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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 12-14-2010 - 7dORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: December 14, 2010 Action Age ~a Item No. Sug~ECT_ Permit Extension Act of 2009 DEPARTMENT: Planning and Inspections, PUBLIC HEARING: (YIN) No Health Department ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: 1. Example Permit Extension Chart 2. Session Law 2009-406 3. Session Law 2010-177 4. Board of Health Memorandum Michael D. Harvey, Planner III, 245-2597 Craig Benedict, Planning Director, 245-2575 Rosemary Summers, Health Director, 245-2412 PURPOSE: To receive the Planning Board and Board of Health recommendations on whether the County should formally opt out of provisions of the Permit Extension Act of 2009. BACKGROUND: In 2009 the North Carolina General Assembly adopted Session Law 200906 (Attachment 2), which is also referred to as the Permit Extension Act of 2009 (hereafter 'the Act'). The Act temporarily suspends local land use regulations that rescind previously issued development approval(s) due to inactivity, or failure by the applicant to obtain the necessary permits allowing for the commencement of land disturbing activities, within established local time limits. The Act covers `any development approval' valid from January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2010. For example, the County's Subdivision regulations allow an applicant seeking to develop a Minor Subdivision one (1) year from the approval of a Concept Plan to complete and submit the Final Plat application package. If the document(s) are not submitted within the established timeframe, the Concept Plan approval is rescinded. As a result of the Act, a Minor Subdivision Concept Plan approved in February of 2008 has until December 31, 2011 to submit a complete Final Plat application for review (please refer to Attachment 1 for further detail). The County's timeline relating to the lifespan of an approval is not assessed until the Act expires. Session Law 2010-177 (Attachment 3) modifies the Act in the following manner: • The `temporary suspension' of local regulations governing development approval expiration was extended through December 31, 2011. The practical result of this amendment is that the same minor subdivision project referenced herein now has until December 31, 2012 to submit the Final Plat application once the County's one-year deadline is applied as per the Ordinance. • New language was added allowing for local governments to `opt out' of the provisions of the Act and continue enforcing local established deadlines governing the lifespan of development approvals. New language was added requiring a developer to maintain atl performance guarantee(s) and adhere to any established condition(s) associated with a project extended under the Act. If a developer fails to do so, the Act now allows a unit of local government to rescind the development approval, in accordance with local standards/requirements, as the developer has not maintained the viability of said approval in accordance with local standards. At the November 16, 2010 BOCC meeting, Planning and Health Department Staffs were directed to solicit input from the Planning Board and the, Board of Health to determine if Orange County ought to adopt a resolution formally `opting out' of the Act. Planning Board and Board of Health Recommendations: The Planning Board met on December 1, 2010 and voted unanimously to recommend that the County should not 'opt out' of the provisions of the Act due to the following: 1. There have been no new regulations adopted, or that will be adopted with the UDO, necessitating further review, 2. Conditions on which such projects were approved have not been dramatically altered necessitating additional review by staff, the BOCC, or local advisory boards, 3. There shall be no additional staff time allotted for the project(s) necessitating compensation for completed work project, except to send letters to the various applicants notifying them of the extension, and 4. The Act has been amended to require existing performance guarantees (i.e. letters of credit, bonds, etc) to be maintained by the applicant in accordance with existing regulations. This new language provides the County the necessary leeway to continue to require all guarantees to be maintained. 5. Few projects have been identified that would be subject to these provisions. 6. Most projects are by local rural property owners and these economic times have caused a burden already by having to delay their project due to financial conditions. The Board of Health met on November 17, 2010 and elected to make no recommendation regarding opting out of the provisions of the Act. FINANCIAL IMPACT: Since planning staff is not recommending to 'opt out' of the Act, no additional staff time will be involved in reviewing previously approved projects which would create additional workload for staff. Less than $5,000 could be gained from the o pt out provision by the Planning Department. Approximately $28,000 could be gained for the Health Department should the County Commissioners elect to opt out of the Act. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends the Board: 1. Receive the Planning Board and Board of Health recommendation and information; and 2. Take no action and allow local permits to fall under the provisions of the Act. ATTACHMENT ON~ EXEMPT PERMIT EXTENSION CHART Permit A royal 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Minor Subdivision Approved in Approved Language of Act extends -Concept Plan December 2006, January 1, expires 2008 Concept Plan December 2007 approval until December Permit extension 2011. act does not Approved extend life of July 2010 Local approval regulations then would allow 1 year of additional time. Site Plan -Non- Approved in Approved Language of Act extends Residential December 2006. January 1, Development 2008 Concept Plan (Church) approval until December 2011.' Local regulations then would allow 1 year of additional time. Class A or B Approved in Approved Language of ecial Use Permit S December 2006 June 2009 Act extends p , expires Concept Plan December 2007 approval until (12 months per December Ordinance) 2012. z s d A Local ion Permit exten pprove act does not July 2010 regulations then extend life of would allow 1 approval year of additional time. Current Zoning Regulations do not contain a sunset provision for site plan approvals. Technically there is no current expiration date on a site plan approval z Approval of Special Use Permits normally contains requirements that certain deadlines for the submittal of applications (i.e. building permit, health permit, etc) be achieved. The strict interpretation of the Act leads staff to believe that these requirements are not enforceable 4 ATTACHMENT TWO GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA SESSION 2009 SESSION LAW 2009-406 SENATE BILL 831 AN ACT TO EXTEND CERTAIN GOVERNMENT APPROVALS AFFECTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF REAL PROPERTY WITHIN THE STATE. The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Permit Extension Act of 2009." SECTION 2. The General Assembly makes the following findings: (1) There exists a state of economic emergency in the State of North Carolina and the nation, which has drastically affected various segments of the North Carolina economy, but none as severely as the State's banking, real estate, and construction sectors. (2) The real estate finance sector of the economy is in severe decline due to the creation, bundling, and widespread selling of leveraged securities, such as credit default swaps, and due to excessive defaults on sub-prime mortgages and the resultant foreclosures on a vast scale, thereby widening the mortgage finance crisis. The extreme tightening of lending standards for home buyers and other real estate borrowers has reduced access to the capital markets. (3) As a result of the crisis in the real estate finance sector of the economy, real estate developers and redevelopers, including home builders, and commercial, office, and industrial developers, have experienced an industry-wide decline, including reduced demand, cancelled orders, declining sales and rentals, price reductions, increased inventory, fewer buyers who qualify to purchase homes, layoffs, and scaled back growth plans. (4) The process of obtaining planning board and zoning board of adjustment approvals for subdivisions, site plans, and variances can be difficult, time consuming, and expensive, both for private applicants and government bodies. (5) The process of obtaining the myriad of other government approvals, such as wetlands permits, treatment works approvals, on-site wastewater disposal permits, stream encroachment permits, flood hazard area permits, highway access permits, and numerous waivers and variances, can be difficult and expensive; further, changes in the law can render these approvals, if expired or lapsed, difficult to renew or reobtain. (6) County and municipal governments, including local sewer and water authorities, obtain permits and approvals from State government agencies, particularly the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, which permits and approvals may expire or lapse due to the state of the economy and the inability of both the public sector and the private sector to proceed with projects authorized by the permit or approval. (7) County and municipal governments also obtain determinations of master plan consistency, conformance, or endorsement with State or regional plans, from State and regional government entities that may expire or lapse without implementation due to the state of the economy. (8) The current national recession has severely weakened the building industry, and many landowners and developers are seeing their life's work destroyed by the lack of credit and dearth of buyers and tenants due to the crisis in real estate financing and the building industry, uncertainty over the state of the + 5 8 3 1- V- b 5 economy, and increasing levels of unemployment in the construction industry. (9) The construction industry and related trades are sustaining severe economic losses, and the lapsing of government development approvals would exacerbate, if not addressed, those losses. (10) Financial institutions that lent money to property owners, builders, and developers are experiencing erosion of collateral and depreciation of their assets as permits and approvals expire, and the extension of these permits and approvals is necessary to maintain the value of the collateral and the solvency of financial institutions throughout the State. (11) Due to the current inability of builders and their purchasers to obtain financing under existing economic conditions, more and more once-approved permits are expiring or lapsing, and, as these approvals lapse, lenders must reappraise and thereafter substantially lower real estate valuations established in conjunction with approved projects, thereby requiring the reclassification of numerous loans, which, in turn, affects the stability of the banking system and reduces the funds available for future lending, thus creating more severe restrictions on credit and leading to a vicious cycle of default. (12) As a result of the continued downturn of the economy and the continued expiration of approvals that were granted by State and local governments, it is possible that thousands of government actions will be undone by the passage of time. (13) Obtaining an extension of an approval pursuant to existing statutory or regulatory provisions can be both costly in terms of time and financial resources and insufficient to cope with the extent of the present financial conditions; moreover, the costs imposed fall on the public as well as the private sector. (14) It is the purpose of this act to prevent the wholesale abandonment of already approved projects and activities due to the present unfavorable economic conditions by tolling the term of these approvals for a finite period of time as the economy improves, thereby preventing a waste of public and private resources. SECTION 3. Definitions. - As used in this act, the following definitions apply: (1) Development approval. -Any of the following approvals issued by the State, any agency or subdivision of the State, or any unit of local government, regardless of the form of the approval, that are for the development of land or for the provision of water or wastewater services by a government entity: a. Any detailed statement by a State agency under G.S. 113A-4. b. Any detailed statement submitted by a special purpose unit of government or a private developer of a major development project under G.S. 113A-8. c. Any finding of no significant impact prepared by a State agency under Article 1 of Chapter 113A of the General Statutes. d. Any approval of an erosion and sedimentation control plan granted by a local government or by the North Carolina Sedimentation Control Commission under Article 4 of Chapter 113A of the General Statutes. e. Any permit for major development or minor development, as defined in G.S. 113A-118, or any other permit issued under the Coastal Area Management Act (CAMA), Part 4 of Article 7 of Chapter 113A of the General Statutes. f. Any water or wastewater permit issued under Article 10 or Article 11 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes. g. Any building permit issued under Article 9 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes. h. Any nondischarge or extension permit issued under Part 1 of Article 21 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes. Page 2 Session Law 2009-406 SL2009-0406 6 i. Any stream origination certifications issued under Article 21 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes. j. Any water quality certification under Article 21 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes. k. Any air quality permit issued by the Environmental Management Commission under Article 21B of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes. 1. Any approval by a county of sketch plans, preliminary plats, plats regarding a subdivision of land, a site specific development plan or a phased development plan, a development permit, or a building permit under Article 18 of Chapter 153A of the General Statutes. m. Any approval by a city of sketch plans, preliminary plats, plats regarding a subdivision of land, a site specific development plan or a phased development plan, a development agreement, or a building permit under Article 19 of Chapter 160A of the General Statutes. n. Any certificate of appropriateness issued by a preservation commission of a city under Part 3C of Article 19 of Chapter 160A of the General Statutes. (2) Development. -The division of a parcel of land into two or more parcels, the construction, reconstruction, conversion, structural alteration, relocation, or enlargement of any building or other structure or facility, or any grading, soil removal or relocation, excavation or landfill, or any use or change in the use of any building or other structure or land or extension of the use of land. SECTION 4. For any development approval that is current and valid at any point during the period beginning January 1, 2008, and ending December 31, 2010, the running of the period of the development approval and any associated vested right under G.S. 153A-344.1 or G.S. 160A-385.1 is suspended during the period beginning January 1, 2008, and ending December 31, 2010. SECTION 5. This act shall not be construed or implemented to: (1) Extend any permit or approval issued by the United States or any of its agencies or instrumentalities. (2) Extend any permit or approval for which the term or duration of the permit or approval is specified or determined pursuant to federal law. (3) Shorten the duration that any development approval would have had in the absence of this act. (4) Prohibit the granting of such additional extensions as are provided by law. (5) Affect any administrative consent order issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in effect or issued at any time from the effective date of this act to December 31, 2010. (6) Affect the ability of a government entity to revoke or modify a development approval pursuant to law. (7) Modify any requirement of law that is necessary to retain federal delegation by the State of the authority to implement a federal law or program. SECTION 6. Within 30 days after the effective date of this act, each agency or subdivision of the State to which this act applies shall place a notice in the North Carolina Register listing the types of development approvals that the agency or subdivision issues and noting the extension provided in this act. This section does not apply to units of local government. SECTION 7. The provisions of this act shall be liberally construed to effectuate the purposes of this act. SL2009-0406 Session Law 2009-406 Page 3 7 SECTION 8. This act is effective when it becomes law. In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 30`" day of July, 2009. s/ Walter H. Dalton President of the Senate s/ Joe Hackney Speaker of the House of Representatives s/ Beverly E. Perdue Governor Approved 2:05 p.m. this 5~' day of August, 2009 Page 4 Session Law 2009-406 SL2009-0406 8 ATTACHMENT THREE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA SESSION 2009 SESSION LAW 2010-177 HOUSE BILL 683 AN ACT TO AMEND THE PERMIT EXTENSION ACT OF 2009. The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: SECTION 1. S.L. 2009-406, as amended by Section 5.1 of S.L. 2009-484, Section 5.2 of S.L. 2009-550, and Sections 2 and 3 of S.L. 2009-572, reads as rewritten: "SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Permit Extension Act of 2009." "SECTION 2. The General Assembly makes the following findings: (I) There exists a state of economic emergency in the State of North Carolina and the nation, which has drastically affected various segments of the North Carolina economy, but none as severely as the State's banking, real estate, and construction sectors. (2) The real estate finance sector of the economy is in severe decline due to the creation, bundling, and widespread selling of leveraged securities, such as credit default swaps, and due to excessive defaults on sub-prime mortgages and the resultant foreclosures on a vast scale, thereby widening the mortgage finance crisis. The extreme tightening of lending standards for home buyers and other real estate borrowers has reduced access to the capital markets. (3) As a result of the crisis in the real estate finance sector of the economy, real estate developers and redevelopers, including home builders, and commercial, office, and industrial developers, have experienced an industry-wide decline, including reduced demand, cancelled orders, declining sales and rentals, price reductions, increased inventory, fewer buyers who qualify to purchase homes, layoffs, and scaled back growth plans. (4) The process of obtaining planning board and zoning board of adjustment approvals for subdivisions, site plans, and variances can be difficult, time consuming, and expensive, both for private applicants and government bodies. (5) The process of obtaining the myriad of other government approvals, such as wetlands permits, treatment works approvals, on-site wastewater disposal permits, stream encroachment permits, flood hazard area permits, highway access permits, and numerous waivers and variances, can be difficult and expensive; further, changes in the law can render these approvals, if expired or lapsed, difficult to renew or reobtain. (6) County and municipal governments, including local sewer and water authorities, obtain permits and approvals from State government agencies, particularly the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, which permits and approvals may expire or lapse due to the state of the economy and the inability of both the public sector and the private sector to proceed with projects authorized by the permit or approval. (7) County and municipal governments also obtain determinations of master plan consistency, conformance, or endorsement with State or regional plans, from State and regional government entities that may expire or lapse without implementation due to the state of the economy. (8) The current national recession has severely weakened the building industry, and many landowners and developers are seeing their life's work destroyed by the lack of credit and dearth of buyers and tenants due to the crisis in real munm 9 estate financing and the building industry, uncertainty over the state of the economy, and increasing levels of unemployment in the construction industry. (9) The construction industry and related trades are sustaining severe economic losses, and the lapsing of government development approvals would exacerbate, if not addressed, those losses. (10) Financial institutions that lent money to property owners, builders, and developers are experiencing erosion of collateral and depreciation of their assets as permits and approvals expire, and the extension of these permits and approvals is necessary to maintain the value of the collateral and the solvency of financial institutions throughout the State. (11) Due to the current inability of builders and their purchasers to obtain financing under existing economic conditions, more and more once-approved permits are expiring or lapsing, and, as these approvals lapse, lenders must reappraise and thereafter substantially lower real estate valuations established in conjunction with approved projects, thereby requiring the reclassification of numerous loans, which, in turn, affects the stability of the banking system and reduces the funds available for future lending, thus creating more severe restrictions on credit and leading to a vicious cycle of default. (12) As a result of the continued downturn of the economy and the continued expiration of approvals that were granted by State and local governments, it is possible that thousands of government actions will be undone by the passage of time. (13) Obtaining an extension of an approval pursuant to existing statutory or regulatory provisions can be both costly in terms of time and financial resources and insufficient to cope with the extent of the present financial conditions; moreover, the costs imposed fall on the public as well as the private sector. (14) It is the purpose of this act to prevent the wholesale abandonment of already approved projects and activities due to the present unfavorable economic conditions by tolling the term of these approvals for a finite period of time as the economy improves, thereby preventing a waste of public and private resources. "SECTION 3. Definitions. - As used in this act, the following definitions apply: (1) Development approval. -Any of the following approvals issued by the State, any agency or subdivision of the State, or any unit of local government, regardless of the form of the approval, that are for the development of land or for the provision of water or wastewater services by a government entity: a. Any detailed statement by a State agency under G.S. 113A-4. b. Any detailed statement submitted by a special purpose unit of government or a private developer of a major development project under G.S. 113A-8. c. Any finding of no significant impact prepared by a State agency under Article 1 of Chapter 113A of the General Statutes. d. Any approval of an erosion and sedimentation control plan granted by a local government or by the North Carolina Sedimentation Control Commission under Article 4 of Chapter 113A of the General Statutes. . e. Any permit for major development or minor development, as defined in G.S. 113A-118, or any other permit issued under the Coastal Area Management Act (CAMA), Part 4 of Article 7 of Chapter 113A of the General Statutes. f. Any water or wastewater permit issued under Article 10 or Article 11 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes. g. Any building permit issued under Article 9 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes. Page 2 Session Law 2010-177 SL2010-0177 10 h. Any nondischarge or extension permit issued under Part 1 of Article 21 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes. i. Any stream origination certifications issued under Article 21 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes. j. Any water quality certification under Article 21 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes. k. Any air quality permit issued by the Environmental Management Commission under Article 21B of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes. 1. Any approval by a county of sketch plans, preliminary plats, plats regarding a subdivision of land, a site specific development plan or a phased development plan, a development permit, a development agreement, or a building permit under Article 18 of Chapter 153A of the General Statutes. m. Any approval by a city of sketch plans, preliminary plats, plats regarding a subdivision of land, a site specific development plan or a phased development plan, a development permit, a development agreement, or a building permit under Article 19 of Chapter 160A of the General Statutes. n. Any certificate of appropriateness issued by a preservation commission of a city under Part 3C of Article 19 of Chapter 160A of the General Statutes. (2) Development. -The division of a parcel of land into two or more parcels, the construction, reconstruction, conversion, structural alteration, relocation, or enlargement of any building or other structure or facility, or any grading, soil removal or relocation, excavation or landfill, or any use or change in the use of any building or other structure or land or extension of the use of land. "SECTION 4. For any development approval that is current and valid at any point during the period beginning January 1, 2008, and ending December 31, 2010, the running of the period of the development approval and any associated vested right under G.S. 153A-344.1 or G.S. 160A-385.1 is suspended during the period beginning January 1, 2008, and ending December 31, ~~2011. "SECTION 4.1. A unit of local government ma~y resolution provide that S.L. 2009-406, as amended by Section 5.1 of S.L. 2009-484. Section 5.2 of S.L. 2009-550. Sections 2 and 3 of A development appr~ lion shall expire as it "SECTION 5. This act shall not be construed or implemented to: (1) Extend any permit or approval issued by the United States or any of its agencies or instrumentalities. (2) Extend any permit or approval for which the term or duration of the permit or approval is specified or determined pursuant to federal law. (3) Shorten the duration that any development approval would have had in the absence of this act. (4) Prohibit the granting of such additional extensions as are provided by law. (5) Affect any administrative consent order issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in effect or issued at any time from the effective date of this act to December 31, X9:2011. (6) Affect the ability of a government entity to revoke or modify a development approval or to accept voluntary relinquishment of a development approval by the holder of the development approval pursuant to law. (7) Modify any requirement of law that is necessary to retain federal delegation by the State of the authority to implement a federal law or program. Modify anv person's obligations or impair the rights of anv party under contract, including bond or other similar undertaking. Authorize the charging of a water or wastewater tap fee that has been previously paid in full for a proiect subiect to a development approval. SL2010-0177 Session Law 2010-177 Page 3 11 "SECTION 5.1.(a) This act does not revive a vested right to the water or sewer allocation associated with a development approval that expired between January 1, 2008, and August 5, 2009, and is revived by the operation of this act if both of the following conditions are met: (1) The water or sewer capacity was reallocated to other development projects prior to August 5, 2009, based upon the expiration of the development approval. (2) There is not sufficient supply or treatment capacity to accommodate the project that is the subject of the revived development approval. "SECTION 5.1.(b) A person whose development approval is revived under this act but whose water or sewer allocation is not revived under this section must be given first priority if additional supply or treatment capacity becomes available. "SECTION 5.2.(a) This section applies only to Union County. "SECTION 5.2.(b) When a development approval that is contingent upon connection to a water supply system or a sanitary sewer system is suspended under Section 4 of this act and there is not sufficient supply or treatment capacity to accommodate requests for additional allocation, the local government that granted the allocation may reallocate r~~reauested capacity from projects whose approvals are suspended but are not ready to proceed, if the local government meets all of the following requirements: (1) Establishes an allocation plan for existing capacity that determines actual capacity and provides for a fair and equitable process to distribute the remaining capacity. (2) Establishes a reallocation plan to meet requests for capacity above permitted capacity that is fair and equitable and requires the following: a. That an applicant for a new or additional allocation demonstrate the ability to begin construction. b. That the holder of a development permit suspended under Section 4 of this act demonstrate the ability or intent to begin construction in no less than 120 days in order to retain the reserved capacity. (3) Does not reallocate capacity to exceed the amount of the reserved capacity. "SECTION 5.2.(c) This act does not reduce the original period of a development permit. "SECTION 6. Within 30 days after the effective date of this act, each agency or subdivision of the State to which this act applies shall place a notice in the North Carolina Register listing the types of development approvals that the agency or subdivision issues and noting the extension provided in this act. This section does not apply to units of local government. "SECTION 7. The provisions of this act shall be liberally construed to effectuate the purposes of this act. Complete any infrastructure necessary in order to obtain a certificate of occupancy or other final permit approval from the issuing_~overnmental enti Page 4 Session Law 2010-177 SL2010-0177 12 s/ Walter H. Dalton President of the Senate s/ Joe Hackney Speaker of the House of Representatives s/ Beverly E. Perdue Governor Approved 4:17 p.m. this 2"d day of August, 2010 SL2010-0177 Session Law 2010-177 'Page 5 ~L.., y SECTION 2. This act is effective when it becomes law. In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 10~' day of July, 2010. Go~~ty Hea~i6 o, A c '~ o D ~ 3 Nortb CaroG~w Public Nedlb ORANGE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT Rosemary L. Summers, MPH, DrPH Health Direcbx Richard E. Whitbed Human Services Center 300 West Tryon Street Post Office Box 8181 Hillsborough, NC 27278 Phone: (919) 245-2411 Fax: (919) 644-3007 www. co. a-anc~. nr, u~hea/th BOARD OF HEALTH Anissa Vines, MS, PhD Chair Tony Whitaker, PE Vice-Chair Steve Yuhasz, Commissioner Michael Carstens, OD Park Chelminsky, MPH, MD Christopher Cooke, MA, MS Susan Elmore, DVM Card Haggerty, DDS Chris Harlan, RN Matthew Kelm,Pharm D Michael Wood, MS ~ t~a~ h~me n+ ~f To: Orange County Board of Commissioners From: Orange County Board of Health Through: John Roberts, County Attorney Re: Permit Extension Opt Out Option Date: November 29, 2010 The Orange County Board of Health discussed the "opt out" provision of the legislation passed in the 2010 session for permit extensions at its regular meeting on November 17, 2010. An environmental health improvement permit requires the property owner to maintain a site plan and prevent encroachment on the identified area for the septic system and is normally valid for 5 years (8 years as a result of SL2009-406). If the owner alters the site plan or otherwise violates the provisions of the permit, the improvement permit is invalid. There is concern that the length of extension (an additional year with this extension) added to the eight years the permit is valid, will lead to more invalid permits causing property owners to be dissatisfied with the need to start over with the process. The Board concluded that there is no health concern on extending permits for an additional year. The Board also acknowledged that there will be an estimated revenue loss of approximately $28,000 as a result of each additional year of permit extension. These are funds that if collected would be used to support environmental health programs. CC: Donna Baker John Roberts Rosemary Summers 13