Agenda - 11-24-2008 - c4 - Laserfiche WebLink

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MICHAEL B. BROUGH & ASSOCIATES ATTORNEYS AT LAW 1829 E. FRANKLIN STREET, 800-A MICHAEL B. BROUGH CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA 27514 JAN S. SIMMONS WILLIAM C. MORGAN, JR. ALISON A. ERCA December 18, 1995 Orange County Planning Board 306 F Revere Road Hillsborough, NC 27278 Re: Rezoning Application of Vernon P. and Barbara S. Davis Z -7 -95 Dear Members of the Planning Board: (919) 929 -3905 Fax (919) 942 -5742 Mr. Vernon Davis has asked me to assist him in addressing two of the concerns expressed by the planning staff in their report on this rezoning request. `The first concern is that not all of the uses in the AS District are entirely compatible with the horticultural, silvacultural and agricultural uses of the AR District. The first response to this concern is that, while there may be some lack of correlation between the list of permissible uses applicable to the AS District and the stated purpose of the AS District, this is a matter that should be dealt with generally and not in the context of this rezoning application. In other words, the property in question meets all of the standards of the AS District and a rezoning would therefore be consistent with the comprehensive plan and should be approved. Moreover, it would be particularly inappropriate to deny this application on the basis of a perceived lack of correlation between the uses permitted in the text of the ordinance and the statement of purpose of the AS District contained in that ordinance because, unlike most areas designated as Agricultural Residential, the Davis's property is located within a Rural Community Activity Node designated on the Comprehensive Plan at the intersection of NC 54 and White Cross Road. Mr. Davis has apparently been precluded from applying for other commercial designations for this tract because the area within this commercial node already contains five acres of property zoned NC -2 and five acres of property zoned LC -1, which is the maximum available under the zoning ordinance. Thus, even if there is a legitimate concern that all of the uses permissible within the AS District are not entirely compatible with an area that is truly agricultural, this concern does not apply to the subject of this rezoning request because the Comprehensive Plan already recognizes that this lot is appropriate for non - agricultural and non - residential uses. In short, it is quite apparent that this 4.67 acre tract, at the southwest intersection of Highway ,54.and White Cross Road, is no more appropriate or likely to be used for agricultural or residential purposes than the properties directly across NC 54 or White Cross s Road, all of which have already received a commercial zoning designation. It should therefore be rezoned to allow the limited range of uses permissible within the AS District. 69