MEMORANDUM

TO:                  Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager

FROM:            J. B. Culpepper, Planning Director

                        Gene Poveromo, Development Manager

SUBJECT:      Scheduling Public Hearings for Pending Text Amendments to the Land Use Management Ordinance

DATE:            December 8, 2008

INTRODUCTION

Tonight the Council receives a report on a schedule for consideration of pending Land Use Management Ordinance text amendments (LUMOTAs). 

BACKGROUND

At the October 27, 2008, Council members requested a status report on pending text amendments on chicken-keeping and on demolition in Historic Districts.

DISCUSSION

There are several other pending text amendments to the Land Use Management Ordinance in addition to the text amendments referenced at the October 27, 2008 Council meeting.  Prioritization and scheduling of these text amendments has changed over the past year, according to Council direction and staff workload. 

In addition, we note that at the October 27, 2008 public hearing on the Bicycle and Vehicular Parking LUMOTA, the Council referred this item back to the Transportation Board and Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board for further recommendations, and continued the public hearing to December 8, 2008.  Since these boards have not had a chance to review the item before that hearing date, the hearing date on this LUMOTA will need to be postponed.

Based on current information, we proposed the following schedule of public hearing dates for consideration of pending amendments and seek the Council’s feedback.

• January 21, 2009, for the purpose of considering amending Chapel Hill’s Land Use Management Ordinance provisions regarding chicken keeping;
• February 16, 2009, for the purpose of considering amending Chapel Hill’s Land Use Management Ordinance provisions to provide more control regarding demolition in Historic Districts; and
• March 16, 2009 for the purpose of considering amending Chapel Hill’s Land Use Management Ordinance provisions regarding recreation space payment-in-lieu and Dark Skies Lighting.

In addition, we propose that a public hearing on three terminology and format changes in the Land Use Management Ordinance be considered at the January 26, 2008 Business Meeting.  The proposed changes pertain to provisions regarding duplexes in R-1 (correction in the Use Matrix), correcting an error in the sign regulations, and consistency in categorizing gravel as impervious surface.

We also propose at the same business meeting submitting a report on options for implementing payments-in-lieu requirement for recreation space.

The proposed schedule for considering the text amendments is attached.

RECOMMENDATION

Staff’s Recommendation:  We recommend that the Council provide feedback on the attached timetable for scheduling public hearings for text amendments to the Land Use Management Ordinance and adopt the attached resolution which would schedule the following public hearings:

January 21, 2009                     Chicken keeping

January 26, 2009                     Duplexes in R-1 (correction in Use Matrix)

(business meeting)                   Consistency re: gravel as impervious surface

                                                Signs (format correction)

Report on options for implementing recreation space payments-in-lieu

February 16, 2009                   Demolition in Historic Districts

March 16, 2009                       Dark Skies Lighting

ATTACHMENTS

1. Proposed Schedule (p. 4).