HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 05-24-2010 APPROVED 8/17/2010
MINUTES
ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
ORANGE COUNTY PLANNING BOARD
QUARTERLY PUBLIC HEARING
May 24, 2010
7:00 p.m.
The Orange County Board of Commissioners and the Orange County Planning Board
met for a Quarterly Public Hearing meeting on Monday, May 24, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. at the DSS
Building, Hillsborough Commons, in Hillsborough, NC.
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Valerie P. Foushee, and Commissioners
Alice M. Gordon, Barry Jacobs, Mike Nelson, Bernadette Pelissier, and Steve Yuhasz
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Pam Hemminger
COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: John Roberts
COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Frank Clifton and Deputy Clerk to the
Board David Hunt (All other staff inembers will be identified appropriately below)
PLANNING BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Brian L. Crawford and members
Pete Hallenbeck, Tommy McNeill, Earl McKee, Jeffrey L. Schmitt, Mark Marcoplos, Judith
Wegner, and Rachel Phelps Hawkins
PLANNING BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: May Becker, Mary Bobbitt-Cooke, Larry
Wright, and Samantha Cabe
A. OPENING REMARKS FROM THE CHAIR
Chair Foushee called the meeting to order at 7:07 PM and asked everyone to observe
the public charge.
There was an order change of the agenda to cover item E-1 Non Public Hearing Items
before item C-1 Public Hearing Items while waiting for a Planning Board quorum.
B. PUBLIC CHARGE
The Chair dispensed with the reading of the public charge.
C. PUBLIC HEARING ITEMS
1. REZONING - 3300 NC 54 West - To receive public comments on a proposed rezoning of a
parcel of property at 3300 NC 54 West (TMBL 6.30B.8 / PIN 9749-50-0366) from Rural
Residential One (R-1) to Neighborhood Commercial Two (NC-2).
Planning Board Chair Brian Crawford introduced this item.
Commissioner Yuhasz noted that he is involved in a professional relationship with the
applicant in this manner and he had no part in preparing this application.
Michael Harvey made a PowerPoint presentation.
AGENDA ITEM: C-1
PUBLIC HEARING
Review of a petition to REZONE a portion property at 3300 NC 54 West from
Rural Residential One (R-1) to
Neighborhood Commercial Two (NC-2)
Property Vicinity Map:
APPLICATION SPECIFICS:
•Applicant: Vernon Davis
•Address: 3300 NC 54 West
•TMBL/ PIN: 6.30B.8/ 9749-50-0366
•Size of Total Parcel: 2.04 acres
•Zoning: Rural Residential One (R-1) (1.36 acres) and Neighborhood Commercial Two (NC-2)
(.68 acres)
•Proposed Zoning Parcel: Neighborhood Commercial Two (NC-2) — 1.36 acres
•Township: Bingham
•Land Use Element Map (LUEM) Designation: White Cross Rural Community Activity Node
Surrounding Land Uses:
•NORTH:
•Across NC 54: several commercial operations
•SOUTH/EAST/WEST:
•Predominately single-family residential land uses
Node Boundaries:
Request:
•The septic system, and required repair area, supporting an existing non-residential general
retail operation on the subject property are located on the residentially zoned portion of
property,
•Mr. Davis is concerned about his continued ability to have the septic system supporting his
commercial operation on the residentially zoned portion of property,
Request (continued):
•Mr. Davis is seeking to rezone approximately 1.36 acres of the subject parcel to NC-2,
•If the request is approved, the entire property will be zoned NC-2,
•If the request is approved, the existing septic system and repair area will be properly zoned to
support the existing non-residential operation.
Zoning Officer Analysis:
•Section 4.2.9 of the Orange County Zoning Ordinance limits the amount of land zoned NC-2
permissible within a Rural Community Activity Node to ten (10) acres,
•There is currently 5.5 acres of NC-2 zoned property within the Node,
•If approved this request will add 1.36 acres of additional NC-2 zoned property within the Node,
expanding the total to 6.86 acres,
•The Zoning Officer has determined there is sufficient available area to allow for the approval of
the rezoning while complying with acreage limitations established within Section 4.2.9
Zoning Officer Analysis (continued):
•The Zoning Officer agrees that the request is reasonable given the issues relating to the
location of the septic system and further finds that the request is consistent with the
requirements of the Ordinance.
•Staff recommends approval of the request.
Staff Recommendations:
•Receive the rezoning petition,
•Conduct the Public Hearing and accept comments from all interested parties,
•Refer the matter to the Planning Board for a recommendation to be returned to the County
Board of Commissioners no later than August 17, 2010
•Adjourn the Public Hearing until August 17, 2010 in order to receive the Planning Board's
recommendation.
Planning Board member Tommy McNeil arrived at 7:25 PM.
Public Comment
Perdita Holtz was speaking as a citizen. She said that she lives in the White Cross node
and she is concerned about what Mr. Davis will do with the property. She does support non-
residential development in this node, provided the uses serve predominantly the surrounding
area. She said that the zoning ordinance states that LC-1 and NC-2 zoning districts are for
limited commercial uses designed to serve the population at the neighborhood and rural level
with convenience goods and personal services. It also states that the NC-2 zoning district
would serve a market area population confined to the immediate area and would generally not
serve commuters or persons outside the existing neighborhood. She said that recently a U-
Haul operation was started on the Shell station property across NC 54. She said that U-Haul
vans and trailers are being stored on the south side of NC 54 on the property zoned R-1 and is
under consideration for the rezoning. She questions whether a U-Haul operation fits the state of
intent of the LC-1 and NC-2 zoning districts. She said that she removed herself from the
discussions in the Planning Department because she has a personal interest in this matter.
Regarding her view as a citizen and an owner of fairly adjacent property, she said that sales and
rentals of durable and convenience goods are permitted in those two zoning districts, however,
sales and rentals of new and used motor vehicles are allowed only in GC-4 and the industrial
districts. She said that if it is determined that a U-Haul rental operation is a permitted use in an
NC-2 zoning district, she would like some sort of vegetative screen to be required to mitigate the
impact of that outdoor storage component of the business.
Teresa Smith is the owner of the retail business on land owned by Mr. Davis and the
building that is designated as NC-2. She said that the U-Hauls were brought up as a concern
and she believes that Mr. Davis has addressed this by moving them off the property. Right now,
her understanding is that they really are just looking at the opportunity for the septic. She said
that they are trying to build a community activity center there and this requires adequate septic.
Commissioner Jacobs asked whether the Board was considering uses when it considers
rezoning and Michael Harvey said no. Any use within the NC-2 zoning designation can be
developed on any parts of the property being rezoned.
Commissioner Yuhasz asked how much of this property would be required for a septic
system and if this land (for septic system) is dedicated to the non-residential use, would there
be any land left over or any possibility of using this for residential purposes.
Michael Harvey said that there are existing septic lines and a repair area. He said that
staff will be working with Mr. Davis on many different issues and septic will be one of them.
Mark Marcoplos said that it would make sense for the Planning Board to just say at this
meeting that everything is ok with this rezoning instead of bringing it back at another meeting.
He said that this would save time.
Commissioner Gordon explained the reasoning behind the process. The reason for
scheduling the public hearing at one meeting and the decision by the Commissioners at a
subsequent meeting is so that there will be adequate time for the public to receive notice of the
public hearing and provide input, and adequate time for the public to study the course of action
which is recommended after public comments are considered. This is done to help ensure the
process will remain transparent.
A motion was made by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to
receive the zoning petition, refer the matter to the Planning Board with a request that a
recommendation be returned to the County Board of Commissioners in time for the August 17,
2010 BOCC regular meeting, and adjourn the public hearing until August 17, 2010 in order to
receive the Planning Board's recommendation and any submitted written comments.
VOTE: UNANIMOUS
D. ADJOURNMENT OF PUBLIC HEARING
A motion was made by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to
adjourn the public hearing portion of the agenda at 7:38 p.m.
VOTE: UNANIMOUS
E. NON-PUBLIC HEARING ITEMS
1. Update on Unified Development Ordinance (UDO): Staff will present for BOCC
consideration a revised timeline for completion of the UDO.
Planning Director Craig Benedict introduced the staff team for the UDO— Michael
Harvey, Tom Altieri, and Perdita Holtz. He said that this is a reorganization of the different
subdivision and zoning ordinances and it has been quite a task. He made a PowerPoint
presentation.
UNIFIED
DEVELOPMENT
ORDINANCE
(UDO)
UPDATE
UDO - UPDATE
�WORK TO DATE
■UDO Staff Team
■Internal peer review is on-going on existing sections of the Zoning Ordinance being revised
as part of the UDO
■New Codes (i.e. parking, signage, stream buffers, outdoor lighting, Conditional Use).
�CONSULTANT
■Consultant review- format and organization.
■Consultant recommendations
•Numbering
•Location of Articles
•How-to user manual
�ADVISORY BOARD INPUT
■Specific sections forwarded to various advisory boards for review and comment
•March of 2010
•Commission for the Environment, Economic Development Commission, Parks and
Recreation, and OUTBoard.
�PLANNING BOARD INPUT
■The Planning Board began reviewing draft sections of the UDO in February of 2010.
■Review occurring every month.
■Additional outreach meetings
•June 2010
•Local groups, most notably the North West Triangle Chapter of the North Carolina
Society of Surveyors and Orange County/Hillsborough Chamber of Commerce.
•Home Builders Association tentatively scheduled.
�TIME SCHEDULING
�Public Hearing moved from August 23 to November 22
�BOCC Work Session/UDO input added in August 23
�Planning Board pre-recommendation in August
�UDO adoption early 2011
Commissioner Gordon asked about the outreach from August 9 to13. She expressed
concern that with school being out that it might not be well attended. Craig Benedict said that
they would try and have some outreach in mid-June to see how many people are interested in
asking questions. He said that he would think about moving the August dates around.
Commissioner Pelissier made reference to some of the other advisory boards and asked
if some of these should be looking at certain sections of the UDO to give feedback, especially
regarding the `rural agricultural enterprises' or `ag support enterprises.'
Craig Benedict said that part of the conditional use work that will be wrapped into the
UDO will set up the process by which agricultural support enterprises could come forward. He
does not want to make it more difficult by focusing on the detail of each use.
A motion was made by Commissioner Yuhasz, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs to
accept the update from staff regarding the UDO and approve the proposed modifications to the
timeline for the project as recommended.
VOTE: UNANIMOUS (6-0)
Valerie Foushee, Chair
David Hunt
Deputy Clerk to the Board