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HomeMy WebLinkAboutORD-2000-006 Amendments to the Orange County Zoning Ordinance Section PROPOSED AMENDMENTS 81 Orange County Zoning Ordinance (Proposed amendments are highlighted in underlined print; proposed deletions are shown in-StFikethizeuqh print.) ARTICLE 4 ESTABLISHMENT OF PERMITTED USE TABLE AND SCHEDULE 4.,2.10 _Community Commercial-III {CC-3) District i b) Application Criteria This district will usually be applied where the following conditions exist: 7. .All property to be designated for new development under this classification shall have direct access to FnajeF eelle8tGF streetr, a street .classified as either arterial or collector as designated by the adopted Comprehensive Plan. 4.2.11 General Commercial-IV(GC-4) District b) Application Criteria This district will usually be applied where the following conditions exist: 3. All property to be designated for new develop_ ment under this classification shall have direct access to , a street classified as either arterial or collector as designated by the adopted Comprehensive Plan. ARTICLE 13 TRAFFIC IMPACT STUDY 13.3 Applicability Amended Exeept as deSGFibed belew, 8-21-90 809-tFips/dY` 809 tFips/day- 8 8Zoad Functional Classification 40 Proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendments Speeial use peFFFIRS 9F site plans that pFeduse FneFe than 809 Wpe peF 4ay 991 E990 tFaffie may t aeeess. Replace with following: 13.3 Applicability A traffic impact study is required for all uses that require a special use permit and/or site plan and that have the following.characteristics. Site Access Road Classification) Estimated Traffic Generation Arterial* >800 trips/day Collector* >350 trips/day Major Local Road* >350 trips/day *As designated by the Orange County Comprehensive Plan Orange County may require a traffic impact study for any special use permit or site plan application when a road capacity or safety issue exists. If one is required, the County will notify the applicant of the reason for the requirement. An application estimated to produce more traffic than the threshold number of trips per day to require a traffic impact study may be exempted from that requirement if a traffic impact study has previously been prepared for that particular application, and there is to be no change in land use or density that would increase travel nor change in access to the external street system; or, material is submitted to demonstrate that traffic created by the proposal when added to existing traffic will not result in a need for transportation improvements. Planning Department staff will review material submitted in support of an exemption when determining F:\PLANNING\KLINCOLN\compplan\zamends.doc\2-11-00 Road Functional Classification 41 Proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendments whether or not to grant the exemption. If an exemption is granted, documentation of the exemption will be submitted as part of the staff recommendation. ARTICLE 22 DEFINITIONS Street or Road - A way for vehicular traffic whether designated as a street, highway, thoroughfare, parkway, throughway, freeway, road, avenue, boulevard, lane, place or however otherwise designated. Street or Road, Alley - Alley is a MiR9F local way used primarily for vehicular,access to the -rear or side of properties otherwise abutting a street at the front, and which is not intended for general circulation. Street or Road, Arterial - Artizrinl qtr 9t is used P&AaFily feF thFeUgl4 serifinueus -rhese stFeets GaFFY high.Yelumes tFaffie, @ f twelye huRdFed MPS peF day. F9F PUFpeses of the Fegulatieiis sueh - stFeets inelude these se desigFiated in the GeFAPF9heAsiYe PlaR 9F element the A street connecting wid"I separated areas and designed to carry a large volume of traffic which may be fast, heavy or both. Arterial streets are sometimes referred to as "major thoroughfares", "freeways". "expressways", etc., and are usually numbered State or Federal Highways. Street or Road, Collector - GelleeteF StFeet is used eF desi@Red te eaFFY tFaffie betweei; FRiAOF, lesal and subeellecAOF BtFeets and aFteFial StFeets-, but may alse PF9Yide iFeet aseess te abuttiRg pFepeFtiee,. it seFy designed te sewe diFeetly OF indiFeetly meFe than eFie hundFed units aFid is des;@Red te be used eF is used te 8aFFY FROM thOR eight hundFed tFiPS peF dnizety . A . A street which carries traffic from minor streets to the major "stems of arterial streets, including the principal entrance streets of residential .developments. Collector streets may also be referred to as "connector" or "feeder" streets. Street or Road, Cul-de-sac - Cul-de-sac is a Minor local street that generally terminates in a circular right-of-way. It is used or designed to be used to provide access to abutting properties. Street or Road, General Factors to Definition - For the purposes of these regulations, terms relating to streets are defined as follows. Determination of the classification of a street shall be by the following criteria: 1 The elassifisatieR shall be based upeR the pFejested Yelume-ef tFaffie te be 68FAed by the stFeet, stated in terms ef the AwmbeF ef F:1PLANNING1 KUNCOLN\compplanlzamends.doc\2-1 1-00 go Road Functional Classification 42 Proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendments # s - a •Its conformity to the Func#ianal Classification Cri#eria d in the Transportation Element of the Comprehensive Plan; 2) The RumbeF ef dwelling units te be sewed "e 1* Y be a useful indiGateF 9f the numbeF ef tFiPS bUt 16 Fiet eenelusi Its relationship to the public road systems of surrounding jurisdictions; 3) Whenever a subdivision street continues an existing street that formerly terminated outside the subdivision or it is expected that a subdivision street will be continued beyond the subdivision at some future time, the classification of the street will be based upon the street in its entirety, both within and outside of the subdivision. Street, Local - Local street is used or designed primarily to provide access to abutting properties. It serves eF is designed to sewe at least ten .but net FneFe than twenty five dwelling units and is expected tri r dee-B handle betweeR seveRty five and twe hundFed tFips pee day - as the connecting road system between other roads within a subdivision and the thoroughfare system. Street, Loop - 6eep Minor local street is used as a means for local traffic to leave and enter other streets without turning around, but provides access only to abutting properties. These streets are less than one mile in length and have no collector characteristics. Street, Major" Local street greater than 1 mile long that connects with an arterial or collector street and has an average daily traffic count greater than 50. These streets provide access to collectors and streets of higher functional classification. Street or Road, _61.1--ifted Marginal Access 6imited aseess StFeet is that tiq ushiz:AARAA _____6 ffem aeqeiniR@ PF9peFty is net diFeet, but is eembiRed, limited, shanneled 9F PF9hibited. MaFginal aseess StFeets aFe eRe Means feF limiting and GeRtFel!iRg aeroess te ciFteFlal stFeets, usually ff9yiding- entFaRees along a single bleek fa-ee. A minor local street which is parallel to and adjacent to arterial streets, and which provides access to abutting properties and protection from through traffic. Marginal access streets may also be referred to as "service roads". Street or Road, Minor - Mines Local street is used or designed primarily to provide access to abutting properties. it sewee, eF iG designed te r-,eFve Fiet meFe thaR i9ine (9) dwelling units and is expeeted te eF dees handle up te 6evepty five (75) tFips peF day. These streets normally or extend on a block-by-block basis and have no collector characteristics Street or Road, Private - A street not intended for public use of or public dedication and which serves a limited number of lots, and therefore is F.1PLANNING1 KUNCOLNXcompplan\zamends.doc\2-1 1-00 Road Functional Classification 43 Proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendments 91 typically not built to Department of Transportation standards. It is maintained by private property owners, and intended for those private properly owners. RFiYate StFeet is a ffiyately maintained YehieulaF way built te the pFiyate estandaMs ef QFange Geunty. Street or Road, Public - Public street is a street which has been accepted for permanent maintenance by the State of North Carolina. StFeet, SubeelleGtff SubeelleeteF stFe k is used OF designed te PFOYide eeeess te abuttiRg ff9peFties, but is al6e designed te be used eF is used tG eenseet FAiR9F eF leeal StFeets with rel!eGt9F 9F aFteFial StFeets. lReluding FesideRees MiFertly sewed thF9Ugh e9f;RertiRq StFeet, it designed te seFve at least twenty six (265) bUt Ret MeFe than eRe hUR (190) dwelling uRits and is expeeted te OF dees handle betweeR twe hundFed (200) and eight huRdFed (800) t0ps peF dayr Amended Trip Generation Rates -The total count of trips to and from a study site 2/1/88 per unit of land use as measured by parameters such as dwelling units, acres, etc. Amended Volume/Capacity Analysis - The procedures used to compare the a 2/1/88 volume of roadway or intersection approach to its capacity (maximum number of vehicles that can pass a given point during a given time period). The procedures are described in the 4965 current Highway Capacity Manual; Highway published by the Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C. Speeial Re,.94 8:7. F:\PLANNING\KLINCOLN\compplan\zamends.doc\2-11-00 D.Q•a- ��oo - �%d,� saov 2. AMENDMENTS REGARDING THE FUNCTIONAL CLASSIFICATION OF ROADS IN ORANGE COUNTY Craig Benedict said that the County is in the process of developing a Comprehensive Plan, and transportation is a very important basis of that plan. a. Amendments to the Orange County Comprehensive Plan Land Use Element 1. Section 2.6 Transportation 2. 3.6 Cedar Grove Township 3. 3.7 Little River Township 4. 3.8 Cheeks Township 5. 3.9 Hillsborough Township 6. 3.10 Eno Township 7. 3.11 Bingham Township 8. 3.12 Chapel Hill Township b. Amendments to the Orange County Zoning Ordinance 1. Section 4.2.10 Community Commercial III(CC-3) District 2. Section 4.2.11 General Commercial-IV(GC-4) District 3. Section 13.3 Applicability(Traffic Impact Study) 4. Article 22 Definitions c. Amendments to the Orange County Subdivision Regulations 1. Section II Definitions Craig Benedict made reference to a map that showed some of the metropolitan and transportation planning areas within the County. He said that over the years it has been difficult to remain consistent in labeling the roads within the different jurisdictions(i.e., major local, major collector, etc.). This inconsistency has made it difficult for Planning. He said that what was being brought forward tonight was the start of the land use and transportation planning element to the comprehensive plan, where a standardized set of roadway classifications would be developed to be used in all of the different jurisdictions. Commissioner Gordon asked Craig Benedict to show the Commissioners the limit for the metropolitan planning area. Commissioner Halkiotis asked about the shrinkage of the Hillsborough area on the map. Planner Gene Bell said that in 1987, when the Hillsborough Thoroughfare Plan was done with the DOT and Hillsborough,the area that was defined was roughly 90 square miles. He said that the County had some sticking points with this because the area was so large and the County had no input. In 1991- 1992,there were ongoing discussions with the DOT. Ultimately,the Hillsborough Planning area was scaled down to roughly 30 square miles. Craig Benedict said that part of the process tonight is to update the comprehensive plan from 1981 and remove the language that was in that previous plan and replace it with language that speaks to today's conditions and add the road classifications. He described the new road classification system: Interstate-major transportation corridor; arterial roadway- US 70, US 54; collector roadway-Orange Grove Road; major local roads-between subdivisions; and minor local roads-subdivision road. He said that another part of the transportation planning would be to develop"super blocks". The super blocks would be large areas of the County where there should be other major local roads to connect the areas. He made reference to the importance of a traffic impact study for any new development. Commissioner Brown asked for clarification on who designates if a road is an arterial or connector road. Craig Benedict said that the County would make that designation. The County does work very closely with DOT to be sure that the definitions and classifications are consistent with DOT's definitions and classifications. Commissioner Brown asked if the trips per day were shown for the roads on the map. Craig Benedict said that DOT makes the determination of the capacity of a roadway based on a design. Commissioner Brown asked if any of the super blocks were part of the County's wildlife corridor studies and Craig Benedict said that the staff would look at the wildlife corridors. Commissioner Brown wants the wildlife corridors to be recognized as interconnected. She asked if the County keeps track of the road systems and the ratings they have now in terms of capacity. Craig Benedict said that the staff has recently received some information from DOT that would be downloaded into the GIS system that would give that kind of information. Commissioner Jacobs mentioned some grammatical mistakes in the text amendments. He would like to be very careful about having super blocks through watersheds and water quality critical areas. He is in favor of road connectivity, but he would like the County to be very careful in environmentally sensitive areas. He asked why traffic impact studies were not proposed for some of the minor local roads. Planner Karen Lincoln said that some major subdivisions may access a major local road and not a minor local road. Commissioner Jacobs would like the staff to look at doing traffic impact studies for minor local roads. He suggested taking out"major"and just saying'local"roads. Commissioner Gordon said that this amendment is a big improvement from the 1981 plan. Lynn Holtcamp said that she appreciates the comments made about the minor local roads needing to have traffic impact statements. She questioned the statement about Cheeks Township being attracted by economic development. Craig Benedict said that instead of talking about a particular township we could talk about the EDDs in general. Lynn Holtcamp asked about miles and if it is road miles or radial miles (straight line miles)and Craig Benedict said that it would be the centerline road miles. Bob Strayhom said that on some roads there are no new subdivisions, however, the traffic has increased from areas further away. Craig Benedict said that the staff would be getting additional information from DOT and models that will hopefully indicate the background traffic that is not directly related to the subdivisions. Lynn Holtcamp asked about historic roads and if this would be a designation. Craig Benedict said that the historic roads would be part of an overlay of the comprehensive plan. Commissioner Jacobs said that the state of North Carolina has a presumption that every unpaved, rural road in the state will be paved to a width that DOT will accept. There is also a branch of DOT that reviews road impacts on historic properties. It has, from time to time, ruled that the widening of the road to DOT standards would destroy a historic characteristic, and therefore it should not be widened. He said that we should be careful when a certain minimum right-of-way is presumed. Craig Benedict said that the historic issue is a descriptive part that would be handled by overlays, but he does not see any problem with adding the issue of historic right-of-ways and not having the need to widen to the DOT standard. 2.Section IV—Required Minimum Design Standards (a) Section IV-13-3 Roads Craig Benedict said that he had covered everything in his presentation. MOTION A motion was made by Commissioner Brown, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to refer the proposed amendments to the Planning Board for a recommendation to be returned to the Board of Commissioners no sooner than May 3, 2000. VOTE: UNANIMOUS D. ADJOURNMENT With no further items to discuss,the meeting was adjourned. The next meeting will be held on February 29 at 7:30 p.m. at the Southern Human Services Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Moses Carey, Jr., Chair Beverly A. Blythe, Clerk