HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 01-24-2017 - 13-5 - Information Item - Report on Public Hearing Process for UDO-, Zoning Atlas-, and Comprehensive Plan-Related Items PLANNING & INSPECTIONS DEPARTMENT
Craig N. Benedict, AICP, Director
Special Projects
(919) 245-2575
(919) 644-3002 (FAX)
www.orangecountync.gov
131 W. Margaret Lane
Suite 201
P. O. Box 8181
Hillsborough, NC 27278
MEMORANDUM
TO: Orange County Board of Commissioners
CC: Craig N. Benedict, AICP, Planning & Inspections Director
FROM: Perdita Holtz, AICP, Planner III
DATE: January 4, 2017
SUBJECT: Report on Public Hearing Process for UDO-, Zoning Atlas-, and
Comprehensive Plan-Related Items
__________
When the BOCC adopted amendments to the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) in
November 2015 that revised the public hearing process, the Board also directed staff to
review the process after one year to ensure it was working as intended and satisfactorily
and provide a report to the BOCC on the revised process in early 2017. This
Information Item serves as the report.
Purpose and Primary Revisions
There were several purposes to the public hearing process revisions:
• Streamline and speed up the project review/decision process when possible.
• Provide the opportunity for resident input earlier in the review process.
• Allow residents to comment at the end of the legislative process.
o The former process had required only written comments after the public
hearing.
• Address Planning Board quorum requirements for the quarterly public hearings.
o There had been instances where public hearings could not proceed in a
timely manner because a Planning Board quorum was not present.
• Address legal sufficiency concerns regarding review of Class A special use
permit applications (a quasi-judicial process) and discussions occurring
subsequent to the public hearing for such permits.
The main revisions to the public hearing process included:
• Having the Planning Board make its recommendation prior to the quarterly public
hearing.
• No longer requiring a Planning Board quorum in order to hold a quarterly public
hearing. (Planning Board members are still expected to attend the hearings).
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• Increasing the mailed notice distance from 500 feet to 1,000 feet and providing
mailed notice of Planning Board meetings (in addition to the quarterly public
hearing).
2016 Quarterly Public Hearing Items
The attached matrix lists the items that were on the 2016 quarterly public hearing
agendas. There were a total of 11 items in 2016:
• 10 Legislative items
o 7 UDO text amendments
o 2 Zoning Atlas amendments
o 1 Hillsborough/Orange County Joint Land Use Plan amendment
• 1 Quasi-Judicial item
o Class A special use permit (SUP) for solar array facility
Of these 11 items:
• Seven were adopted by the BOCC the night of the hearing, including the Class A
SUP.
• One zoning atlas amendment was partially adopted the night of the hearing.
• Two UDO amendments were adopted approximately three months after the
hearing at which they were presented.
• One UDO amendment is expected to be adopted two months after the public
hearing at which it was presented.
Planning Board Input
The Planning Board was asked at its December 7, 2016 meeting to provide comments
and input into this report. Approved minutes of the Planning Board’s meeting are
available here. Input can be summarized as follows:
• It has been a positive that residents have attended the Planning Board meetings
(which are now held earlier in the review process) to address the Planning Board.
• Increasing the notification boundary to reach more people seems to have had the
positive outcome of increasing public participation.
• It seems that not many Planning Board members attend the public hearings.
• Knowing that members’ inability to attend a quarterly public hearing won’t hold up
the hearing has been a relief for some members.
• The revised process seems to have worked fine this year.
Staff Observations
Staff offers the following observations regarding the revised public hearing process:
Applicant-Initiated Legislative Items
• In 2016, there were no applicant-initiated legislative items. However, the process
for applicant-initiated amendments is similar to government-initiated amendments
and the information in the bullet below is accurate for applicant-initiated
amendments.
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• For applicant-initiated amendments that have little controversy, the
review/decision timeline has been shortened by at least one month because the
revised process allows a decision to be made by the BOCC the night of the
public hearing.
o An earlier application deadline, to accommodate the Planning Board’s
review/recommendation prior to the public hearing, is offset by the time
gains achieved at the back-end of the review/decision process. Because
a Planning Board meeting and an additional BOCC meeting are no longer
required after the public hearing, the timeframes associated with these
post public hearing agenda processes have been eliminated.
o The public has a clearer opportunity to attend the night of the final
decision.
o The former process also included BOCC review/approval of the public
hearing legal advertisement which necessitated an additional BOCC
meeting early-on in the process. The revised process does not require the
BOCC to approve the legal ad which has decreased the timeframe
needed before the public hearing. For the September hearing date, the
timeframe from application due dates to decision has been significantly
shortened because the legal ad was approved in June to accommodate
the BOCC’s summer break. Whereas application due dates were
previously at the beginning of April for the September hearing, the
application due date is now in mid-July.
Government-Initiated Legislative Items
• In 2016, all 10 legislative items were government-initiated.
• Since 2011 the “Amendment Outline Form” has been used to outline proposed
amendments and schedules and to obtain formal BOCC approval for staff to
proceed with work on government-initiated amendments. Approval of the form is
the first step towards staff initiating substantive work on amendments. The
timeframe between initial form approval and proposed amendments being ready
for Planning Board review depends on the level of complexity an amendment
involves.
o Many government-initiated amendments are low controversy (70% of the
items were adopted or, in the case of a rezoning action involving
numerous parcels, partially adopted, the night of the hearing). The
revised public hearing process has shortened the review/decision process
for low-controversy items in the same manner the process has been
shortened for applicant-initiated items.
o An additional positive outcome of the BOCC having the option to decide
on amendments the night of the hearing is that items do not have to
appear on later BOCC regular meeting agendas, thereby shortening later
agendas.
Quasi-Judicial Items
• In 2016, there was one quasi-judicial item for a solar array in Cheeks Township.
(All quasi-judicial items are applicant-initiated).
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• The Planning Board reviewed this item at its August 3, 2016 meeting. (This
meeting was not a public hearing).
o Two near-by residents attended the meeting but did not choose to speak.
o The item was presented by a representative of the company that would
own the solar array. This person was not present at the formal September
quarterly public hearing where the item was represented by an attorney
who questioned sworn witnesses, in the same manner special use permit
matters are normally handled in North Carolina.
• The BOCC approved the Class A special use permit the night of the public
hearing. There was no testimony in opposition to the permit at the public
hearing.
Wrap-Up
• Many of the items on the quarterly public hearing agendas in 2016 were low
controversy items and the revised public hearing process seems to have been
successful in streamlining and speeding up the project review/decision process
for such items. Even for items that were not decided the night of the hearing
(namely, the amendments related to the Hillsborough EDD), a decision was
reached after additional revisions, review, and discussion.
• The opportunity for interested parties to comment throughout the legislative
review process has been made available. Some Planning Board meetings in
2016 had interested persons in attendance, which was very rare in previous
years.
• The published start times of quarterly public hearings were not delayed in 2016
due to lack of a Planning Board quorum. Planning Board member attendance at
hearings remains sparse even though members are aware they are expected to
attend the hearings. The BOCC will receive advisory board attendance sheets,
including the Planning Board, sometime in early 2017. This information is
collected and distributed by the County Clerk.
• There was only one quasi-judicial matter in 2016 (which is not atypical) and it
was a lower-controversy proposal. Until a higher-controversy special use permit
application goes through the revised process, it may be difficult to draw
conclusions about how well the revised process is working for quasi-judicial
matters.
• The Amendment Outline Form continues to be an important aspect of
government-initiated amendments so staff can offer regulation issue avenues to
improve or resolve a topic. Staff will continue to work with the attorney’s office to
pursue solutions within the intent and scope of the matter.
(Attachment: Table Listing 2016 Quarterly Public Hearing Items)
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2016 Quarterly Public Hearing Items
Quarterly Legislative (L) or Ordinance/ Adoption
Public Hearing Item Quasi-Judicial Planning Board Review Date(s) Resolution Date'
Date (QJ) Number
2/18/2016 UDO/Zoning Amendment 2016-01 1/6/2016 Recommendation
Mailed Notification Requirements L ORD-2016-006 2/18/2016
2/18/2016 UDO/Zoning Amendment 2014-13 L 11/4/2015 ORC ORD-2016-007 2/18/2016
Temporary Custodial Care Units 1/6/2016 Recommendation
5/23/2016 UDO/Zoning Amendment 2016-03 4/6/2016 ORC
Modifications to 0/1 L 5/4/2016 Recommendation ORD-2016-018 5/23/2016
(Office/Institutional)Zoning District
5/23/2016 UDO/Zoning Amendment 2015-01 4/1/2015 ORC
Signs 12/2/2015 ORC
L 3/2/2016 Review ORD-2016-019 5/23/2016
4/6/2016
Review/Recommendation
5/4/2016 Recommendation
9/12/2016 Class A Special Use Permit—Solar QJ 8/3/2016 Recommendation N/A 9/12/2016
Array off US Highway 70
9/12/2016 Other 2016-01 Town of Hillsborough/ 7/6/2016 ORC
Orange County Central Orange L 8/3/2016 Recommendation RES-2016-056 9/12/2016
Coordinated Area Land Use Plan
Amendments
9/12/2016 UDO/Zoning Amendment 2016-02 7/6/2016 ORC
Modifications to Hillsborough EDD L 8/3/2016 ORD-2016-029 12/13/2016
Review/Recommendation
9/7/2016 Recommendation
9/12/2016 UDO/Zoning Amendment 2016-04 7/6/2016 ORC
Rezoning of Parcels South of Interstate L 8/3/2016 Recommendation ORD-2016-030 12/13/2016
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'Yellow highlighting indicates amendments or permits,as applicable,were adopted the night of the quarterly public hearing.
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Quarterly Legislative (L) or Ordinance/ Adoption
Public Hearing Item Quasi-Judicial Planning Board Review Date(s) Resolution Date'
Date (QJ) Number
9/12/2016 UDO/Zoning Amendment 2016-09 7/6/2016 ORC
Modify Use Standards L 8/3/2016 ORD-2016-031 9/12/2016
Review/Recommendation
9/7/2016 Recommendation
11/21/2016 UDO/Zoning Amendment 2016-11 10/5/2016 Recommendation Partial
Modification of Zoning Lot Boundaries (NOTE:meeting cancelled due to adoption (11
L lack of quorum) ORD-2016-039 of 15 parcels)
11/2/2016 Recommendation on
11/21/2016
11/21/2016 UDO/Zoning Amendment 2016-06 9/7/2016 ORC Expected on
Subdivisions 10/5/2016 Recommendation 1/24/2017
L (NOTE:meeting cancelled due to ORD-2016-040
lack of quorum)
10/17/2016 Recommendation