MEMORANDUM

 

TO:

Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager

FROM:

J.B. Culpepper, Planning Director

Loryn Clark, Housing and Neighborhood Services Coordinator

SUBJECT:

Proposed Land Use Management Ordinance Text Amendment – Modifications to the Neighborhood Conservation District Process

DATE:

October 8, 2007

 

PURPOSE

 

Enactment of the attached Ordinance would amend the Neighborhood Conservation District process of the Land Use Management Ordinance in the following manner:

  1. Designation Criteria: A modification to the designation criteria of a neighborhood, increasing the years that an area must have been platted or developed from 25 to 40. 
  2. Application Procedures:  A modification to the application procedures, dividing the initiation process into two phases.  Phase One would include a Public Information Meeting and Phase Two would include a ‘Feasibility Review’of the neighborhood by the Planning Board before a decision was made by the Council to move forward with the development of a Neighborhood Conservation District.

 

BACKGROUND

 

On June 12, 2006, the Planning Board presented the Council with a petition to modify the Neighborhood Conservation District process.  On October 9, 2006, the Council requested that the staff create a Land Use Management Ordinance text amendment to incorporate the elements of the Planning Board petition into the Neighborhood Conservation District process.

 

On September 17, 2007, the Council held a Public Hearing to receive comments on the proposed amendments to the Land Use Management Ordinance recommended by the Planning Board.  A copy of the September 17, 2007 memorandum is attached (please see Attachment 1).

 

ISSUES RAISED

 

There were two issues raised during the Public Hearing for the text amendment regarding modification to the Neighborhood Conservation District process.  These issues are addressed here:

 

1)    Level of Urgency Clarification:  Council Members requested an explanation of how the Council would evaluate the level of urgency for a Neighborhood Conservation District petition, and whether the Planning Board would offer guidance about the level of urgency of a petition.

 

Comment:  The June 12, 2006 Planning Board petition states that “upon being petitioned for a Neighborhood Conservation District, the Council should consider the specifics of a neighborhood before moving forward.”  The petition defines the specifics as, “the objectives of a potential Neighborhood Conservation District, whether it is urgent, and the boundary of the proposed district.”

 

The proposed text amendment would result in a Planning Board Feasibility Review of a Neighborhood Conservation District petition that would include a recommendation to the Council regarding the petition’s community goals, level of urgency, decision making structure, and the initial boundary of the proposed Neighborhood Conservation District. With regard to the level of urgency, the Planning Board would evaluate the current development trends in a petitioning neighborhood and recommend a level of priority that the proposed Neighborhood Conservation District should have in the overall Planning Board workload. 

 

2)  Timing: The Planning Board Chair noted that the proposed Ordinance revision did not include the Planning Board’s recommendation to limit the development of Neighborhood Conservation Districts to no more than two neighborhoods at a time. 

 

Comment:  We did not include language in the proposed text amendment to limit the development of more than two Neighborhood Conservation Districts at a time because we believe this recommendation would be a policy issue for the Council to determine on a case by case basis, rather than a procedural component of the Ordinance regarding the Neighborhood Conservation District process.  For example, we note that the Land Use Management Ordinance does not apply a limitation to the management of permit, rezoning, or appeal applications.

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

 

Planning Board Recommendation: On August 21, 2007, the Planning Board voted 5-0 to recommend enactment of the attached Ordinance. 

 

Staff Recommendation:  We recommend that the Council enact the attached Ordinance to amend the text of Section 3.6.5 Neighborhood Conservation District of the Land Use Management Ordinance.

 

ATTACHMENTS

 

  1. September 17, 2007 Public Hearing Memorandum and its related attachments (begin new page 1).