FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

SUBJECT: Upcoming Joint Planning Agreement Amendment

DATE: March 1, 2004

A Joint Public Hearing is scheduled for Monday, March 29, 2004 at 7:30 P.M., at the Southern Human Services Center. This hearing will be held jointly by the Chapel Hill Town Council, the Carrboro Board of Aldermen, and the Orange County Board of Commissioners.

Orange County has proposed that the Joint Planning Agreement, and its related plans and documents, be amended to reflect Chapel Hill’s action in May 2000, to contract the Urban Services Boundary. A small portion of the Joint Planning Area south of Chapel Hill is within the Joint Planning Area and has been designated since 1987 as Chapel Hill Transition Area. With Chapel Hill’s Urban Services Boundary contracted (in 2000), and a Water Sewer Boundary Agreement executed to reflect that Urban Services Boundary (in 2003), the next and final step to align all plans is to make this adjustment to the Joint Planning documents.

A map appears below that shows the area in question: It is currently classified as Chapel Hill Transition Area, and is proposed to be re-designated as Rural Buffer.

DISCUSSION

The specific amendments that are proposed by Orange County appear below. These items would make up the agenda for the March 29 Joint Planning Hearing:

A. JOINT PLANNING AGREEMENT

Amend the Joint Planning Land Use Map to change the designation of the Chapel Hill Southern Transition Area to Rural Buffer. The attached map shows this area.

B. JOINT PLANNING AREA LAND USE PLAN (TEXT AND MAP)

Amend the Joint Planning Land Use Plan Map to change the designation of the Chapel Hill Southern Transition Area to Rural Buffer.

Amend the text of the Joint Planning Area Land Use Plan to reflect this changed designation.

C. ORANGE COUNTY ZONING ATLAS

Amend the Orange County Zoning Atlas for the area currently designated Chapel Hill Southern Transition Area and proposed for the Rural Buffer land use category from Chapel Hill R-LD-1 zoning to Orange County Rural Buffer (RB) zoning.

In addition, the County has proposed adding the following item to the March 29 meeting for presentation and discussion:

D. NON-PUBLIC HEARING ITEM

Agricultural Business Options/Rural Enterprises – to receive a brief report on a proposal to allow a greater range of agricultural enterprises in the rural areas, focusing on uses that offer farmers supplemental revenue from agricultural products, businesses that are logical extensions of farm uses, and services related to farming. Although this is a countywide planning jurisdiction initiative, the report will focus on the Rural Buffer portion of the Joint Planning Area.

SUMMARY

We offer this memorandum for the Council’s information, to preview the upcoming March 29 Joint Public Hearing. Staff evaluation of the above proposals will be prepared and distributed prior to the hearing. No Council action is needed at this time.

ATTACHMENT

Joint Planning Area Jurisdictional Map (p. 3).

ATTACHMENT 1