AGENDA #10
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Recommended Changes in Staff Work Schedule for Review of Land Use Management Ordinance Text Amendments
DATE: September 7, 2004
This report provides information about the schedule of review of future Land Use Management Ordinance text amendments and provides recommendations for schedule changes.
BACKGROUND
On February 23, 2004, the Town Council adopted a number of amendments to the Land Use Management Ordinance as part of the one-year evaluation of the new regulations. Specific issues were not addressed in February. A copy of the February 23 memorandum is attached. Consideration of these items was deferred by Council resolution as indicated in the adopted resolution regarding prioritization of remaining Land Use Management Ordinance items (attached).
DISCUSSION
Consideration of many items was deferred to the fall of this year. As we review the upcoming schedule, we believe it will not be possible to proceed with consideration of all of these items, as well as other items that have since been scheduled for this fall. With consideration of limited staff resources, we believe that the schedule needs to be adjusted. We continue to add additional planning staff positions in the recently adopted budget. The Council directed us to manage development review functions with existing resources, and we are continuing to re-arrange priorities for staff work. The number of applications has not diminished. With new regulations, especially those impacting single-family development, the time staff spends with individuals has greatly increased, reducing time available to work on proposed changes to development regulations.
The following items are scheduled for review at public hearings this fall:
September 20 Public Hearing (already scheduled)
· Bicycle and Pedestrian Action Plan
· Chancellor’s View Cluster Subdivision
· MontClair Subdivision
· Concept Plan: University Village Development
October 18 Public Hearing (already scheduled)
· Concept Plan: Habitat for Humanity Sunrise Road Development
· Land Use Management Ordinance text amendment: Demolition by Neglect
· Land Use Management Ordinance text amendment: Office/Institutional-4 Adjustments
November 15 Public Hearing (items tentatively scheduled)
· Wilson Assemblage Special Use Permit
· The Farm Special Use Permit
· Concept Plan: Beechridge Development
· Concept Plan: Orange County Senior Center
Given this schedule, we recommend the following adjustments to the deferred Land Use Management Ordinance text amendments (recommended changes indicated in the attached chart):
|
ISSUE |
ACTION |
|
Clarify the relationship between building code and Land Use Management Ordinance definitions of floor area. |
Defer discussions, pending further
study, with recommendations to the Council in fall |
|
Clarify land disturbance triggers for soil and erosion control requirements; coordinate with similar requirements in other documents. |
Defer discussions, pending
further study, with recommendations to the Council in fall |
|
Adjust parking requirements (Section 5.9).
|
Defer discussions, pending
completion of study that is currently underway (report expected to Council in
|
|
Re-consider the time frames specified for action in the OI-4 zoning district (Sec 3.5.2).
|
Consider next steps following a March 1, 2004 Public Forum.
Staff Comment: Now Scheduled for October 18, 2004 Public Hearing. |
|
Clarify formula for payment in lieu of affordable housing (Sec. 3.8.5).
|
Defer discussions, pending
further study, with recommendations to the Council by |
|
Reconsider using the “2-year frequency, 24-hour storm event” as the basis upon which calculations are made regarding how much stormwater (volume) needs to be retained on-site. (Section 5.4.6) |
Defer discussions, pending
further study, with recommendations to the Council in
|
|
Consider how to handle porous pavement as impervious surface (Table 3.8-1, footnote (k)).
|
Defer discussions, pending
further study, with recommendations to the Council in |
|
Clarify distinctions between water treatment requirements for runoff from public streets vs. private lots. |
Defer discussions, pending
further study, with recommendations to the Council in |
|
Re-consider requiring stormwater management facilities on individual single-family lots (Section 5.9.2(a)).
|
We do not recommend
re-consideration of this issue at this time. We continue to believe that the
regulations in place are desirable; there may be value in reconsideration in
the future, after there has been enough time to evaluate systems that have
been installed; there is not yet enough experience with these regulations to
perform such evaluation now. We recommend further consideration in
Staff Comment: Planning Board evaluation expected in fall 2004 with possible recommendation for adjustment to the 2,000/5,000 square foot thresholds that apply to single-family and two-family lots.
|
|
Increase flexibility in “alternate buffer” provisions (Section 5.6.8).
|
Defer discussions, pending
further study, with recommendations to the Council in fall |
In addition to this list, the Council also heard in February from a citizen suggesting that the minimum lot size for a Planned Development-Housing (PD-H) for multi-family development with more than 7 units/acre be reduced, from 5 acres to 1 acre. We have not recommended and the Council has not scheduled consideration of that proposed change.
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATION
We recommend that the Council adopt the attached resolution, adopting a new schedule for considering adjustments to Land Use Management Ordinance regulations.
ATTACHMENTS
RESOLUTION
(Manager’s Recommendation)
A RESOLUTION REGARDING PRIORITIZATION OF EVALUATION OF REMAINING LAND USE MANAGEMENT ORDINANCE TEXT AMENDMENT ITEMS IDENTIFIED AT THE JANUARY 21, 2004, PUBLIC HEARING (2004-09-07/ R-16)
BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council hereby adopts the following schedule of consideration of Land Use Management Ordinance text amendments:
|
ISSUE |
ACTION |
|
Clarify the relationship between building code and Land Use Management Ordinance definitions of floor area. |
Defer discussions, pending further study, with recommendations to the Council in fall 2005. |
|
Clarify land disturbance triggers for soil and erosion control requirements; coordinate with similar requirements in other documents. |
Defer discussions, pending further study, with recommendations to the Council in fall 2005. |
|
Adjust parking requirements (Section 5.9).
|
Defer discussions, pending completion of study that is currently underway (report expected to Council in November with likely public hearing in spring, 2005). |
|
Clarify formula for payment in lieu of affordable housing (Sec. 3.8.5).
|
Defer discussions, pending further study, with recommendations to the Council by fall 2005. |
|
Reconsider using the “2-year frequency, 24-hour storm event” as the basis upon which calculations are made regarding how much stormwater (volume) needs to be retained on-site. (Section 5.4.6) |
Defer discussions, pending further
study, with recommendations to the Council in spring
|
|
Consider how to handle porous pavement as impervious surface (Table 3.8-1, footnote (k)).
|
Defer discussions, pending further study, with recommendations to the Council in spring 2005. |
|
Clarify distinctions between water treatment requirements for runoff from public streets vs. private lots. |
Defer discussions, pending further study, with recommendations to the Council in spring 2005. |
|
Re-consider requiring stormwater management facilities on individual single-family lots (Section 5.9.2(a)).
|
Schedule further consideration in spring 2005. |
|
Increase flexibility in “alternate buffer” provisions (Section 5.6.8). |
Defer discussions, pending further study, with recommendations to the Council in fall 2005. |
This the 7th day of September, 2004.