HomeMy WebLinkAbout3-6-24 PB Agenda PacketORANGE COUNTY PLANNING DEPARTMENT
131 W. MARGARET LANE, SUITE 201
HILLSBOROUGH, NORTH CAROLINA 27278
AGENDA
ORANGE COUNTY PLANNING BOARD
WHITTED MEETING FACILITY
300 WEST TRYON STREET, SECOND FLOOR
HILLSBOROUGH, NORTH CAROLINA 27278
Wednesday, March 6, 2024
Regular Meeting – 7:00 pm
No. Page(s) Agenda Item
1. CALL TO ORDER
2.
4 - 5
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS
a. Planning Calendar for March and April
3.
6 - 18
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
February 7, 2024 Regular Meeting Minutes
4. CONSIDERATION OF ADDITIONS TO AGENDA
5. 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.
1
No. Page(s) Agenda Item
6. CHAIR COMMENTS
7. No
materials
ORANGE COUNTY CLIMATE ACTION PLAN – To receive a briefing on the
adopted Climate Action Plan, including intersection with planning topics
and potential areas of collaboration.
The Climate Action Plan is available for viewing at:
https://www.orangecountync.gov/3096/Climate-Action-Plan
Presenter: Amy Eckberg, Sustainability Projects Manager
8. 19 - 23 NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS – To discuss existing public notification
requirements contained in the Unified Development Ordinance. This
topic was requested for discussion by the Planning Board.
Presenter: Perdita Holtz, Deputy Director – Long-Range Planning
9. ADJOURNMENT
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Interested persons can sign up at https://www.orangecountync.gov/list.aspx to receive a
notification when agendas are posted. (Scroll down to the “Agenda Center” category and choose
Planning Board).
Monthly Planning & Inspections Newsletter
Sign up at https://www.orangecountync.gov/list.aspx?ListID=408 to receive the monthly
communication on happenings in the Planning & Inspections Department.
Written Comments
Interested persons who cannot attend the meeting in-person are invited to submit written
comments on agenda items to the Planning Board via email at
planningboard@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). Written comments will be scanned and sent by staff to the email address
indicated above.
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 review process for rezoning and text
amendment applications.
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Planning Board Member Potential Conflict of Interest
It is the duty of every Board member to avoid both conflicts of interest and appearances of conflict.
Board members having any conflicts of interest or appearances of conflict with respect to matters
before the Board should identify the conflict or appearance of conflict and refrain from undue
participation in the matter involved.
As a reminder, NC General Statute § 160D-109 establishes the following standard: Members of
appointed boards shall not vote on any advisory or legislative decision regarding a development
regulation where the outcome of the matter being considered is reasonably likely to have a direct,
substantial, and readily identifiable financial impact on the member. An appointed board member
shall not vote on any zoning amendment if the landowner of the property subject to a rezoning
petition or the applicant for a text amendment is a person with whom the member has a close
familial, business, or other associational relationship.
If any Planning Board member has any concern about a possible conflict related to an agenda
item, please notify Planning staff and get in touch directly with a member of the County Attorney’s
staff before the meeting time to determine whether a conflict exists – and if so, how best to handle
the potential conflict.
3
March 2024
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1 2
Notes:
* Planning Board Member Attendance Required
Planning Board meetings are held in room 230 on the second floor of
the Whitted Building located at 300 W. Tryon St., Hillsborough, NC
27278
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
ELECTION
Planning Board
Meeting
7:00 pm*
Whitted Bldg.
BOCC
Business
Meeting
7:00 pm
Whitted Bldg.
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
BOCC Work
Session
7:00 pm
Whitted Bldg.
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
BOCC
Business
Meeting
7:00 pm
Southern
Human Serv
Ctr
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
HOLIDAY
4
April 2024
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1 2 3 4 5 6
BOCC
Business
Meeting
7:00 pm
Whitted Bldg.
Planning Board
Meeting
7:00 pm*
Whitted Bldg.
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
BOCC
Budget Work
Session
7:00 pm
Southern
Human Serv
Ctr.
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
BOCC
Business
Meeting
7:00 pm
Southern
Human Serv
Ctr.
BOCC
Joint Meeting
with School
Boards
7:00 pm
Whitted Bldg.
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30
BOCC Work
Session
7:00 pm
Southern
Human Serv
Ctr.
Notes:
* Planning Board Member Attendance Required
Planning Board meetings are held in room 230 on the second floor of
the Whitted Building located at 300 W. Tryon St., Hillsborough, NC
27278
5
MEETING MINUTES 1 ORANGE COUNTY PLANNING BOARD 2
FEBRUARY 7 3
REGULAR MEETING 4
5
MEMBERS PRESENT: Lamar Proctor (Vice-Chair), Cheeks Township Representative; Delores Bailey, At-Large 6
Representative; Beth Bronson, At-Large Representative; Marilyn Carter, At-Large Representative; Statler 7
Gilfillen, Eno Township Representative; Chris Johnston, Hillsborough Township Representative; Liz Kalies, 8
Chapel Hill Township Representative; Steve Kaufmann, Bingham Township Representative; Melissa Poole, 9
Little River Township Representative; Whitney Watson, At-Large Representative. 10
11
MEMBERS ABSENT: Adam Beeman (Chair), Cedar Grove Township Representative; Charity Kirk, At-Large 12
Representative. 13
14
STAFF PRESENT: Cy Stober, Planning & Inspections Director; Perdita Holtz, Deputy Director – Long Range 15
Planning & Administration; Tom Altieri, Senior Planner – Long Range Planning & Administration; Lauren 16
Coffey, Planning Technician. 17
18
OTHERS PRESENT: Leigh Anne King, Emily Gvino, Dale Morgan, Michael Hughes, John Dempsey, Margo Lakin, 19
Lynn Nilssen, Lisa Brown, Candice Bender, June Minton, Robb Minton, Peter Sandbeck, Regina Baratta. 20
21
AGENDA ITEM 1: CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL 22
The meeting began at 7:00 PM. 23
24
AGENDA ITEM 2: INFORMATION ITEMS 25
Vice-Chair Proctor reviewed the upcoming calendar for March. 26
27
AGENDA ITEM 3: APPROVAL OF MINUTES 28
January 3, 2024 Regular Meeting Minutes. 29
30
Marilyn Carter presented a correction to language on line 964 of the draft minutes. 31
32
MOTION BY Statler Gilfillen to approve the Meeting Minutes with amendment to line 964. Seconded by Melissa 33
Poole. 34
35
MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. 36
37
AGENDA ITEM 4: CONSIDERATION OF ADDITIONS TO AGENDA 38
None. 39
40
AGENDA ITEM 5: PUBLIC CHARGE 41 42
INTRODUCTION TO THE PUBLIC CHARGE 43
The Board of County Commissioners, under the authority of North Carolina General Statute, 44
appoints the Orange County Planning Board (OCPB) to uphold the written land 45
development law of the County. The general purpose of OCPB is to guide and accomplish 46
coordinated and harmonious development. OCPB shall do so in a manner, which considers 47
the present and future needs of its citizens and businesses through efficient and responsive 48
process that contributes to and promotes the health, safety, and welfare of the overall 49
6
County. The OCPB will make every effort to uphold a vision of responsive governance and 50
quality public services during our deliberations, decisions, and recommendations. 51
52
PUBLIC CHARGE 53
The Planning Board pledges to the citizens of Orange County its respect. The Board asks 54
its citizens to conduct themselves in a respectful, courteous manner, both with the Board 55
and with fellow citizens. At any time, should any member of the Board or any citizen fail to 56
observe this public charge, the Chair will ask the offending member to leave the meeting 57
until that individual regains personal control. Should decorum fail to be restored, the Chair 58
will recess the meeting until such time that a genuine commitment to this public charge is 59
observed. 60
61
AGENDA ITEM 6: CHAIR COMMENTS 62
None. 63
64
AGENDA ITEM 7: UPDATE ON COMPREHENSIVE LAND USE PLAN (CLUP) – To receive a presentation from Clarion 65
Associates, the County’s consultant preparing the Land Use Plan update. 66
67
Tom Altieri introduced Leigh Anne King and Emily Gvino, consultants from Clarion Associates working on the 68
Orange County Comprehensive Land Use Plan. 69
70
Leigh Anne King provided an update on the progress of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan since the last 71
briefing. She shared community engagement findings from what was learned at various meetings and online 72
engagement. 73
74
Emily Gvino presented methods and findings from the first Community Engagement Window of three to occur 75
over the course of the Plan, including statistics on community goals and visions for the County. Ms. Gvino 76
summarized the importance of this data for guiding next steps in developing policy guidance to balance land 77
use needs and community priorities. 78
79
Leigh Anne King discussed using results from the Strategic Plan Survey relating to land use to help build a 80
better representative sample, since all community engagement responses for the Comprehensive Land Use 81
Plan surveys have been self-selected while the Strategic Plan survey was conducted to be statistically 82
significant. Ms. King also reviewed project deliverables that are currently or soon to be available, including the 83
Community Policy Profile, stakeholder interview summary reports, a data fact book, and maps. Ms. King 84
detailed next steps on the project, including a similar briefing to the Board of Commissioners, a presentation at 85
the Agricultural Summit, publishing the fact book on the website, and then developing the Plan beginning 86
Summer 2024. 87
88
Vice-Chair Proctor invited all Planning Board members to ask questions. 89
90
Beth Bronson: Did you say that the results of the Community Engagement Workshop would be available 91
on the website under the resource tab? 92
93
Leigh Anne King: Yes, we’ll have a summary report specifically for the first round of engagement that will 94
have the documentation that you saw here as well as verbatim comments when people wrote on Post-It notes 95
or wrote in online, all of that will be documented in that report. 96
97
Beth Bronson asked about the option of continuing to keep surveys open past the engagement window to 98
potentially have input for the County that would not be captured in the Comprehensive Land Use Plan. 99
7
100
Leigh Anne King: Leaving it open is an option. The one thing I would caution you about with respect to that 101
is I would recommend that if you're going to be asking the public to take a survey, you want to use the data. 102
And we can't continuously be changing the report. So, I think that's one of the challenges of doing it that way. 103
104
Beth Bronson: Absolutely. I mean, I agree 100 percent with you in respect to that and I understand the 105
design of using the data set to move forward to second and third. I guess that makes sense and if County had 106
a section of, “here, you want to answer these questions separate from this and move those questions to a 107
different location,” I could understand that. 108
109
Leigh Anne King: And there's also an opportunity to reach out and provide comment at any point and time 110
through the website. But I think we can kind of take into account what you're concerned about. Should there 111
always be a place for someone to kind of express their interest or concerns? 112
113
Beth Bronson: Yeah you would want to state you're not using that anymore but these responses could be 114
used by the County at a later date. I think it would be valuable data for the County in a way. 115
116
Cy Stober: If I may interject – This is a constant struggle for planners when we do plans of any scale, 117
small area plans, corridor plans, neighborhood block plans, or a county-wide comprehensive land use plan, is 118
you have to close the survey if you're going to use it. And this is a critical part of informing the values that will 119
inform the model and work that we're going to do in the next steps of the project. And so, we do have to close 120
the survey and we certainly don't want to mislead the public that if they participate, that input will then be used. 121
Because we can't use it at this point. We will be doing other outreach and engagement; I believe that will 122
probably include some other survey work. And there will, of course, always be opportunities, Tom has set up a 123
good email address for people to get in touch about this planning effort. And we're working closely with 124
community relations staff as well to use social media and get the word out and get feedback through those 125
avenues, too. So, I completely hear you, Ms. Bronson. We'd love to be able to somehow in real time just have 126
a constant feed into the models and have them adjust accordingly, but it's not possible and we have to make 127
the hard decision on when to close the window. 128
129
Beth Bronson: And I would agree with that. I wouldn't want there to be like an open survey that didn't 130
count or anything like that that may even keep somebody from filling out the survey you do want data on. I 131
don't think you would want to change anything based on that. But if there is a way, yeah, to have those 132
responses kind of in a repository. That's great. 133
134
Liz Kalies: I don't have any questions. But also thank you. It was really thorough and really thought 135
provoking so really nice work. Appreciate it. 136
137
Delores Bailey: The number of people that answered the survey was only 604? 138
139
Leigh Anne King: For the Strategic Plan Survey. For a statistically significant survey for Orange County 140
based on your population, it was supposed to be 580 responses or something like that that I read in the report. 141
So, they actually exceeded the number to meet that statistically significant threshold. I know it's, for the non-142
statisticians like myself, it's always hard to think that that many people can be representative of a body that's 143
way larger than that. But what they do is they look at, they do a random sampling and they also go through 144
and check for all of the socio-demographics to make sure that those are representative of the larger 145
community as well. The community engagement we conducted is self-selected. So, we do look at how 146
representative it is of the community. But it is not statistically significant because those folks chose to 147
participate, they're not randomly sampled. 148
149
8
Delores Bailey: Right. And along that same line, in the group that you selected the ones that you just 150
mentioned, did you have a breakdown of how many African Americans, how many Hispanics? I know that she 151
mentioned that there was whole session done in Spanish. And were there any takers to that or – 152
153
Leigh Anne King: No. So, you know, there was a fair amount of effort that went into making it accessible 154
and reaching out to different organizations and contacts that represent those communities within Orange 155
County, and I think that's one thing that we really want to improve upon for the second round of engagement is 156
to make sure that we don't just kind of provide the opportunity, but we're actually engaging with those 157
community members. So, I think we're ready and know how to do that, we just have to make sure that we are 158
going to be able to engage with them directly. And we have some ideas for how we can do that better in the 159
second round of engagement. 160
161
Chris Johnston: I want to go back to the DEI database that you were talking about. You sent out 162
messages to 70 orgs and 100 direct outreaches, what was the response rate on that? In terms of how many 163
people actually replied back to your outreach? 164
165
Leigh Anne King: So, some of the outreach was just more informational to let them know. I think the 70 plus 166
was, “these community meetings are happening in January. Here's the time and location. We encourage you 167
to attend. Please make your networks aware that this is an opportunity.” We also publicized that the gift cards 168
were going to be available as kind of an incentive to attend. For the direct reach contacts, there was some 169
level of response as part of that. So, Tate Consulting that worked on the team, they were directly emailing and 170
calling different contacts as part of that work. I don't want to speak on behalf of them, but I think what I would 171
characterize my understanding of that experience is that they didn't receive as much response as they had 172
hoped to. You don't always get everyone on the phone when you make the first call. And so, I think there's 173
some work to be done to kind of make land use planning important to these groups and organizations, and 174
help them understand why it’s important to be participating in this process. So that's another part of our 175
charge moving forward. 176
177
Chris Johnston: In the public workshops and that sort of thing, how many repeat people came to those 178
meetings? Did you have a lot of people who were there for Meeting 1, 2, and 3? 179
180
Leigh Anne King: We did have some folks. I don't think that we have an accurate counting of that 181
necessarily. I would say not the majority of people. The majority of people from meeting to meeting were new. 182
But there were some that were repeat. I think there were some that actually attended every meeting. 183
184
Chris Johnston: And at the end of all this, if we go through and we don't have the representation that 185
matches the County or whatever the case may be, what's the end outcome there? 186
187
Leigh Anne King: Well, that's why you have the Strategic Plan Survey because that is, that's the one you 188
can kind of hang your hat on in terms of representation across the community. That's the one that really did 189
look closely at making sure that all communities were represented in the data. I'm sure you're probably aware 190
of this, this is a challenge that most communities face, to get harder-to-reach communities that maybe 191
historically haven't been involved or haven't been asked to be involved in engagement processes. It's harder 192
to connect with them. So again, I think we're coming up with some different ideas for how we can do that 193
better in the second round. 194
195
Chris Johnston: I guess I just come back to the question of there seems to be a sub-vendor who's entire 196
purpose is to make sure that we have this kind of outreach and it just doesn't seem to be happening quite yet. 197
And so, I don't know what that deliverable looks like. It's a problem across the board. But what are next steps 198
9
and how can we address while we're still in the process and not at the end go, “oops, you know, we didn't have 199
an opportunity.” 200
201
Leigh Anne King: Yeah, I think that's a really good point. So Emily mentioned there's some specific groups 202
that we identified from the data that we were not getting the representation in terms of the participation and so 203
I think now that we know that we do have, Tate will continue to do, they continue to have some a role in the 204
community engagement in this next window where they can maybe be a little more targeted to some very 205
specific groups. So the database I think had over 200 different contacts. I think there were a lot to connect 206
with, which is great to have that many groups and organizations and businesses in the County to reach out to. 207
It also makes it a little difficult to have personal conversations with all of them. But I think that now we can kind 208
of narrow that down a little bit more and have some more targeted discussions and maybe push a little bit 209
harder to have those discussions so that we can make sure that those different community groups are 210
represented in the second round of engagement. 211
212
Chris Johnston: Last comment, Cy, have you all looked into how the Health Department can be a place to 213
contact the more diverse communities and populations? 214
215
Cy Stober: We have not. That's very constructive feedback, thank you. 216
217
Whitney Watson: I have two questions. One is if Clarion can drill down a little bit through the kind of 218
economic development options that might be developed. So, it's one thing to sort of go, “we'd like to see 219
renewable energy.” I don't know what that really means. Does it mean a lithium mine like out by Charlotte or 220
does it mean something else? It would be nice to know what people think those different kind of job categories 221
would be. And along with that, what education requirements there might be as well as transportation and 222
training? And then my other question has to do with drilling into what people think about or the community 223
thinks about affordable housing. Maybe it's great to say, “we would love ADUs or tiny home villages 224
everywhere, but not in my backyard.” So perhaps presenting some alternatives in one of these engagement 225
sessions might help people tease out what they really mean about that. 226
227
Leigh Anne King: On the economic development-related land uses, I think that it's a good question. I would 228
be very surprised if a mine would be supported by this community. But I could be wrong. I think that what we 229
want to do with the land use scenarios that we're going to be testing in the fall is to start to, like you're saying, 230
drill down a little more specifically, particularly looking in the economic development districts and potentially 231
other places, if that's where this drives us to. What are the types of land uses that should be accommodated 232
within those areas? What types of employment are we wanting to support? I think that's important. We have 233
the Economic Development Commission and staff representation as part of the staff working group that are 234
helping us to kind of understand what their goals are, what they're working on. I think we might not have a 235
specific piece of feedback that was shared in this but one of the pieces of feedback we received in the 236
community engagement is there's an interest in small businesses and local businesses in particular. One of 237
the questions I have as a consultant kind of thinking about this stuff is not to say that that's not a good thing to 238
support, but what are the, in Orange County, generally speaking, what are the wages that those employees 239
make and are those wages that would actually allow people to kind of both live and work in this community? 240
It's an important question to consider. If we are, if one of our goals is to try to reduce the amount of people 241
that are working elsewhere and driving in every day or cross-commuting. So, I think that that's definitely 242
something, I don't have an answer to your question about what those land uses will be. But I think that's 243
something that we're going to be working through as part of those land use scenarios. You know, solar farms, 244
that's one that a lot of communities are looking at. Is that a type of use that we want to be supporting and 245
where does that make the most sense? 246
247
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Whitney Watson: Right. So, kind of a follow onto that is, what is the economic potential for that? Because it 248
may be that there's lots of jobs created to build that farm, but only two or three or so to maintain it. And 249
perhaps a better example of the kind of jobs that people might question is, “do I want something that's a 250
warehouse where they may hire 50 to 75 people, but they're not actually producing anything, versus a 251
manufacturing facility with maybe a larger employment work force, different kinds of salaries, that kind of 252
thing?” And that makes a big difference, I think, when people think about, “yeah, I'm willing to have a 253
warehouse down the road from me with it's traffic versus a production facility that's making something that gets 254
shipped all over the country.” 255
256
Leigh Anne King: On the affordable housing question that you had in terms of kind of what are people 257
thinking about when they say they want to solve this problem, what are the solutions that they're interested in. 258
I mean, one of the things is we haven't defined and designed exactly what the second round of engagement 259
will look like. But we could potentially kind of explore different models and share that with the community 260
members. I think an important thing to also be thinking about, too, is that while this is a County plan focused 261
on the County's direct authority, where you have land use, planning and zoning jurisdiction, affordable housing 262
as we know is not a County alone problem. This is very much also a challenge that the municipalities and 263
neighboring jurisdictions are dealing with as well. That’s part of a challenge. When I work with counties, I try 264
to recommend that we think about how are there ways to partner it because a lot of the services, the public 265
transportation, the jobs, are often located within the municipalities. And affordability is not just about housing. 266
It's also about transportation and other related costs. And so, the further out you put people, the more 267
potentially over time their costs are going to be increasing. So, it's a challenge because it's not just a question 268
that the County alone can really solve, and shouldn't be solving alone. It's really a more regional kind, or at 269
least within the County, problem to be addressing. 270
271
Whitney Watson: I was really glad to see that that nexus of affordable housing and transportation came up 272
over and over again. Because that does mean that we will hopefully focus our attention on finding a good 273
solution for both of those. 274
275
Lamar Proctor: So the Strategic Survey Plan is done by a different agency or business? 276
277
Leigh Anne King: BerryDunn, and they actually had, there was a different group as part of their consultant 278
team that conducted the survey, if I remember correctly. 279
280
Lamar Proctor: And will those results also appear on the website at some point? 281
282
Leigh Anne King: There's a full report, that anybody can access, it's on the County's website. 283
284
Lamar Proctor: And so, where will that appear for the public to see those results? Would it be on 285
OrangeCountylanduseplan.com? 286
287
Leigh Anne King: We can cross reference it. We can definitely add that to the website. I don't think we 288
currently have that today, but – 289
290
Cy Stober: The Strategic Plan is coming to the Commissioners for adoption at their next meeting, on 291
February 20th. Where that will be stored on the County's website, that project was managed by the Manager's 292
Office, so I'm not sure, but we're happy to provide links to that from the Comprehensive Plan. 293
294
Lamar Proctor: I think it would be very helpful for all of the survey results, whether they're the community 295
engagement, the Strategic Plan Survey, or the stakeholder interviews, to see all the different conversations 296
and clearly identify the source of that information. I do think the Strategic Plan Survey, being that it’s 297
11
statistically significant, is really important in terms of identifying the needs and opinions and views of the 298
County residents. The community engagement window, did I get those numbers right? There were only like 299
16 online surveys? 300
301
Leigh Anne King: That's right. I was surprised about that too. That is, as Emily was stating, that is not 302
normal. Even before the pandemic, most communities that we work with, very few people show up at the 303
public meetings, the in-person meetings, and a lot more folks respond online, and it was kind of the flip, here in 304
Orange County, which was interesting. That it's a good thing, I think people are feeling safe to come out and 305
go to these meetings, which is good. But there's something about in-person engagement, maybe, that they're 306
more attracted to, than doing a survey online. And part of that could be, because you do have a lot— the 307
Climate Action Plan, the Strategic Plan, the Land Use Plan—there’s been a lot of surveys and public 308
engagement, and that might be part of the reason why there weren’t more higher level of online responses as 309
well. 310
311
Lamar Proctor: Well, I do think that more data is better. So, anything that we can do to facilitate the next 312
round… Will there be another round of online surveys? I know that this one's closed. 313
314
Leigh Anne King: Every engagement round comes with both an online and an in-person component. And 315
they're the same thing, so it makes it accessible if folks' schedules don't permit them to come to the meeting. 316
317
Lamar Proctor: Well, I think knowing that we had such a low number on the online, we should be 318
cognizant of that, in the next window to try and get links out to as many sources as possible. 319
320
Leigh Anne King: I think that's right. And that probably is part of the story behind why we didn't have folks in 321
the younger age brackets, that Emily was mentioning, because that's where get, typically speaking, we get a 322
lot of feedback from those groups online. 323
324
Lamar Proctor: I felt when I read the community stakeholder interview themes, that they didn't really… I 325
guess my question is, how did y'all present that? How was that decided on the narratives there? Was it just 326
verbatim from people? How did you compile those interviews and present them in this format? 327
328
Leigh Anne King: So, what we did was we tried to organize under key critical topics that we were hearing 329
about from multiple interviewees, or survey respondents, across the 57 interviews and the survey responses 330
that we received. Some of these issues are, many people, if not all people, were speaking to them. Some of 331
them had maybe fewer responses. This was more of a qualitative exercise than the quantitative exercise that 332
we just showed you with respect to the community engagement, so there may have been some issues that 333
maybe we only heard from 5 or 10 people about, but we feel like as, with our expertise and our experience, 334
that this is an important issue to be raising, even if the entire group was not necessarily speaking to it, it's an 335
important idea to be sharing and publishing as part of this report. 336
337
Lamar Proctor: Because there was, in the stakeholder interview themes and narratives, there was a much 338
stronger push for development that I don't think was reflected in the surveys and the community engagement, 339
and I was wondering if you noticed that, if I'm misreading that, or if – 340
341
Leigh Anne King: I think that's right. That's part of the reason why I kept the economic development stool 342
on the Sustainable Development Venn Diagram, because, not to underplay the community engagement, I 343
think it's very important, but there are also some important stakeholders that we met with in this process that 344
had a slightly different view about things, and those inputs are important as well in this process. So, we're 345
collectively looking at all those inputs, even if they don't match up. And that's going to happen. That's very 346
12
common. These processes are, that's what makes them interesting and challenging, because not everybody 347
sees the world in the same way. 348
349
Lamar Proctor: Correct. I just didn't know how you weigh these things, or if you’re just like, “here they 350
are. Here’s what the statistically significant survey say, here's what the self-inviting group say, and here's what 351
the stakeholders say.” I'm just wondering in terms of the themes and narratives in stakeholders, for example, 352
the issue with Mebane, in your report, there's an indication from stakeholders, without really parsing out how 353
many stakeholders or who said it, or where this information's coming from, that Mebane is not really as 354
development hungry as it seems to be. But I think there's plenty of examples that that is also not true, so 355
there's a disconnect between what is verifiable, accurate information, and what stakeholder summary 356
interviews are, and the way they're presented. 357
358
Leigh Anne King: I think so. It sounds like you're interested in more kind of quantifiable reporting of what 359
the stakeholder interview responses were. And I think that we typically write them as more qualitative than 360
quantifiable at that stage. The purpose of those stakeholder surveys and interviews is really to give us a pretty 361
quick dose of what the issues are in the community and then we kind of use that to help define the questions 362
we want to ask the community and test, “is that right, are we hearing it right?” So, what we learn from the 363
community engagement and the Strategic Plan Survey, is that, to your point, there's less of an emphasis on 364
economic development in terms of the community aspirations that we're reading through those two reports 365
than we heard from in the stakeholder information. Does that make sense? 366
367
Lamar Proctor: And that's why I'm noting that kind of disconnect there. 368
369
Leigh Anne King: Yep. And that's something that we will help to shed some light on as part of that new 370
Issues and Opportunities Report. And we're not going to go through line by line comparing every single issue, 371
but I think that we can talk about how there's some differing opinions about some different topics within the 372
community. 373
374
Lamar Proctor: And then, UNC. So, there was, just kind of like, “UNC is there.” Is there a way to 375
engage? I know UNC has a school of government and they have a whole branch of people who look at the 376
interface between local government and development, they have small business advisors. And what I did like 377
about your report is it got me thinking about one of the largest, if not the largest employer in the county is UNC 378
Hospital and is there any way to interface with them and get them to be a stakeholder in the community in 379
terms of affordable housing. Because a lot of the people who need affordable housing are the people who are 380
working at UNC Hospital or University of North Carolina, generally. And I didn't know if there was any fertile 381
ground there moving forward, because they are a huge part, and they just seem kind of silent in this 382
conversation. 383
384
Leigh Anne King: I think that that is a really good idea to be exploring. As a land use plan, since our kind of 385
focus is on developing a land use plan at the end of the day for this project, and I think that land use plan can 386
include some recommendations for how the County might go about either partnering or being a funder, or 387
whatever the recommendation is with respect to affordable housing. And it seems like that's a very important 388
opportunity— is how can we be kind of partnering with our biggest employer in the county, that generates a lot 389
of the workforce that can't live here because of wages, etc. and the lack of affordability, that seems like an 390
important kind of recommendation to be considering. 391
392
Lamar Proctor: And last point on the stakeholder interview answers. I think going forward, I'd like for it to 393
have some clarity as to like, this is a qualitative analysis. Because someone who is reviewing this can get 394
misled into thinking, “well, these are quantitatively important things,” as opposed to, “this is kind of the 395
conversation themes that come up when we talk to stakeholders.” 396
13
397
Leigh Anne King: One of the reasons that we take a more qualitative approach versus quantitative, is we do 398
want to be representative of the community when we do quantitative analysis, whereas the qualitative analysis 399
with stakeholder surveys is really an opportunity to meet with County leadership, advisory board members, 400
staff, which aren't necessarily going to be representative sociodemographically of the community, but they are 401
the people that are working on a regular basis in this area. So, that's why we take a more qualitative approach 402
as opposed to a quantitative approach. 403
404
Melissa Poole: So, on the renter engagement, obviously, that's of concern, because it was so low, and I 405
can't help but wonder if that could be, intuitively, when you hear “land use plan,” and you are not a land owner, 406
or a property owner, you're naturally like, “why, how does this affect me?” So, perhaps in trying to generate 407
more engagement, kind of outlining whether you own property or not, the importance of the Land Use Plan, 408
and probably a particular emphasis on the communities seeming to drive for affordable housing, because one 409
has to assume, if you are not a homeowner, that you're renting because it's expensive to own a home. The 410
second is, I'm concerned with the engagement of, and if I looked at it correctly, obviously those that are 64 and 411
older are turning out, because, generally speaking, those are the folks who are most concerned with, “I've lived 412
here all my life, this is my property, this is what I want.” But, I think, now, I know what I put on, every time y'all 413
have sent us stuff, I put it on my social media. I think that broadening the social media, more so than just 414
Facebook, if you want to reach them 15 and older, you got to do Instagram. I mean, there's no two ways about 415
it. They don't Facebook, they don't Twitter. But I also think you can possibly engage more diversity as well, 416
diversity both ethnicity as well as age, if you thought about sending home something, dropping it off at the 417
schools in the office to go home with kids. Because I know, when my children were in elementary school, in 418
particular, everything that went on in this county come home in their little folder on Friday, and I would have to 419
go through 20 pages of stuff. So, you're going hit a greater diversity ethnically, you're going to hit a greater 420
age group. And then, my question. That's my two cents. I'm good at giving an opinion. Looking at the parks 421
and rec, when I was looking through this, and y'all identity what the purpose of, what they are, the key 422
objectives, how are y'all coming up with that? I’m looking at where it breaks out specifically the different parks 423
and areas, so Blackwood Farm Park Master Plan, Little River Regional. 424
425
Leigh Anne King: The Community Policy Profile, different policy documents the County has. So that is a 426
summary report of adopted and relevant policy plans that the County has on the books right now, and we 427
wanted to do a review of all of those so we understood what's out there right now, in terms of policy direction, 428
that we need to be considering in this process that has an influence on this Plan. And they're organized by 429
different topic areas because there are so many of those plans. 430
431
Statler Gilfillen: I assume that the real goal of this, the whole study, it's to take, and you've done, I think, 432
an excellent job of surveying people for what their desires are. I'm not questioning that at all. It's to take those 433
citizens' desires, and then create a plan that becomes a law, that we can promote fulfillment of those goals. 434
435
Leigh Anne King: Yes. I would be careful about saying the law because it is a policy document. So, it's not 436
the same as your Zoning Ordinance, but – 437
438
Statler Gilfillen: It's not quite that rigid. I'd like to ask a stupid question. Who is the largest land property 439
owner in the county? 440
441
Cy Stober: It's either Orange County or Duke Forest. 442
443
Statler Gilfillen: Let’s say Duke Forest. The County has a lot within the urban areas, that may be one 444
thing and the impact of the study and promoting things might be different. How many of that list at the top 10 445
or 20, that own the most open rural land, that your study, as I'm understanding, will be most directed at, and 446
14
some of them are property owners that could be developers of housing, affordable housing, if they are 447
approached, and they are at that level of that type of land, by opening a discussion in a practical manner with 448
them, could then, and that is incorporated into the policies where you can, and it helps promote the right type 449
of development, could be beneficial. I haven't heard a discussion where those major policy owners as a group, 450
have been taken into account. That would be my comment there. Because sometimes that focus is what 451
makes the most practical solutions. The only other question I've got, and this one's going to be a little bit, 452
deals with historic sites, and there are many of them within the County. Now, there is the courthouse in 453
downtown Hillsborough. That is a very significant historic site. That is public, everybody's aware of it. There 454
are also, traditionally, many public sites that are historic that they're not publicized purposely, because if you 455
openly publicize them, that leaves them, and they're rural areas, that leaves them very exposed for vandalism 456
and stealing on those sites. Therefore, traditionally, whether it's England or the United States, many of those 457
sites have not been covered. In what you're doing in land use, because some of those sites may impact 458
potential development areas. I'm just raising this point, is there any discussion of how you've handled that in 459
your report? 460
461
Leigh Anne King: Let me start with the first question. I think it's a really good idea that you raise about 462
thinking about the next round of engagement, which honestly, is probably when the larger landowners would 463
be most interested in engaging, when we're starting to talk about the Future Land Use Map and how that could 464
or might change, if at all. I think that's an important idea to be reaching out to them directly as part of this 465
process to let them know that that's part of the discussion that the County's having in development of this Plan. 466
So, that's a really good suggestion. On the historic sites, in terms of how they might be protected or what 467
might happen to those, I think we definitely want to be looking at those, kind of culturally and historically 468
significant properties, as part of this process and thinking about the land use designations that would apply to 469
those properties and how that could potentially influence them. Particularly if they're places that are valued or 470
if you all have a prioritization of historic properties that you want to be protecting. That might be something 471
that the County has, I haven't looked into that, but – 472
473
Statler Gilfillen: I would discuss that with Peter Sandbeck, who is in charge of historic preservations. 474
475
Leigh Anne King: So, that's something that we could definitely take a look at, as part of the more rural parts 476
of the county, when we're looking at the Future Land Use Map. 477
478
Marilyn Carter: First off, thank you for a very comprehensive update to the committee. I had a chance to 479
go to two of the three engagement workshops and a friend and community member from Cedar Grove 480
attended the Cedar Grove workshop and I was happy to hear her report back that there was good 481
representation at that workshop. And the participation level was very high as well. So, I was pleased to hear 482
about that. And I'm also pleased to hear that the plan is to go into the next engagement window and the future 483
land use alternatives discussion, to bring in other groups that might not have been represented. I appreciate it, 484
Emily and yourself, Leigh Anne, referencing that. I noticed in the report, and this is a question, that there's 485
several groups that are referenced, the Occoneechee tribal communities, as well as, of course, we've already 486
discussed some of the other committee members mentioned renters, the Latino population, and so, will those 487
three groups expressly be engaged as part of that next engagement window? 488
489
Leigh Anne King: Yes, I think that's one of the things that Tate Consulting on our team can be focusing in 490
on, as opposed to 200 different contacts, we can be kind of narrowing that focus a little bit. Not that we won't 491
continue to advertise and reach out to the other organization and groups, but that we might want to be paying 492
specific and putting more energy behind connecting with the folks that we did not connect with this time. 493
494
Marilyn Carter: Okay. Thank you for confirming that. And then, this is more of an observation than a 495
question, but when you showed, and appreciated seeing the Strategic Plan Survey feedback in this context, I 496
15
haven't looked at it in the past, and noticing, and of course, the focus in this conversation is land use, but it 497
stood out that some of the community priorities, and perhaps the community priority that stood out at the top, 498
was our schools, or near the top, was our schools. And we know that our commissioners are discussing a 499
school bond that will need to be funded, and while that is not the purview of the land use planning, I think 500
there's going to be implications, perhaps, big implications for land use planning, and of course, funding that 501
and how we consider in our economic development discussions, even if the community didn't rate economic 502
development as high, we know that we're going to need to identify ways to grow sustainably so that we can 503
fund those school infrastructure improvements, so this is more of an observation that perhaps steps outside of 504
the bounds of what this committee does, but certainly it's perhaps, on many of our minds as we think about 505
those tradeoffs. So, just an observation. 506
507
Steve Kaufmann: I just want to make one little comment that I appreciated seeing on Page 49— the 508
statement about the limited utility services in the area. Hillsborough sewer utilities are at capacity, likely to 509
shrink without extra funding. This is something that we had to deal with this past year. Is this going to affect 510
the availability of sewage for the rest of the people? Is it going to increase their rates? It seems to be an 511
ongoing concern, has been ever since I moved to Hillsborough. I think when I first moved here, it was the 512
water supply, and they've expanded the water supply, but now it's the sewage. And so, that really affects the 513
ability to expand economic development, and how do you have affordable housing if you don't have water and 514
sewage for the people? And people that live in town that have the water and sewage, their rates are really high 515
and they're complaining about the rates, and they're just going to go higher, possibly. So, I just wanted to 516
throw that out there. 517
518
Lamar Proctor invited members of advisory boards to provide comments. 519
520
Michael Hughes: I'm on the Transportation Advisory Board and the Agricultural Preservation Board. 521
Previously been on the Commission for the Environment and the OWASA Board of Directors. No comments 522
or questions. Just here to listen. Thanks, guys. 523
524
Lamar Proctor invited members of the public to provide comments. 525
526
John Dempsey: Hello, John Dempsey from Hillsborough. Good evening. The Comprehensive Land Use 527
Plan 2050 process offers both an opportunity and a threat. Opening up the County's land use plans and 528
policies for review and reform presents an opportunity to bring land use policy in line with Orange County's 529
Environmental Sustainability Goals. It is an opportunity to set policies that address Urban Stream Syndrome 530
and reduce the current negative impacts of rapid urban development on the streams feeding our watershed. 531
The Orange County Climate Action Plan and the Falls Lake Interim Alternative Implementation Approach, as 532
well as a variety of overlay areas of a special concern, such as the New Hope Corridor Open Space Master 533
Plan, are just some examples of efforts to protect and improve water quality in Orange County. The County 534
should be focused on reforming our UDO to better align with such stated County environmental efforts and 535
initiatives. The Rural Buffer is an example of land use policy that has done exactly that. Since being adopted 536
by a joint planning agreement in 1988, it has been helping to protect the invaluable streams that feed our 537
freshwater resources and drinking water supplies. This is in addition to helping block urban sprawl, and 538
contributing to reinforcing the new agricultural economy that is now helping to supply our restaurants, 539
groceries, and farmers' markets. This is the time during the Comprehensive Land Use Plan 2050 review 540
process, where the County should set a goal of watershed neutral planning and development and begin 541
working towards that end. Much of the current independent science research on water system health and 542
management focuses on that specific topic. The destructive effects of urbanization on water resources, 543
particularly on the health of those streams within areas of rapid growth. The science-based field researches, 544
those with boots-in-the-water, are who should be heard from for a clear understanding of the conditions that 545
need to be addressed during our Comprehensive Land Use 2050 process. There are many public and private 546
16
resources available for making such informed decisions. North Carolina's Department of Environmental 547
Quality and the Environmental Protection Agency, to name just two. Answers to the challenges posed to our 548
environment by climate change and to our watersheds by Urban Stream Syndrome, are inextricably linked to 549
our land use policy, and thus provide us with a relatively clear path forward. Science-based reforms to our 550
Comprehensive Land Use Plan will contribute to solving those long-term environmental issues that we face 551
together. Now is the time to listen to the boots-in-the-water and bring our UDO into compliance with the 552
science. 553
554
John Dempsey provided a handout of watershed neutral planning and development to the Board. 555
556
Margo Lakin: Good evening, my name is Margo Lakin. I live in Hillsborough. I attended the public input 557
session on January 20. My husband attended the one in Cedar Grove on January 19th. Both sessions saw 558
staggering numbers of concerned citizens who I would argue are the ultimate stakeholders in all of this. Past 559
and current board members from Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Hillsborough spoke to the importance of 560
protecting the watersheds and the rural buffers and our tree canopy and our biodiversity. Past County 561
commissioners shared how they fought for the Rural Buffer back in the day, as they vehemently encouraged 562
us to do the same now. It was alive and clearly articulated consensus we need a science-based 563
Comprehensive Land Use Plan. We need to hear from the scientists, the experts, who have the concrete data 564
needed to make land use decisions. I also want to remind everyone that during the pandemic, many of us 565
were able to put food on our tables, thanks to the farmers of Orange County who were able to farm only 566
because of the Rural Buffer. We must remember this is Orange County. This isn't Chatham or Johnston or 567
Durham or Alamance. It's imperative to listen to the citizens in creating a Comprehensive Land Use Plan that 568
reflects our wants and our needs. I see Thank Science signs in many yards throughout the County. If we 569
want to truly thank science, it's time we bring science to the table when creating this Comprehensive Land Use 570
Plan. Thank you. 571
572
Rob Minton: Thank you for allowing us to speak in public in this very important meeting. My name is 573
Rob Minton. I've lived in Hillsborough, 25, 30 years, and one of the things that we appreciate of this area is the 574
rural buffers. It needs to be emphasized over and over again. The reason it was created is because of the 575
positive impacts that it has on the community as a whole. That's why people come here. I think that's why this 576
county is unique. Compared to other counties, they have sort of bellied up to lax zoning laws and things that 577
happened in Mebane here, recently with Buc-ee's, with very little environmental concerns. Anyway, wanted to 578
emphasize that science, I agree with the previous speaker, science-based evidence is important here, as well 579
as it is to emphasize the fact that there needs to be... the stakeholders here, I feel, are the people who spoke 580
out in public, and I appreciate the survey having us. I was one of the attendees at this one on January the 581
20th and I was very impressed by the fact that so many people overwhelmingly want to keep this community 582
intact with the rural buffers. The reason things have been very different and unique here is because of that 583
and I would like to certainly continue to encourage this committee and survey to include that within their overall 584
presentation. One question that I have here, is actually who are the stakeholders? I agree with one of the 585
Planning Board members that it seems to be a little disconnect here, with one side, I don't even know who the 586
stakeholders are. I don't know if any of us do, other than to survey, the consultation people, that wasn't 587
addressed at all. If the stakeholders are pro-development, I've got a real problem with that. I think public input 588
is important here and I just wanted to close out by saying please keep the current rural buffers. They're so 589
important. Thank you. 590
591
Lamar Proctor read out the list of stakeholder interviews from the packet and asked if there was input from an 592
scientific resources in terms of ecological protection. 593
594
Leigh Anne King confirmed that one part of the consultant team is Equinox, a group with landscape architects 595
and others focused on the science and the planning of natural lands. 596
17
597
Delores Bailey requested a change in the time Tate Consulting holds the public input meetings, ensuring that 598
there are ample meeting times for residents who work during the day. 599
600
AGENDA ITEM 8: ADJOURNMENT 601
602
MOTION BY Melissa Poole to adjourn meeting. Seconded by Statler Gilfillen. 603
604
MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. 605
606
The meeting adjourned at 8:54 PM. 607
18
ORANGE COUNTY
PLANNING BOARD
AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: March 6, 2024
Action Agenda
Item No. 8
SUBJECT: Discussion Item - Public Notification Requirements
DEPARTMENT: Planning and Inspections
ATTACHMENT(S):
1. Info Item from March 8, 2023 Agenda
INFORMATION CONTACT:
Perdita Holtz, Deputy Director – Long-
Range Planning, 919-245-2578
Cy Stober, Director, 919-245-2592
PURPOSE: To discuss current public notification requirements contained in the Unified
Development Ordinance (UDO).
BACKGROUND: Planning Board members have requested the opportunity to review and
discuss current notification requirements contained in the UDO. Planning staff provided
information on the topic as an Information Item on the March 8, 2023 Planning Board Agenda;
the memo from the meeting comprises Attachment 1.
The UDO includes public notification for the following types meetings/actions:
Type of Amendment
Mailed Notice
PB = Planning
Board meeting.
PH = Public
Hearing (BOCC).
Sign
Posted
Newspaper
Advertisement
(for BOCC
Public Hearing)
UDO Section
Comprehensive Plan Text N/A N/A Y 2.3.5
Comprehensive Plan Future
Land Use Map
Y – 1,000’
PB & PH Y Y 2.3.5
UDO Text Amendment N/A N/A Y 2.8.7
Zoning Atlas Amendment Y – 1,000’
PB & PH Y Y 2.8.7
Neighborhood Information Meetings
NIM for Conditional District
Rezoning Y – 1,000’ Y N/A 2.9.1(D)
NIM for Minor Subdivisions
Using the Flexible
Development Option
Y (if proposing
>5 lots) –
1,000’
Y N/A 2.14.4(B)
NIM for Major Subdivisions
(Concept Plan stage) Y – 1,000’ Y N/A 2.15.2(D)
19
Type of Amendment
Mailed Notice
PB = Planning
Board meeting.
PH = Public
Hearing (BOCC).
Sign
Posted
Newspaper
Advertisement
(for BOCC
Public Hearing)
UDO Section
NIM for Governmental Uses
Y, under
certain
conditions –
1,000’
Y N/A 2.24.2
BOA Matters
Special Use Permit Y – 1,000’ Y N 2.7.6
Variances Y – 1,000’ Y N 2.10.12 /
2.12.6 / 2.7.6
Interpretations N N N 2.11.7 /
2.12.6
If the Planning Board desires to suggest changes to the current public notification requirements,
the Board of County Commissioners would need to sanction the concept before staff could
begin work on any updates.
RECOMMENDATION(S): The Planning Director recommends the Planning Board discuss the
topic as desired.
20
PLANNING and INSPECTIONS
Cy Stober, AICP, Director | cstober@orangecountync.gov | 131 W. Margaret Lane, Hillsborough, NC 27278 | 919.245.2575
MEMORANDUM
Date: March 1, 2023
To: Orange County Planning Board
From: Cy Stober, AICP, Planning Director
Perdita Holtz, AICP, Deputy Director for Long-Range Planning and
Administration
Subject: Planning Board Request for Information Regarding Notification Distances for
Neighborhood Information Meetings
At the December 7, 2022 Planning Board meeting, the Board requested information on
notification distances for Neighborhood Information Meetings (NIMs). Staff has
gathered information from peer counties and compiled the information into the table
below.
In summary, Orange County currently administers the most robust notifications, in terms
of both the types of actions for which a NIM is required to be held and the mailed
notification distance. In addition to mailed notifications, the property is posted with a
sign that informs interested passerby that an action is proposed on the property. This
allows people who may not own property within the 1,000-foot mailed notification
boundary to seek out more information if they desire.
The Planning Department also coordinates with the County’s Community Relations
Department to send out information to an e-mail newsletter list and/or post on the
County’s social media accounts. Interested persons can sign up for various
“sunshine”/newsletter lists at: https://www.orangecountync.gov/1561/Electronic-
Newsletters. The County’s Facebook and Twitter names are OCNCGov.
Attachment 1 21
Comparison of County Notification Requirements
County
NIM Required?
(if yes, for what types of
actions?)
Regulations
or
Practice?
Mail Notices for Planning
Board Meetings?
Public Hearing Mailed
Notification Distance
Any Deviation in Mailed
Notice Distance (NIM/
Planning Board/Public
Hearing)?
Buncombe N N/A Y
Regulations requires only
“abutting” notifications.
Practice is 1,000’
notifications, based on a
BOCC vote to direct staff
to use 1,000’.
N
Chatham Y for Rezonings, Special Use
Permits, Major Subdivisions Regulations
Y for Major Subdivisions.
Planning Board meeting for
rezonings is after the public
hearing, so no additional
notices are mailed.
For rezonings and SUPs:
abutting only.
For major subdivisions:
400-feet
N
Durham
Y for Comprehensive Plan
amendments, rezonings,
conservation subdivisions (not
regular subdivisions), and
statutory development
agreements
Regulations Y 600-feet N
Wake
N
Encouraged only and staff will
ask applicant to meet with
neighbors, depending on the
dynamics.
Practice, if
staff asks
due to
dynamics
N N/A
Note: mailed notice for the
public hearing is 1,000’ as a
policy (not in regulations)
22
County
NIM Required?
(if yes, for what types of
actions?)
Regulations
or
Practice?
Mail Notices for Planning
Board Meetings?
Public Hearing Mailed
Notification Distance
Any Deviation in Mailed
Notice Distance (NIM/
Planning Board/Public
Hearing)?
Orange
Y for Conditional Districts,
Special Use Permits, Minor
Subdivisions Utilizing the
Flexible Development Option,
Major Subdivisions
Regulations Y 1,000-feet N
Statutory
Requirement
NCGS 160D-
602; 106D-406;
160D-803
None Not Required
Zoning: Affected parcel(s)
+ abutting parcels
(touching or across a
right-of-way).
SUPs: abutting parcels.
Subdivisions: no
requirement for
administrative or
legislative actions; follow
SUP requirements for
quasi-judicial actions.
23