HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Board - 070721 ORANGE COUNTY PLANNING DEPARTMENT
131 W. MARGARET LANE, SUITE 201
HILLSBOROUGH, NORTH CAROLINA 27278
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AGENDA
ORANGE COUNTY PLANNING BOARD
Wednesday, July 7, 2021
Regular Meeting — 7:00 pm
Due to current public health concerns, the meeting will be virtual. Members of the Planning
Board and staff will be participating in the meeting remotely. Interested members of the
public can view and participate in the meeting by following the instructions at the end of the
agenda. (Please note that pre-registration no later than 3:00 p.m. the day of the meeting is
required to speak at the meeting).
No. Page(s) Aggnda Item
1. CALL TO ORDER
OATH OF OFFICE
2. 5 - 6 Orange County Clerk Laura Jensen will Administer the Oath of Office to
Planning Board Members
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS
3. 7 - 8 a. Planning Calendar for July and August
b. Discussion by Vice Chair Adam Beeman regarding solar panels
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
4. 9 — 10 June 2, 2021 Regular Meeting Minutes
11 June 2, 2021 Training Notes
5. CONSIDERATION OF ADDITIONS TO AGENDA
6. PUBLIC CHARGE
Introduction to the Public Charge
The Board of County Commissioners, under the authority of North Carolina General Statute, appoints
the Orange County Planning Board (OCPB)to uphold the written land development laws of the
County. The general purpose of OCPB is to guide and accomplish coordinated and harmonious
development. OCPB shall do so in a manner which considers the present and future needs of its
residents and businesses through efficient and responsive process that contributes to and promotes
the health, safety, and welfare of the overall County. The OCPB will make every effort to uphold a
vision of responsive governance and quality public services during our deliberations, decisions,and
recommendations.
Public Charge
The Planning Board pledges its respect to all present. The Board asks those attending this
meeting to conduct themselves in a respectful, courteous manner toward each other, County staff,
and Board members. At any time should a member of the Board or the public fail to observe this
charge, the Chair will take steps to restore order and decorum. Should it become impossible to
restore order and continue the meeting, the Chair will recess the meeting until such time that a
genuine commitment to this public charge is observed.
The Planning Board asks that all electronic devices such as cell phones, pagers, and computers
should please be turned off or set to silent/vibrate.
Please be kind to everyone.
No. Page(s) Agenda Item
7. CHAIR COMMENTS
8. ADJOURNMENT
Public Comments / Participation
There are two methods for public comment:
• Written submittals by email or drop-off
• Speaking during the virtual meeting
Written Public Comments
Members of the public are encouraged to provide written public comments by emailing
comments to plan ningboardCa)_orangecountync.gov no later than 3:00 p.m. on the afternoon
of the meeting. Please include in the Subject line of the email the title of the agenda item
your comment pertains to.
Emails sent to this address are viewable on Google Groups:
https://groups.google.com/g/ocplanningboard
Written comments can also be dropped off at the Planning Department's offices at 131 W.
Margaret Lane, 2nd floor, Hillsborough, NC during normal business hours (8:00 a.m. to 5:00
p.m. Monday through Friday). If a staff member is not available, please leave your
comments in the drop-off box near the front counter. Written comments will be scanned and
sent by staff to the email address indicated above.
Verbal Public Comments
Members of the public must contact Planning Department staff via email at
ocpbpubliccommentCc)_orangecountync.gov no later than 3:00 p.m. on the afternoon of the
meeting and indicate they wish to speak during the meeting.
When submitting the request to speak, please include the following:
• The date of the meeting
• The title of the agenda item you wish to speak on
• Your name, address, email and phone number
o The phone number must be the number you will call in from if participating by
phone
During the meeting, speakers will be called upon in the order in which requests to speak
were received. Each speaker may speak once per agenda item and has 3 minutes to
address the board. Ceding time to another speaker is not permitted.
In the event a meeting is continued to a future date due to the length of public comments,
the date for the continued meeting will be announced before the meeting adjourns. No
additional requests to speak will be taken for the continued meeting, only the speakers who
signed up to speak at the original meeting and were not called upon will be able to speak at
the continued meeting. Written comments continue to be encouraged and can be sent to
the email address indicated in the "Written Public Comments" instructions above.
Zoom Meeting Registration
Both members of the public who wish to speak at the meeting and those who wish to only
view the meeting must register to receive a link to the meeting. Persons wishing to speak
must register with the same name provided in the email that notified staff you wish to speak.
The link to sign up for the meeting is:
https:Horangecountync.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN zad2COmWQ u k HT2cf4gQ
If you do not have internet access, you may participate in the meeting via phone. Please
call (919) 245-2575 during regular business hours to receive information on the number to
call-in to, the meeting ID, and a password.
Review Process
The Planning Board is an appointed volunteer advisory board which makes
recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners (the elected officials). The Board
of County Commissioners holds a formal public hearing and makes decisions. Section 2.8
of the County's Unified Development Ordinance contains a flowchart depicting the entire
review process for rezoning and text amendment applications.
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5
Oath of Office
As was pointed out during the review and adopted process for the Unified Development
Ordinance (UDO) amendments pertaining to North Carolina General Statutes (NCGS)
Section 160D, Section 160D-309 now requires that Planning Board members (along
with some other advisory boards) take an oath of office. The oath on the following page
will be administered by Orange County Clerk Laura Jensen to Planning Board members
en masse at the July 7, 2021 meeting. Please be sure to have your cameras on.
After taking the oath, Planning Board members should:
1. print their name on the line in the first sentence,
2. sign their name on the signature line,
3. fill in the date on the line for the date, and
4. return the signed oath in the self-addressed stamped envelope.
6
Oath of Office
Orange County Planning Board
I , do solemnly swear
(or affirm) that I will support and maintain the
Constitution and laws of the United States , and the
Constitution and laws of North Carolina not
inconsistent therewith, and that I will faithfully
discharge the duties of my office as an appointed
Planning Board member, so help me God {
Signature of oath taker
This the day of July 2021.
Signature of Laura Jensen
Orange County Clerk
Oath Administrator
Or
2p- ebw
5
Rewin-
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1 2 3
Notes:
*Planning Board Member Attendance Required
6 7 8 9 10
• Planning Board
Meeting
7:00 pm*
Virtual Meeting
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Board of
Adjustment
7:00 pm
Virtual Meeting
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
OUTBoard
Meeting
6:30 pm
CANCELLED
Virtual Meeting
25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Planning Board
7:00 pm*
Virtual Meeting
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Board of
Adjustment
7:00 pm
Virtual Meeting
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
OUTBoard
Meeting
6:30 pm
Virtual Meeting
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 31
Notes:
*Planning Board Member Attendance Required
Virtual Meeting
9
DRAFT
1 MEETING MINUTES
2 ORANGE COUNTY PLANNING BOARD
3 JUNE 2,2021
4 REGULAR MEETING
5 (Due to current public health concerns, this meeting was held virtually.
6 Members of the Planning Board, staff and public participated remotely)
7
8 MEMBERS PRESENT: David Blankfard (Chair), Hillsborough Township Representative; Adam Beeman (Vice-Chair), Cedar
9 Grove Township Representative; Susan Hunter, Chapel Hill Township Representative; Lamar Proctor, Cheeks Township
10 Representative; Randy Marshall, At-Large Representative; Alexandra Allman, At-Large Representative; Melissa Poole,
11 Little River Township Representative; Kim Piracci, Eno Township Representative; Whitney Watson, At-Large
12 Representative; Charity Kirk,At-Large Representative; Statler Gilfillen,At-Large Representative;
13
14 MEMBERS ABSENT: Carrie Fletcher, Bingham Township Representative
15
16 STAFF PRESENT: Craig Benedict, Planning Director; Perdita Holtz, Planning Systems Coordinator;Tina Love,
17 Administrative Support
18
19
20 AGENDA ITEM 1: CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
21 Chair David Blankfard called the meeting to order.
22
23 The Planning Board members and staff introduced themselves for the newest member.
24
25
26 AGENDA ITEM 2: INFORMATION ITEMS
27 a. Planning Calendar for June and July
28
29
30 AGENDA ITEM 3: APPROVAL OF MINUTES
31 May 5,2021 Regular Meeting Minutes and Training Notes
32
33 MOTION BY Lamar proctor to approve the May 5, 2021 Regular Meeting Minutes and Training Notes. Seconded by
34 Melissa Poole.
35
36 ROLLCALL VOTE:
37 Statler Gilfillen Yes
38 Melissa Poole Yes
39 Randy Marshall Yes
40 Lamar Proctor Yes
41 Kim Piracci Yes
42 Charity Kirk Yes
43 Adam Beeman Yes
44 Susan Hunter Yes
45 Alexandra Allman Yes
46 Whitney Watson Yes
47 David Blankfard Yes
48 MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
49
50
51 AGENDA ITEM 4: CONSIDERATION OF ADDITIONS TO AGENDA.
52
53 Craig Benedict will update on the County's plans to resume in-person meetings
54
55
56 AGENDA ITEM 5: PUBLIC CHARGE
10
DRAFT
57
58 INTRODUCTION TO THE PUBLIC CHARGE
59 The Board of County Commissioners, under the authority of North Carolina General Statute, appoints
60 the Orange County Planning Board (OCPB) to uphold the written land development law of the County.
61 The general purpose of OCPB is to guide and accomplish coordinated and harmonious development.
62 OCPB shall do so in a manner, which considers the present and future needs of its citizens and
63 businesses through efficient and responsive process that contributes to and promotes the health, safety,
64 and welfare of the overall County. The OCPB will make every effort to uphold a vision of responsive
65 governance and quality public services during our deliberations, decisions, and recommendations.
66
67 PUBLIC CHARGE
68 The Planning Board pledges to the citizens of Orange County its respect. The Board asks its citizens to
69 conduct themselves in a respectful, courteous manner, both with the Board and with fellow citizens. At
70 any time, should any member of the Board or any citizen fail to observe this public charge, the Chair will
71 ask the offending member to leave the meeting until that individual regains personal control. Should
72 decorum fail to be restored, the Chair will recess the meeting until such time that a genuine commitment
73 to this public charge is observed.
74
75
76 AGENDA ITEM 6: CHAIR COMMENTS
77
78 There were none
79
80 Craig Benedict gave an update on when the Planning Board might expect to resume in-person meeting once the County
81 starts making decisions and developing protocols, which should start in August 2021.
82
83 Alexandra Allman:Will there be an optional virtual and in-person hybrid choice?
84
85 Craig Benedict: We are working with the County Attorney. It doesn't currently look like a hybrid version is allowed.
86
87 Perdita Holtz: Prior to the pandemic, no virtual or calling in by phone was allowed. That is because state law did not allow
88 for it. The reason local governments were able to start meeting virtually because of Covid was because legislation was
89 passed by the General Assembly to allow for virtual meetings. The way it was passed was that only during a Governor or
90 General Assembly declared state of emergency could virtual meeting occur. Once that state of emergency goes away we
91 may not be able to meet virtually unless that law is changed. The state governs local government.
92
93 Whitney Watson: On a social media post, I saw an RFP for evaluation of the Planning Department. What is the
94 background and will it impact the Planning Advisory Board.
95
96 Craig Benedict: The rules of the Planning Board are related to state law and to policies that the County Commissioners
97 adopt that are wrapping into the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). I do not think there will be much effect of how the
98 Planning Board operates. The program evaluation that will be conducted in the department is done on a regular basis
99 among various departments to analyze the function within the department and the interaction of the department with other
100 departments. We have a central permitting division that interacts with the Fire Marshall, Environmental Health, Building
101 Inspections and the Planning Division so this program evaluation will take a look at some of these functions between
102 departments and find out if they are following a path that is up to date or could be modified for some efficiencies. After the
103 consultant is chosen,they will come up with a list of questions and if they involve the Planning Board Chair/Vice-Chair or
104 questioning the Board members in general,we will let you know.
105
106
107 AGENDA ITEM 7: ADJOURNMENT
108 Meeting was adjourned by consensus at 7:20 p.m.
109
110
111 David Blankfard, Chair
11
DRAFT
1 SUMMARY NOTES
2 ORANGE COUNTY PLANNING BOARD
3 JUNE 2,2021
4 TRAINING SESSION
5
6 NOTE: A quorum is not required for Planning Board Training Sessions.
7
8 Due to current public health concerns, the training session was virtual. Members of the Planning Board and staff
9 participated in the meeting remotely.
10
11 MEMBERS PRESENT: David Blankfard (Chair), Hillsborough Township Representative; Adam Beeman (Vice-Chair),
12 Cedar Grove Township Representative; Susan Hunter, Chapel Hill Township Representative; Lamar Proctor,
13 Cheeks Township Representative; Randy Marshall, At-Large Representative; Charity Kirk, At-Large
14 Representative; Alexandra Allman, At-Large Representative; Whitney Watson, , At-Large Representative; Statler
15 Gilfillen, At-Large Representative;
16
17 STAFF PRESENT: Craig Benedict, Planning Director; Perdita Holtz, Planning Systems Coordinator
18
19
20 AGENDA ITEM 1: PLANNING BOARD TRAINING SESSION — Staff will lead training on various materials aspects of
21 land use regulation in Orange County
22 PRESENTER: Perdita Holtz, Planning Systems Coordinator
23
24 Perdita Holtz conducted a training session on various land use regulations in Orange County
25
26 At the end of the training session Adam Beeman requested that a short discussion on solar panels be placed on the
27 next agenda. He would like to convey his recent experience with getting quotes and the pricing
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