TITLE: Title
Public hearing on Land Use Ordinance Amendments to Allow Additional Uses in the M-1 Zoning Districts with a Conditional Use Permit
PURPOSE: The purpose of this item is for the Board to consider amending the Land Use Ordinance to allow additional uses in the M-1 zoning district with a conditional use permit, subject to certain criteria. A draft ordinance has been prepared. The Board must receive public comments before taking action on the draft ordinance.
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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, Runyon Woods of Woodhill, Inc. LLC, submitted a text amendment request to allow additional uses within the M-1 zoning district (Attachment B). If adopted, restaurants and freestanding ATM tellers could be permitted in all M-1 zoning districts as well as the development proposal for 501 South Greensboro Street (the former Rogers-Triem site), owned by Woodhill, Inc. and currently in its first round of conditional use permit review. The South Greensboro Street property presents considerable challenges for redevelopment, particularly with regard to stormwater management and, to a lesser extent, ingress and egress. The addition of new land uses into the M-1 district has the potential to change the character of the zoning category from light manufacturing to a more general mixed-use classification, which while not precluding light manufacturing from occurring in M-1 districts could discourage it due to the higher rent potential associated with other uses. Mr. Woods submits that the additional costs associated with infrastructure improvements impose certain fiscal constraints on the project that require him to seek tenants able to pay higher rents than those typically associated with traditional manufacturing.
Section 15-321(c )(1) of the Land Use Ordinance (LUO) indicates that staff may proceed with the preparation of an ordinance that makes a requested change to the LUO if it believes the change to have significant merit and would benefit the general public. At the October 15th regular meeting, staff presented the Board with a draft ordinance (Attachment C) crafted to balance the Town's interests in retaining the potential for light manufacturing in M-1 districts, while offering the development of 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 as part of the establishment of the B-1(g) conditional zoning district (Section 15-141.4) in 2011. In its motion to set the public hearing for the proposed amendment, the Board removed use 3.230, Banks with Drive-in window from the list of potential new uses for the M-1 district. At the subsequent meeting, on October 22nd, the Board requested staff to prepare an ordinance which would remove drive-in and drive-thru windows as a future permitted use from all zoning districts.
Use Classification Description ]
2.140 Retail/No Outside Display/Drive-In Window
2.240 Retail/Outside Display/Drive-In Window
6.260 Drive-In Move Theaters
16.000 Dry Cleaners with Drive-In Window
Performance standards for drive-in/drive-thru windows, described in LUO Section 15-176.1, Businesses with Drive-In Windows, may limit the use of some of these land uses for the South Greensboro Street property, due to its configuration, but do not prohibit them in other M-1 districts. The regulations that resulted from the 1998 amendments will be reviewed and likely revised as part of the response to the Board directive on October 22nd.
The draft ordinance to allow restaurants and ATM tellers in the M-1 zoning district was presented at Joint Review on November 7th and to the Economic Sustainability Commission on November 13th; the ordinance was also referred to Orange County. As anticipated, recommendations for refining the ordinance were suggested during advisory review. Comments are provided (Attachment E).
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 Element.
RECOMMENDATION:r Staff recommends that the Board of Aldermen consider the resolution finding consistency, and the draft ordinance provided in the attachments.