TITLE: Title
Public Hearing on Land Use Ordinance Amendments to Create a New M-3-CU Special Manufacturing District
PURPOSE: The purpose of this item is for the Board of Aldermen to consider text amendments to the Land Use Ordinance that would create a new Special Manufacturing conditional use district (M-3-CU). A draft ordinance has been prepared. The Board must receive public comments before taking action on the amendments
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DEPARTMENT: Planning
CONTACT INFORMATION: Christina Moon - 919-918-7325; Marty Roupe - 919-918-7333; Mike Brough - 919-929-3905
INFORMATION:
On May 28, 2013, Woodhill, Inc. LLC, submitted a text amendment request to allow additional uses, such as restaurants, in the M-1 zoning district subject to a conditional use permit (Attachment C). In response to the request, staff crafted an ordinance that would allow some higher return land uses in exchange for site improvements and/or building elements that would provide essential public infrastructure and create a more vibrant and successful community. The Town adopted similar performance standard language in 2011 as part of the establishment of the B-1(g) conditional zoning district (Section 15-141.4).
On November 19, 2013, the Board of Aldermen held the first of two public hearings on a draft ordinance, which had been modified during the advisory board review process. The Board requested additional information and refinements. Roughly three months later, staff brought forth an updated ordinance to the Board to schedule a second public hearing on March 25, 2014, and again, advisory board and Board of Aldermen members requested modifications. Since that time, staff has worked with the applicant to refine the draft ordinance to respond to these concerns. The staff memorandum (Attachment D) provides a short history of the evolution of the proposed amendments from the original version, first shared with the Board as a request-to-set a public hearing agenda item on October 15, 2013, to the present version dated March 17, 2015 (Attachment B).
This new ordinance differs from the previous ones in two important ways. First, after working through the challenges of the site and finalizing the conditional use permit plans, Woodhill, Inc. identified areas where they were not able to meet the LUO and modified their text amendment request accordingly. These changes include flexibility relating to certain standards associated with street dimensions, lights, and plantings, for an infill site. Woodhill, Inc. also modified the text amendment request to opportunity to allow Use 3.250 (freestanding ATMs) as a permitted use that is not subject to percentages of building and site improvements. These requests have been incorporated into the draft ordinance.
The second change relates to the creation of the new manufacturing zoning district. After exploring different strategies toward a weighted point system and in consultation with the Town Attorney, staff has put forth a draft ordinance that proposes a new M-3 conditional use district rather than a general use district. The conditional use zoning mechanism allows for rezonings to occur under very specific conditions described in an associated conditional use permit application. Conditions are linked to the permit. If adopted, the ordinance would provide the Board with discretion to determine if an applicant has adequately met the performance standard criteria-if the design of the proposed project includes a sufficient amount of site and building elements that will create a more vibrant and successful community/provides essential public infrastructure--to allow a developer's desired amount of restaurants in the project. Conditional use districts can only be established at the request of the owner; as part of their updated application materials, Woodhill Inc. has submitted a petition for rezoning to the new M-3-CU district.
The draft ordinance (dated March 17, 2015), if adopted, would amend the LUO to create the new conditional zoning district M-3-CU. The draft ordinance was referred to Orange County and presented at the Joint Advisory Board Review meeting on April 2, 2015 and to the Economic Sustainability Commission on April 8, 2015. Comments and recommendations are provided (Attachment F).
FISCAL & STAFF IMPACT: Public hearings involve staff and public notice costs associated with advisory board and Board of Aldermen review. The applicant has paid the Town fee associated with processing a text amendment to the Land Use Ordinance.
RECOMMENDATION:r Staff recommends that the Board of Aldermen consider adopting the resolution finding consistency (Attachment A-1), and the draft ordinance to the Land Use Ordinance provided as (Attachment B).