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TA23-02 Community Information Meetings - Staff Report - PBSTAFF REPORT FOR TA23-02 TEXT AMENDMENT REQUEST REQUEST SUMMARY Case Number: TA23-02 Request: To amend Section 10.2.3 Community Information Meeting to clarify expectations and standards for Community Information Meetings required for conditional rezonings, planned developments, and intensive industry special use permits. Applicant: Subject Ordinances: New Hanover County Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) Purpose & Intent The key intent of this amendment is ensure that applicant teams, adjacent residents/property owners, and board members have a common understanding of the purpose of the community information meetings required for certain development applications, that standards ensure that owners and residents of adjacent land are informed of proposed development applications, and that the meeting serves as an effective forum for concerns to be resolved through discussion and modifications to the proposal when possible. BACKGROUND The New Hanover County Unified Development Ordinance requires applicants hold community information meetings before submitting an application for conditional rezonings, planned developments, and intensive industry special use permits. This type of meeting was first required by the county in 2007 in response to public concerns voiced regarding the River Lights development (which was reviewed by the county prior to its annexation by the City of Wilmington). At that time, it was intended to ensure that nearby residents and property owners were informed of potential development proposals earlier in the process to support their ability to participate. Since then, board members and community residents have indicated during public hearings an expectation that these meetings should also serve as forums to resolve potential conflicts before an application is submitted, either through discussion or modifications to the proposed plan. This expectation, while included in the meeting purpose statement in 2019 as part of the UDO Project amendments, may not be recognized by all code users, and the implications of this expanded purpose on meeting format and application requirements has not been previously addressed. This conflict in expectations of the purpose and requirements for community information meetings was recently highlighted at a Planning Board meeting when an applicant took advantage of a section of the ordinance that allowed applicants proceed with an application if they submitted a report stating the reasons why the meeting was not held. The applicant felt that due to recent public hearings, adjacent community members were aware of the project and the new application reflected their input, so an additional meeting was not necessary. The ordinance allows the Planning Board and Board of Commissioners to determine the adequacy of that report, and the Planning Board voted 4-3 to not accept the report in lieu of the community meeting. Consideration of the applicant’s proposal was delayed until a community meeting was held. While this instance expedited staff’s efforts to address requirements for community information meetings, questions and complaints regarding these meetings had been ongoing for several years. Staff had received questions from community members regarding why some notice included certain information and others did not and complaints that either notice had not been received or was received so late that adjacent property owners were unable to attend the meeting. Applicants had also indicated that the required meetings were becoming a barrier in the process and a forum for complaints and citizen anger rather than the source of up-front information originally intended. The proposed text amendment and associated administrative documents are intended to re-set expectations for applicant teams, adjacent residents/property owners, and board members so this forum can better serve the purpose currently intended for it in the planning process. The text amendment would articulate current expectations that input provided during community information meetings should be considered by an applicant and impact the project submitted as a formal application. The associated administrative documents are meant to better support meetings designed to be accessible for attendees, reducing potential conflict. Staff released drafts of the proposed amendment to the UDO and associated administrative documents on March 31, 2023 for a public comment period that ended at 8 am on April 24, 2003. During this period, comments were received from staff members at Paramounte Engineering. Those comments and staff responses are attached. The proposed amendment has been revised to provide for some flexibility for scheduled meetings that were unable to occur due to reasons beyond the applicant’s control, and the administrative documents have been revised to more clearly differentiate between administrative requirements that must be met in order for an application to be deemed complete versus recommendations and best practices. PROPOSED AMENDMENT & ADMINISTRATIVE DOCUMENTS The proposed draft amendment is attached, with red italics indicating new language proposed as part of the public comment draft and strikethrough indicated text that is to be removed. New language provided in response to public comments or additional staff consideration are indicated by blue underlined text. All administrative documents are new, and changes made in response to public comments or additional staff consideration are indicated by strikethrough or blue underlined text. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends approval of the requested amendment and suggests the following motion: I move to RECOMMEND APPROVAL of the proposed amendment to the New Hanover County Unified Development Ordinance to clarify expectations for required community information meetings and the proposed administrative documents. I find them to be CONSISTENT with the purpose and intent of the 2016 Comprehensive Plan because they clarify an important part of the planning process necessary to support the goals of the Comprehensive Plan for a vibrant community supportive of private investment that also conserves and enhances our sense of place. I also find RECOMMENDING APPROVAL of the proposed amendment reasonable and in the public interest because it clarifies expectations for applicants, citizens, and board members related to community meetings.