Chatham County has decided to end its contract with CodeWright Planners LLC, the company it engaged to facilitate the long process to re-write the county’s unified development ordinance, the document which contains all of Chatham’s zoning and development regulations.
According to terms of the contract, which was signed in June, the agreement was expected to last until 2023. County Manager Dan LaMontagne told the News + Record that after CodeWright began extending deadlines and not fulfilling expectations in the scope of work outlined in the contract, he and county staff felt it would be best to end the relationship and find a new consultant.
The total value of the contract was approximately $388,000, but to date, the county has only paid out $7,000 and is expecting one last invoice for the work completed thus far. LaMontagne noted that county staff liked CodeWright and tried to work with them, but felt that with the extensive nature of the UDO development process and the delays that had been experienced thus far, it was best to move in a different direction.
“I really wish we could have worked it out,” LaMontagne said. “But we couldn’t risk a four-year engagement when the first year already had schedule issues.”
County staff determined that before they “lost the confidence of stakeholders” it was prudent to begin the search for a new consultant.
“The county is committed to completing a Unified Development Ordinance,” LaMontagne said. “We are really appreciative for the valuable input already received from boards, committees, and development community about our current land use related regulations at the point of introduction and look forward building off this input in the future.
“In the perspective of the overall project, this termination of contract is only a minor setback at this point,” he said. “Though a few things may change about the process of how we will arrive at the final document, the outcome still remains the same; that the county would draft and adopt a Unified Development Ordinance with commonly accepted modern planning practices and contemporary zoning tools; compliant with North Carolina state statutes.”
According to LaMontagne, staff is already working on an updated request for proposals for the work and will likely will be able to reissue it as soon as the end of January. He noted it will likely be different than the original one as staff has “learned some things” from the process thus far including the “need to outline clearer expectations in the contract.”
At the same time, LaMontagne notes the goals of the project remain the same, for the county to “develop clear procedures and guidelines that are simple, flexible, and easily administered by staff and that the UDO would be a user friendly document for residents, elected officials, appointed boards, and the development community, with a streamlined development review process tailored uniquely to Chatham County.”
“We also look forward to drafting a UDO that incorporates and implements recommendations of the County’s Comprehensive Plan adopted in November 2017,” LaMontagne said. “The final UDO document should encourage development and redevelopment of designated centers, support sound economic development, support preservation of agricultural areas, integrate multimodal transportation where it is appropriate, and provide a platform to support sustainable infrastructure investment and affordable housing.”
Casey Mann can be reached at CaseyMann@Chathamnr.com.