and the final plat complying <br />with all conditions of approval is submitted for recordation within one year of the conditional <br />approval letter issued by staff, with the exception that <br />a new application must be submitted for minor subdivision applications <br />conditionally approved prior tv September 5, 1999, for which a final plat complying <br />with conditions for approval has not yet been submitted. Any such new applications <br />must comply with the amendments. <br />This policy is based on the shorter time frame in which minor subdivisions can be approved <br />with consideration to the following observations. Although staff apprised applicants of the <br />proposed amendments, staff was. unclear about when the county could require compliance <br />with regulations that had not yet been adopted, and several minor subdivision applications <br />were conditionally approved with current ("old") regulatory provisions after the public hearing. <br />Therefore, staff recommends the first possible date the amendments could have been adopted <br />(June 6, 2QOQ) as a "fail' cut off date of conditional approval provided the final plats are <br />submitted in a timely manner. Regulatory. provisions for major subdivisions limit the effective <br />time period of an approved preliminary plat to one year. Similarly, staff recommends that the <br />