HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 09-01-2015-13 (6) Information Item
Memorandum
Date: August 17, 2015
To: Board of County Commissioners
Bonnie B. Hammersley, County Manager
From: Craig Benedict, Planning Director
Perdita Holtz, Planning Systems Coordinator
Re: BOCC Follow Up List Item Regarding Internal Pedestrian Systems
As part of the discussion at the April 7, 2015 Board of County Commissioners meeting
regarding the Efland zoning overlay districts, a commissioner requested information on steps
the County can take to provide internal pedestrian circulation or reasons why providing it
cannot occur.
The original proposal for the Efland overlay districts was written to require that projects of a
certain size provide privately-owned and maintained internal pedestrian systems. As a result
of resident comments at the February 2014 quarterly public hearing, the Board of County
Commissioners directed staff to work with the community and return with a proposal the
community supported. Staff met with residents more than 10 times and one of the results of
the meetings was that language pertaining to the overlay districts was "softened" to be less
regulatory. In the case of internal pedestrian systems, the words "shall be required" were
changed to "may be required" and the site plan review process will determine if a proposed
project will be required to provide a private internal pedestrian system.
The County may choose to require that development projects provide a wide variety of
amenities, including internal pedestrian systems, by including such requirements in its
development regulations (e.g., the Unified Development Ordinance [UDO]). One of the
considerations local governments take into account when deciding on regulations is the
balance of requiring too little, which can potentially result in subpar development projects, and
requiring so much that residents and developers voice concerns about development being too
onerous. Therefore, the County's regulations often reflect a balance of interests within a
legally sufficient framework.
If the Board would like to consider changes to the UDO, Board members could petition to have
staff work on specified changes to be brought forward at a future quarterly public hearing.