[Durham INC] Taking discretion out of the site plans

[Melissa Rooney]

Pat, I'm frazzled and the text below reads like Greek to me. 
What does it mean in practical terms for lay-citizens like me?

Melissa



________________________________
 From: Pat Carstensen <pats1717 at hotmail.com>
To: inc-list at rtpnet.org 
Sent: Monday, 2 July 2012 10:38 PM
Subject: [Durham INC] Taking discretion out of the site plans
 

 
Another fine gift from our legislators......



________________________________
Subject: Notice of Draft UDO Revisions
Date: Mon, 2 Jul 2012 16:09:00 -0400
From: Wade.Griffin at durhamnc.gov


The Durham Planning Department is initiating changes to Durham’s Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) to remove discretionary ordinance standards for site plan approvals. 
 
Background:
In late 2009 the General Assembly adopted S.L. 2009-421 to create N.C.G.S. §153A-349 and §160A-393. Effective January 1, 2010, those statutes, among other things, defined a quasi-judicial land use decision as any site plan approval that involve discretionary standards. This is in addition to quasi-judicial approvals already established for special use permits, variances, and appeals.
 
Durham’s Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) contains many discretionary provisions that are intended to provide flexibility in response to unique site conditions and development circumstances. These provisions, as currently written, are not quasi-judicial. The goal of these changes is to allow for flexibility of certain development standards, but allow that flexibility through specific criteria (or performance standards), or through a quasi-judicial process. 
 
Providing Feedback on the Proposed Revisions:
The Planning Department welcomes feedback regarding the proposed changes to the UDO. Please provide comments regarding the following:
 
1.       Proposed changes. 
If you have comments regarding a proposed change, please provide helpful feedback as to how the proposed changes could be corrected or modified.
2.       Provisions that may have been overlooked. 
There may be provisions of the ordinance you believe should be changed because they appear to be discretionary or lack clear and measurablecriteria. Please provide comment and suggest possible language that could correct the issue.
3.       Anything else.
You can comment on other ordinance issues beyond the scope of this project, or even comment on typographical errors (“typos”) you discover. “Typos” will be corrected, and comments that are outside the scope of this project will be collected, reviewed, and determinations will be made if they warrant subsequent amendments to the ordinance. 
 
How to provide comment:  
The easiest way to comment, and for the Planning Department to review your comments, is to list your comments either in Word or Excel (a list via email will also suffice). Please provide the section number (and page number if possible), then the comment/issue, then any suggested correction. 
 
Review the draft document
Contact information 
 
When are comments due?
Comments are welcome through the end of day Friday, August 10th. 
 
And then?
Once the Planning Department has reviewed comments and revised the draft accordingly, Planning will determine the need for hosting a public information session, and then proceed to the public hearing phase of the approval process.
 
The first public hearing will be before the Planning Commission. Once the Planning Commission has made a recommendation to the governing bodies, public hearings will be held by the City Council and Board of Commissioners for final approval. These hearings have not been scheduled at this time since this draft is still undergoing review.
 
 
 
Notice Under the Americans with Disabilities Act- A person with a disability may receive an auxiliary aid or service to effectively participate in city government activities by contacting the ADA Coordinator, voice 919-560-4197, fax 560-4196, TTY 919-560-1200, or ADA at durhamnc.gov, as soon as possible but no later than 48 hours before the event or deadline date.
 
 
 
Wade Griffin
Planner
Durham City/County Planning Department
101 City Hall Plaza
Durham NC 27701
Phone: 919-560-4137 x28229
Fax    : 919-560-4641
www.durhamnc.gov/departments/planning
 
_______________________________________________
Durham INC Mailing List
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http://www.durham-inc.org/list.html
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