TITLE: Title
Request-to-set a public hearing on Land Use Ordinance Amendments Relating to Solar Setbacks
PURPOSE: The purpose of this agenda item is for the Board of Aldermen to consider setting a public hearing on potential text amendments relating to solar setbacks. A draft ordinance has been prepared for the Board's consideration. A resolution setting a hearing date for March 25, 2014 has also been prepared, and advisory board review has been requested prior to the public hearing.
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DEPARTMENT: Planning
CONTACT INFORMATION: Christina Moon 919-918-7325; Patricia McGuire 919-918-7327; Marty Roupe 919-918-7333; Mike Brough 919-929-3905
INFORMATION: As part of the implementation of Town goals identified during the Carrboro Vision 2020 process, the Board considered a number of text amendments relating to development in the downtown with a specific focus on building heights and setbacks. By 2005, the Town began to hone in on a series of architectural design standards that would encourage downtown development to occur in a way that would produce attractive and innovative building designs while also enhancing the existing urban fabric. New standards were ultimately adopted on June 20, 2006 as Section 15-178, Architectural Standards for Downtown Development, and located within Article XI of the Land Use Ordinance, Supplementary Use Regulations (http://www.townofcarrboro.org/BoA/Agendas/2006/06_20_2006.htm).
A potential negative consequence of increased building heights is the possibility of taller buildings blocking natural light and leaving lower areas-sidewalks and smaller buildings--in shade, a scenario often referred to as the "canyon effect." Subsection 15-178(3) of the Land Use Ordinance (LUO) was established to address this concern, to prevent the new taller buildings from shading portions of the sidewalk along the north side of east-west street rights-of-way in the downtown. The subsection reads, "Buildings taller than 40 feet shall m...
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