PITTSBORO — Updating zoning requirements and identifying areas of specialized land use may not sound like anyone’s idea of a party, but it is part of what Chairperson of the Chatham Commissioners Karen Howard called “the fun stuff.”
Monday’s Chatham County Board of Commissioners meeting at the county’s Agriculture & Conference Center dug into the details of the first chapters of the county’s 2023 Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), known as Recode Chatham. Commissioners heard a presentation from White & Smith LLC, the consultants who drafted the updated UDO alongside county staff and subcommittees of the planning board.
White & Smith shared updates to language and a thorough consolidation of rules and regulations from the previous UDO. Kelly Cousino, a consultant with White & Smith, presented the changes to commissioners. She shared that the updated UDO has 19 chapters, last night’s meeting covered the first three — introductions and definitions, zoning districts and use regulations.
The UDO was drafted with seven goals in mind, according to the presentation. Those goals include focusing on “big picture” items that address long-term issues such as affordability, equity, climate resilience and connectivity.
The most recent drafts of the UDO will also be housed on the website recodechathamnc.org.
The bulk of Monday’s meeting was spent understanding the second chapter: zoning districts. White & Smith shared several proposed updates to zoning classifications focused on minimizing confusion, consolidating districting codes and preserving historic areas.
Part of that proposed consolidation was changing the number of zoning types to three broad categories — conventional, conditional and legacy. Conventional zoning includes anything that fits into a designated district: parks, housing, businesses, etc. Conditional zoning requires special permitting from the board of commissioners and planning board. Legacy zoning are areas like historic districts and those that are currently zoned under districts that no longer exist under the UDO.
Within those categories, a focus of the proposed consolidation was on conditional districts, reducing the number of districts from 11 to three. Cousino said the proposed changes would reduce an “over-reliance on conditional districts.”
“Having a high number of conditional districts creates additional administrative challenges,” she said. “It may reflect an inability of the current regulations to accommodate projects the community desires and to implement comprehensive plan policies in a consistent manner.”
She added that including unnecessary conditional districts may reduce predictability in the development process, which can increase the cost of construction and hinder economic development efforts.
White & Smith also proposed “significant” changes to classifications of new land uses. Cousino said the changes promote a “business-friendly approach,” which allows the county to accommodate new and emerging land uses. The changes also align with the consolidation mission reducing 79 uses to 26.
The next steps from the Recode Chatham include reviews of drafts from county staff, public outreach sessions and further subcommittee review by the Planning Board.
Richard Poole, vice chairperson of the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee, provided public input on the first module of the UDO. Poole told the News + Record that county staff have agreed to arrange for consultant help to the AHAC to see how to make UDO more supportive of affordability.
No action was taken on this item. White & Smith will provide a similar presentation of the second module of the UDO, which covers chapters four through 12, in April.
• Former Chatham Commissioner Diana Hales was appointed to the county Environmental Review Advisory Committee (ERAC). The committee advises the Board of Commissioners on environmental policy and related county ordinances, including the watershed ordinance and conducts special projects to protect the environment.
• Commissioners adopted a resolution naming March 2023 as Women’s History Month in Chatham.
• A resolution was also adopted to request the North Carolina General Assembly expand the Good Samaritan Law to include “a broader spectrum of substance-related threats to our citizenry as a matter of public safety.”
The next Chatham County Board of Commissioners meeting is scheduled for a work session at 2 p.m. on Monday, March 20, at the Chatham County Agriculture & Conference Center. The regular session will begin at 6 p.m. for more information visit www.chathamcountync.gov/government/board-of-commissioners.
Correction: A previous version of this story indicated Richard Poole is the chair of the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee, he is the vice chair. Susan Levy is the chair of the committee. The News + Record apologizes for this error.
Mr. Poole also told the News + Record after publication that town staff have agreed to arrange for a consultant help to the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee to see how to make UDO more supportive of affordability.
Reporter Ben Rappaport can be reached at brappaport@chathamnr.com or on Twitter @b_rappaport