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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 10-20-2015 - 6c - Republication of the Unified Development Ordinance as the Code of Technical Ordinances of Orange County, North Carolina 1 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: October 20, 2015 Action Agenda Item No. 6-c SUBJECT: Republication of the Unified Development Ordinance as the Code of Technical Ordinances of Orange County, North Carolina DEPARTMENT: Attorney's Office, Planning PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Republication Resolution John Roberts, (919) 245-2318 Perdita Holtz, (919) 245-2578 Craig Benedict, (919) 245-2592 PURPOSE: To republish Orange County's Unified Development Ordinance ("UDO") as the Code of Technical Ordinances of Orange County, North Carolina. BACKGROUND: On December 5, 2011 the general ordinances of Orange County were codified by the Board of County Commissioners into the Code of Ordinances of Orange County, North Carolina ("Code"). Due to multiple problems with the complexity of converting the UDO to an appropriate format and also several staff changes at Municipal Code Corporation ("Municode"), the adopted Code did not include the UDO which was adopted in its unified form on April 5, 2011. The Code's adoption ordinance specified that the UDO would remain in effect, however, and work was continued on adding the UDO to the Code. This was ultimately accomplished on May 20, 2014. The UDO codification with Municode has not produced the desired results. The Attorney's office, Planning Department staff, and the Clerk have noticed several issues related to the current maintenance of the UDO. Some of the issues experienced to date are as follows- 1. Cost vs. value. As the Board of Commissioners is aware, the County's UDO is, if not the largest, certainly one of the largest UDOs in the state. The volume of the UDO and the frequency with which it is amended make it extremely costly to maintain with Municode. 2. The frequency of updates. A high number of government initiated text amendments to the UDO means that the version of the UDO maintained by Municode is often months behind the amended UDO. Asking Municode to increase the frequency of updates would substantially increase the cost to the County and still would not produce an immediately available or viewable current version as it could still be weeks behind the actual amended version. 2 3. Confusion. The County essentially has two UDOs, the UDO maintained by Municode, which, as mentioned above and through no fault of Municode, is often months behind the actual amended version, and the UDO maintained by the planning department, which is generally fully updated and available for public inspection within days of each amendment. Having two different versions of the same document available to the public can create substantial confusion for individuals who need to reference the ordinance, particularly when the unofficial version is more up-to-date. For these reasons it may be best to republish the UDO as the Code of Technical Ordinances of Orange County, North Carolina and return maintenance to the Planning Department. To avoid confusion the technical ordinances could and would still be called the UDO in general discussion. In an effort to conserve paper and prevent the unnecessary expenditure of tax dollars, the UDO is not included in this abstract. It may, however, be viewed at the Orange County Planning Department located at 131 West Margaret Lane, Suite 201 Hillsborough, NC and online at ht fordinances.php. FINANCIAL IMPACT: A version of the UDO is currently maintained by Municode. Returning this maintenance solely to the County will result in direct cost savings of between $15,000 and $20,000 annually. SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPACT: There is no social justice goal associated with this item. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends the Board adopt and authorize the Chair to sign the attached Resolution of republication and create the Code of Technical Ordinances of Orange County, North Carolina to be housed and maintained in the Orange County Planning Department and made available at http:ffwww.oranpecountync.pov/depggM,gntsfplanninp and inspection s/ordinances.php. 3 RES-2015-055 A RESOLUTION REPUBLISHING THE UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE OF ORANGE COUNTY AS THE ORANGE COUNTY CODE OF TECHNICAL ORDINANCES WHEREAS, on May 20,2014 the Orange County Board of County Commissioners,pursuant to North Carolina General Statute §153A-49, published the codification of its technical ordinances, the Unified Development Ordinance, as Appendix A to the code of general ordinances; and WHEREAS,due to multiple issues with the cost,complexity of converting the format of the technical ordinances to an appropriate format, and the frequency with which the technical ordinances are amended resulting in the published versions of the technical ordinances being out of date and being a source of confusion to the general public; and WHEREAS,it is in the best interest of all Orange County residents that the current adopted versions of technical ordinances be immediately and readily available to all those who need access to them. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED pursuant to North Carolina General Statute§153A-49 and the Adopting Ordinance of the Code of Ordinances, adopted December 5, 2011, the Orange County Unified Development Ordinance, having been originally adopted April 5,2011 and published on May 20,2014 and as amended from time to time thereafter, and as it is reflected in the current and up-to-date version of the Unified Development Ordinance, as amended June 16, 2015,maintained in the Orange County Planning Department, and as may be viewed at http://www.orangecounLync.gov/departments/planning_and_inspections/ordinances.php is hereby republished as the official Code of Technical Ordinances of Orange County,North Carolina containing the Unified Development Ordinance. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all future amendments to the Code of Technical Ordinances shall be approved, codified, and published not less than annually in accordance with North Carolina General Statute§153A-49. This the 201h day of October,2015. Earl McKee, Chair Attest: [SEAL] Donna Baker, Clerk to the Board