AGENDA #4e

 

MEMORANDUM

 

TO:                  Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager

 

FROM:            J. B. Culpepper, Planning Director

                        Gene Poveromo, Development Coordinator

 

SUBJECT:      Request for Expedited Processing of Rezoning and Special Use Permit Applications for the Orange County Animal Shelter

 

DATE:            September 27, 2006

 

 

PURPOSE

 

Adoption of the attached resolution would grant a request for expedited processing of the Rezoning and Special Use Permit applications that would authorize the Orange County Animal Shelter on a site on the south side of Eubanks Road. 

 

BACKGROUND

 

On July 6, 2006, we received a request from Mr. Barry Jacobs, Chair of the Orange County Board of Commissioners, requesting expedited processing of applications for a Rezoning and a Special Use Permit for the Orange County Animal Shelter.  The petition was referred to the Town Manager for review and recommendation (Attachment 2).

 

We have not received a Rezoning or a Special Use Permit application for this proposal. 

 

The site is located on south side of Eubanks Road, adjacent to the closed landfill and is identified as PIN 9870-77-4584.

 

EXPEDITED PROCESSING

 

Expedited processing grants priority status for review at every step of the process and grants priority status in being scheduled on agendas of advisory boards and the Town Council. A Special Use Permit application would normally take nine months to a year to be reviewed by all the required boards and commissions and to be heard at a Public Hearing.

 

Following approval, an application normally takes four to five months to obtain approval of detailed construction drawings and final plans, prior to obtaining a Building Permit. The review process is often long because of the breadth and depth of review and analysis, and because many projects are usually being reviewed at any given time.

 

However, because of the other applications previously granted such status, there will likely not be much shortening of the review time for this project if expedited processing is granted.

 

DISCUSSION

 

Request:  The petition requests expedited processing status for the Orange County Animal Shelter to allow construction for a new facility to replace the existing facility located at the Municipal Operations Facility. 

 

Expedited Processing:  We followed the Council-endorsed criteria listed below when making recommendations to Council on requests for expedited processing:

 

  1. Recommend expedited processing only in cases where there is a public interest or public objective involved.
  2. Recommend expedited processing only when a project that involves public interest would be harmed by following normal rules of procedures.
  3. Recommend expedited processing in cases where an applicant has submitted evidence, as endorsed by the Town Council and provided in Attachment 3, that the applicant is actively pursuing the development of a project that will:
    1. meet or exceed the LEED Silver certification; and
    2. exceed the energy standards by 20 percent of ASHRAE 90.1-2004.
  4. Avoid expedited processing in situations where other applications that do not carry this special status would be delayed.

 

Several development applications are currently working toward being placed on the Council’s Public Hearing schedule.  The impact of granting expedited processing for the Orange County Animal Shelter is that one less space would be available on the Council’s schedule for which other non-expedited applications are competing.

 

We believe that the proposal meets the objective for public purpose in the four criteria above for granting expedited processing status.  The applicant has identified public objective as the facility is in the public interest and purpose.  Projects that have been granted expedited processing are identified in Attachment 1. 

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

We recommend that the Council adopt the attached resolution.  Adoption of the resolution would grant expedited processing for the Orange County Animal Shelter.

 

ATTACHMENTS

 

  1. List of Projects Granted Expedited Processing (p. 4).
  2. Letter from Barry Jacobs, Chair of the Orange County Board of Commissioners (p. 6).