The Planning Board’s Technical Focus

This Is What Lawyers Are For

At their January meeting, the Board of Commissioners (BOC) referred the Toothbrush, LLC rezoning application to the Planning Board for review. This is standard operating procedure; the Planning Board will evaluate the application and make a non-binding approve/deny recommendation upon which the BOC will vote at one of its next two meetings (there’s a statutory time limit for them to decide that begins at the first hearing).

According to the county website:

The Planning Board advises the County Board of Commissioners on planning, zoning and subdivision issues. Specific powers and duties include: monitoring trends related to land use, proposing needed amendments to the land use plan, establishing development principles and guidelines; proposing ordinances for orderly development in accordance with the land use plan; determining whether proposed developments conform to the land use plan and development principles; and keeping the Board of Commissioners and the public informed on planning issues and reasons for board recommendations.

The North Carolina legislature, under Chapter 160D, set forth requirements for local governments administering land use regulations, and in article 5 mandated the adoption of a comprehensive plan that establishes policies to guide future development activities, that is, that expresses these land use plan and development principles.

§ 160D-501. Plans.

Requirements for Zoning. – As a condition of adopting and applying zoning regulations under this Chapter, a local government shall adopt and reasonably maintain a comprehensive plan or land-use plan.

Plans. – A comprehensive plan sets forth goals, policies, and programs intended to guide the present and future physical, social, and economic development of the jurisdiction. A land-use plan uses text and maps to designate the future use or reuse of land. A comprehensive or land-use plan is intended to guide coordinated, efficient, and orderly development within the planning and development regulation jurisdiction based on an analysis of present and future needs.

Chatham County’s comprehensive plan, Plan Chatham (it can be found here) was adopted in 2017, coincidental with the establishment of county-wide zoning.

The Planning Board’s evaluation of the Toothbrush, LLC rezoning application will focus on the technical facets of comprehensive plan conformance, particularly as it relates to land use policies. Think of the comprehensive plan as an architectural specification and the rezoning application as an implementation proposal.

An important aspect of this rezoning application is its “general use” style. As Jason Sullivan, Chatham County Planning Department Director pointed out:

The reason there are few details about a site plan or uses is because the applicant applied for a general use rezoning. In this situation the Planning Board and Board of Commissioners must consider all uses that are allowed with the zoning district and can’t consider a site plan as part of the decision-making process.

What that means is that the Planning Board should consider the potentially most impactful consequences of a light industrial zoning district-approved land use on the surrounding area, as there is no specific operation declared (as would be the case for a “conditional use” application).

Again, per Jason Sullivan:

There is another option for applicants to pursue when considering a rezoning and that is a conditional district zoning. Conditional district rezoning applications require submittal of a detailed site plan and a list of proposed uses that are discussed as part of the public hearing and if approved become part of the conditions of approval. Additional conditions can also be added to a conditional district rezoning based on neighbors’ concerns or concerns raised by the Planning Board or Commissioners. It was the applicant’s choice to submit a general use rezoning application which means there is limited information available for discussion during the public process.

As a component of its architectural framework, the ‘Future Land Use and Conservation Plan’ section of the Comprehensive Plan specifies “place types” that are intended to “generally define the community’s expectations” concerning allowed land uses within a designated area. The particular area within which the Toothbrush, LLC parcel resides is labeled a “Crossroad Community” node.

The Comprehensive Plan definition of a Crossroad Community node follows:

CROSSROAD COMMUNITY

• Smaller than villages, these communities are within rural areas and typically have a minimal amount of retail and institutional uses.

• Mix of uses include single-family residential, some agriculture support services, limited supporting retail, and institutional uses.

• Residential uses are designed in a context sensitive manner, in keeping with historic development patterns, which may include smaller lot sizes and setbacks than typically rural and suburban development.

• Buildings: 1- and 2-story, more for farm buildings

• Streets: rural two-lane (“farm-to-market”) roads

• Public/open space: informal greens at centers, regional greenway trails

Unlike with other place types, notably “Employment Center” and “Villages”, there is no allowance for light industrial uses. There are additional specified characteristics such as “small-scale” and “local-serving” that also apply to businesses operating within a Community Crossroad node.

An attorney specializing in land use cases has been retained to assist.

There are only two law firms with land use practices in Pittsboro. One represents the county on zoning disputes, so declined, but referred me to the other firm, who was willing to assist until a name was revealed during discussion which raised a conflict for them, whereupon I was referred to the firm retained. This firm is based in Chapel Hill yet frequently represent clients in Chatham County.

In any case, the arguments in opposition to the Toothbrush, LLC rezoning application before the Planning Board will generally need to be technical in nature. In fact, I attended last month’s Planning Board meeting and spoke with George Lucier, the new chair, on how community participation should be structured. His answer, paraphrasing, was ‘just the facts, no emotion’.

I’ve exchanged background information with the attorney and we will speak next week. I imagine that in addition to Comprehensive Plan conformance, presentation of potential negative impacts - what I’ve referred to previously as “nuisances and risks” - will be relevant. I also want us to consider how the argument addresses the implications of precedent and prepares us to oppose similar rezoning applications in the future.

I’ve prepared a narrative that draws from previous public comment submissions and post. Please contact me if you’d like to review it. I’m not sure how we’ll need to approach the actual time-limited individual presentations to the Planning Board.