A zoning saga that started last November as a request for a change on places of worship has finally ended.
The Chatham County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously last week to require conditional use permits be issued for assemblies — churches, schools, shooting ranges of a certain size, nonprofit or club facilities, daycare centers serving more than 15 children and public parks and recreation areas of a certain size — in residential areas.
According to the county website, “a land use designated as a ‘conditional use’ in a particular zoning district is one that, because of its inherent nature, extent and external effects, generally is not appropriate in the district unless subject to special standards and review that will ensure it is located, designed and operated in a manner that is in harmony with neighboring development and does not adversely affect the public health, safety and general welfare.” Conditional use permits must be approved by the board of commissioners and county Planning Board, and both boards can either approve the permit as is or require adjustments.
The conversation arose out of a discussion over the Radha Krishna Temple of N.C., located in a residential area of Hollands Chapel Road in the northeastern part of Chatham County. An Apex resident had asked for the board to change its ordinance for places of worship to require a CUP, but County Attorney Richard Rose wrote that the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), passed in 2000, prohibited local governments from “imposing or implementing land use regulations in ‘a manner that treats a religious assembly or institution on less than equal terms with a nonreligious assembly or institution.’”
Essentially, separating places of worship from schools or parks constituted singling out religious groups and was against federal law.
Board Vice Chair Diana Hales said there was “probably not a downside” to changing the ordinance to a CUP.
“Whenever you’re talking about assembly, you’re talking about traffic,” she said. “I think that was certainly the major issue involved with the church that was permitted by right.”
The board unanimously adopted the change, which will not apply to buildings and plans submitted before the alteration. That would not include the Radha Krishna Temple or the Carolina Murugan Temple in Moncure, which caught some attention earlier this year for planning a 190-foot statue and pedestal on the banks of the Deep River.
There was some disagreement among commissioners on the planning board’s recommendation to waive the traditional CUP application fee for the changed uses. The board voted 4-1, with Chairman Mike Dasher against, to waive the $500 plus $25 per acre fee.
“We aren’t asking existing folks to comply with some crazy government regulation,” he said. “My concern is that, in effect, by waiving the fee you’re creating some incentive for people to locate in a residential zone.”
Hales said the planning department could lose out on thousands of dollars by not having the fee, but the cost “would be offset remarkably by the fact that it’s conditional use and has neighborhood input.”
Reporter Zachary Horner can be reached at zhorner@chathamnr.com or on Twitter at @ZachHornerCNR.