A-425 Updated after 11.15.16 PB Work Session
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A-425 Text Amendment “Clean” Version
Last Update: November 3, 2016
The language below represents a “clean” version of the A-425 text amendment proposal. This version
adds a definition to Article II, strikes Section 53.3-4.1 in Article V, revises Section 111-2.1, and shows how
Article VII of the New Hanover County Zoning Ordinance would appear based on changes made after the
8/30/16, 9/22/16, and 9/29/16, and 11.15.16 Planning Board work sessions.
ARTICLE II: DEFINITIONS 1
2
Manufacturing 3
4
Artisan Manufacturing- On-site production of goods by hand manufacturing involving the 5
use of hand tools and small-scale light mechanical equipment. Typical uses include 6
woodworking and cabinet shops, ceramic studios, jewelry manufacturing and similar 7
types of arts and crafts or very small-scale manufacturing uses that have very limited, if 8
any, negative external impacts on surrounding properties, water resources, air quality 9
and/or public health. 10
11
Limited Manufacturing- Manufacturing of finished parts or products, primarily from 12
previously prepared materials. Typical uses include: printing and related support 13
activities; machinery manufacturing; food manufacturing; computer and electronic 14
product manufacturing; electrical equipment, appliance, component 15
manufacturing/assembly; furniture and related product manufacturing/assembly; and 16
other manufacturing and production establishments that typically have very limited, if 17
any, negative external impacts on surrounding properties, water resources, air quality 18
and/or public health. 19
20
General Manufacturing-Manufacturing, bulk storage, and/or handling of finished or 21
unfinished products primarily from extracted, raw, recycled, or secondary materials. 22
Typical uses include textile mills; textile product mills; apparel manufacturing; leather and 23
allied product manufacturing; wood product manufacturing; plastics and rubber products 24
manufacturing; nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing; transportation equipment 25
manufacturing; primary metal manufacturing; and fabricated metal product 26
manufacturing. 27
28
Industrial service firms engaged in the repair or servicing of industrial or commercial 29
machinery, equipment, products, or by-products. Typical uses include: welding shops; 30
machine shops; industrial tool repair; fuel oil distributors; solid fuel yards; and carpet 31
cleaning plants. General manufacturing facilities include those operations that do not 32
have significant negative external impacts on surrounding properties, water resources, 33
air quality and/or public health. 34
35
Intensive Manufacturing- Manufacturing and processing of products and chemicals 36
including but not limited to: acetylene, lime, gypsum or plaster-of-Paris, stone, clay, 37
glass, cement, concrete, chlorine, corrosive acid or fertilizer, insecticides, disinfectants, 38
poisons, explosives, paint, lacquer, varnish, petroleum products, coal, plastic and 39
synthetic resins, and radioactive materials. This group also includes smelting, animal 40
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slaughtering, paper manufacturing, oil refining, fuel bulk storage facilities, and electricity 41
generating facilities, as well as any manufacturing or processing facility which has a high 42
potential for significant negative external impacts on surrounding properties, water 43
resources, air quality and/or public health. 44
45
Sunshine List – A list of email addresses of persons or organizations with a standing written request on 46
file with the Clerk to the Planning Board. 47
48
ARTICLE V: DISTRICT REGULATIONS 49
50
Section 53.3: I-2 Heavy Industrial 51
52
53.3-.4.1: Review of external effects. All uses in the I-2 zoning district must operate in compliance 53
with current standards for sound, vibration, heat discharge, glare, odor, air quality and water 54
quality, as applicable under federal, state, and local regulations. For uses that require a Special 55
Use Permit, a non-binding narrative must accompany the application that shall include a 56
disclosure of the projected external impacts of the project, including information about 57
anticipated federal and/or state permits that will be required. Section 71 further describes the 58
special use permit approval process. The County may require additional information deemed 59
reasonable to assess the impacts and effects of a project on a community including plans, 60
specifications, and other information deemed necessary to determine compliance with the review 61
criteria. Federal, State and /or local environmental agencies may be consulted to advise the 62
Planning and Inspections Department on applications for Special Use Permits. 63
64
ARTICLE VII: PROVISIONS FOR USES ALLOWED AS SPECIAL USES 65
66
Section 70: General Information, Applications, Process, Public Notice, Public Hearings, Review and 67
Decision, and Conclusions Required for Approval 68
69
70-1: General 70
71
(1) Special Use Permits add flexibility to the Zoning Ordinance. Subject to high 72
standards of planning and design, certain property uses may be allowed in the 73
several districts where these uses would not otherwise be acceptable. By means 74
of controls exercised through the Special Use Permit procedures, property uses 75
which would otherwise be undesirable in certain districts may be developed to 76
minimize any negative external effects they might have on surrounding 77
properties. 78
79
(2) Any use or development designated by applicable zoning district regulations as a 80
special use, or as allowed only pursuant to a special use permit, may be 81
established in that district only after the use or development is authorized by a 82
validly issued special use permit. 83
84
70-2: Applications 85
86
(1) Applications for a Special Use Permit shall be submitted to the Planning Director 87
or their designee by the owner or owners, or their duly authorized agent, of the 88
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property subject to the Special Use Permit petition at least 20 business days prior 89
to an adopted Planning Board meeting date. For Intensive Manufacturing uses, 90
the application must be submitted at least 35 business days prior to the Planning 91
Board meeting date. A schedule of adopted Planning Board meeting dates and 92
the application deadlines shall be available at the Planning Department. Any 93
additional information, documents, etc. submitted after the application deadline 94
must be submitted no later than 10 business days prior to the Planning Board 95
meeting date to be included in the Planning Board agenda package. Additional 96
information and documents may be submitted during the public hearings; 97
however, as much information should be included with the application as 98
possible to demonstrate that the four required conclusions for approval can be 99
met. 100
101
(2) Applications for a Special Use Permit shall include the following to be considered 102
a complete application: 103
(A) Completed and signed application form for a Special Use Permit 104
(B) Traffic Impact Worksheet 105
(C) Traffic Impact Analysis (only applicable for development proposals that 106
exceed 100 peak hour trip generation) 107
(D) Site Plan, including: the elements listed in Section 60.1 108
1. Tract boundaries and total area, location of adjoining parcels and 109
roads 110
2. Proposed use of land, structures and other improvements. For 111
residential uses, this shall include number, height and type of 112
units and area to be occupied by each structure and/or 113
subdivided boundaries. For non-residential structures, this shall 114
include approximate square footage and height of each 115
structure, an outline of the area it will occupy and the specific 116
purpose for which it will be used. 117
3. Development schedule including proposed phasing. 118
4. Traffic and Parking Plan to include a statement of impact 119
concerning local traffic near the tract, proposed right-of-way 120
dedication, plans for access to and from the tract, location, width 121
and right-of-way for internal streets and location, arrangement 122
and access provision for parking areas. 123
5. All existing and proposed easements, reservations, required 124
setbacks, rights-of-way, buffering and signage 125
6. The one hundred (100) year floodplain line, if applicable 126
7. Location and sizing of trees required to be protected under 127
Section 62 of the Zoning Ordinance 128
8. The approximate delineation of Corps of Engineers Section 404 129
and Section 10 Wetlands. 130
9. Any additional conditions and requirements, which represent 131
greater restrictions on development and use of the tract than the 132
corresponding General Use District regulations or other 133
limitations on land which may be regulated by State law or Local 134
Ordinance. 135
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10. Any other information that will facilitate review of the proposed 136
change (Ref. Article VII, as applicable) 137
138
(D)(E) Narrative of proposal depicting the nature and scope of the proposed 139
development 140
(E)(F) At the discretion of the petitioner, supplemental information, plans, 141
and/or documents that the petitioner intends to use to demonstrate at 142
the public hearing that the conclusions required for approval in Section 143
70-7 are met 144
(F)(G) Authority for Appointment of Agent Form (only applicable if the petition 145
for Special Use Permit is submitted by an agent for the property owner(s)) 146
(G)(H) Application fee based on the adopted fee schedule 147
(I) Community information meeting report for community information 148
meeting per Section 111-2.1 (only for uses classified as Intensive 149
Manufacturing) 150
(H)(J) For proposed uses in the Intensive Manufacturing category only, the 151
applicant shall identify, in the application, any local, state, or federal 152
permit (other than the special use permit being sought in the application) 153
which the applicant reasonably believes at the time of submitting the 154
application will be required to be obtained before eh applicant may 155
legally engage in the proposed use. The applicant’s identification of 156
permits shall include, but shall not be limited to, as applicable, permits 157
pertaining to air quality, water quality, wetlands, endangered species, 158
and groundwater. For purposes of this section, the requirement that the 159
applicant identify any “permit” for “groundwater” shall include any 160
requirement that the applicant report to or notify any local, state, or 161
federal agency of groundwater and/or aquifer withdrawals pursuant to 162
applicable local, state, or federal law. The applicant may be required to 163
provide additional information to demonstrate that the four required 164
conclusions have been met. 165
166
(3) Specific requirements of application requirements may be waived by the 167
respective reviewer, planning director, or planning board, where it is determined 168
that the required information is not applicable to the subject request. 169
170
70-3: Process: 171
172
(1) In order to assist applicants through the process for obtaining a Special Use 173
Permit, applicants may request a pre-application conference with NHC planning 174
staff prior to application submittal. 175
176
(2) The Planning Director or their designee shall review application packages and 177
respond to the petitioner as soon as possible but at most within 5 business days 178
following the application submission to notify the petitioner in writing including 179
regular mail or e-mail of any omissions to the requirements under Section 70-2(2) 180
that render the application incomplete. This review for completeness is to ensure 181
that each of the applicable documents have been submitted as part of the 182
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application, and not to verify or substantiate the information provided within the 183
application package. 184
185
(3) Applications with no omissions to the requirements under Section 70-2(2) shall 186
be deemed complete and be calendared for a public hearing at the earliest 187
upcoming next scheduled Planning Board meeting satisfying the application 188
requirements.that allows time for the required legal notices. The Planning 189
Director or their designee shall respond to the petitioner as soon as possible but 190
at most within 5 business days following the application submission in writing 191
including regular mail or e-mail to notify them that the application was deemed 192
complete and confirm the date of the Planning Board meeting at which the public 193
hearing will be held. 194
195
(4) Within 10 business days following an application deadline, complete applications 196
for special use permit petitions shall be posted on the Planning Department web 197
page (www.planningdevelopment.nhcgov.com) in addition to the date, time, and 198
location of the Planning Board meeting at which the public hearing will be 199
calendared. Notification of the posting of the special use permit application(s) 200
and meeting information shall also be sent to the Sunshine List. Any additional 201
information received from the petitioner after the application deadline shall also 202
be posted on the web page. 203
204
(5) In preparation for the public hearing at the Planning Board for a petition for a 205
special use permit, the Planning Director or their designee shall analyze the 206
information and materials provided in the application package to provide a 207
summary of the request and preliminary findings of fact in the form of a report 208
to be included in the agenda package for the Planning Board meeting. The intent 209
of the report is to inform the Planning Board of whether the Conclusions Required 210
for Approval in Section 71-4 have been met or to identify, from staff’s 211
perspective, issues or areas that the Planning Board may need more information 212
on in order to provide a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners 213
whether each of the required conclusions in Section 70-7 have been met. The 214
staff analysis report shall be published by the Clerk to the Planning Board as part 215
of the agenda package for the Planning Board meeting. 216
217
(6) In preparation for the public hearing at the Board of County Commissioners for a 218
petition for a special use permit, the Planning Director or their designee shall 219
prepare a report summarizing the Special Use Permit request, the information 220
and materials provided in the application package and presented at the Planning 221
Board public hearing(s), the Planning Board’s recommendations, and preliminary 222
findings of fact. The intent of the report is to inform the Board of County 223
Commissioners of whether the Conclusions Required for Approval in Section 71-224
4 have been met or to identify, from staff’s perspective, issues or areas that the 225
Board of County Commissioners may need more information on in order to reach 226
a required conclusion. The staff analysis report shall be published by the Clerk to 227
the Board of County Commissioners as part of the agenda package for the County 228
Commissioners meeting. 229
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230
70-4: Public Notice 231
232
(1) Public notice for a petition for a special use permit shall be disseminated per 233
Section 112.1 of the Zoning Ordinance. 234
235
70-5: Public Hearings 236
237
(1) A public hearing at the Planning Board for the special use permit application shall 238
be calendared per Section 70-3(3). 239
240
(2) The public hearing for the special use permit application at the Planning Board 241
shall be held in a quasi-judicial format. At the hearing, the Planning Board hears 242
factual evidence presented at an evidentiary hearing, then makes 243
recommendations for findings of fact supported by competent, substantial, and 244
material evidence. Based on those recommended findings, the Planning Board 245
may render a recommendation to the County Commissioners on whether each of 246
the required conclusions specified in Section 70-7 can be reached. 247
248
(3) The Planning Board may continue the hearing to a later meeting to accommodate 249
the presentation of additional testimony or evidence. If the time and place of the 250
continued hearing is announced in open session during the hearing, no further 251
notice need be given for the continued hearing. 252
253
(4) A public hearing at the Board of County Commissioners shall be calendared 254
following the public hearing at which the Planning Board makes a 255
recommendation. 256
257
(5) The public hearing for the special use permit application at the Board of County 258
Commissioners shall held in a quasi-judicial format. At the hearing, the Board 259
hears factual evidence presented at an evidentiary hearing, then makes findings 260
of fact supported by competent, substantial, and material evidence. Based on 261
those findings, the Board of County Commissioners decides whether or not it can 262
reach each of the required conclusions specified in Section 70-7 below. 263
264
(6) The Board of County Commissioners may continue the hearing to a later meeting 265
to accommodate the presentation of additional testimony or evidence. If the time 266
and place of the continued hearing is announced in open session during the 267
hearing, no further notice need be given for the continued hearing. 268
269
70-6 Review and Decision: 270
271
(1) The applicant bears the burden of presenting sufficient evidence in support of the 272
application to allow the Board of County Commissioners, after weighing such 273
evidence against that presented in opposition to the application, to make findings 274
of fact that reasonably support each of the required conclusions outlined in 275
Section 70-7 as well as any applicable specific standards for the proposed use as 276
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required by Section 72. If that burden is met, the Board of County Commissioners 277
must approve the application. If that burden is not met, the Board of County 278
Commissioners must deny the application, provided that if the Board of County 279
Commissioners determines that specific minor changes or additions to, or 280
restrictions on, the proposed development are necessary and sufficient to 281
overcome impediments to its reaching the required conclusions, it may approve 282
the application subject to reasonable conditions requiring such changes or 283
additions or imposing such restrictions. Such conditions may include time limits 284
for completion of development or for the start or end of certain uses or activities. 285
286
(2) A motion to approve the application must state the required conclusions and 287
include findings of fact on which the conclusions are based, plus any proposed 288
conditions of approval. The favorable vote of a majority of Board of County 289
Commissioners members present is necessary to pass such a motion. A motion to 290
deny the application must state which of the required conclusions cannot be 291
reached and include findings of fact on which the inability to reach the 292
conclusions is based. The favorable vote of a majority of Board of County 293
Commissioners members present is necessary to pass such a motion. If a motion 294
to approve the application fails, the application is deemed denied, and those 295
members voting against the motion must state which of the required conclusions 296
they could not reach as well as findings of fact on which their inability to reach 297
the conclusions is based. 298
299
(3) Every decision by the Board of Commissioners issuing or denying a special use 300
permit shall be subject to review by the Superior Court by proceedings in the 301
nature of certiorari. Any petition for review by the Superior Court shall be filed 302
with the Clerk of Superior Court within 30 days after the decision of the Board is 303
filed in the Office of the Clerk to the Board, or after a written copy thereof is 304
delivered to every aggrieved party who has filed a written request for such copy 305
with the Clerk or Chairman of the Board at the time of the hearing of the case, 306
whichever is later. 307
308
70-7: Conclusions Required for Approval – The Board of County Commissioners shall approve 309
an application for a special use permit if it reaches each of the following conclusions based on 310
findings of fact supported by competent, substantial, and material evidence presented at the 311
hearing. 312
313
(1) The use will not materially endanger the public health or safety if located where 314
proposed and approved. 315
(2) The use meets all required conditions and specifications of the Zoning Ordinance; 316
(3) The use will not substantially injure the value of adjoining or abutting property, 317
or that the use is a public necessity. 318
319
(4) The location and character of the use if developed according to the plan as 320
submitted and approved will be in harmony with the area in which it is to be 321
located and in general conformity with the Comprehensive Land Use Plan for New 322
Hanover County. 323
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324
Section 71: Validity, Extensions, and Changes for Approved Special Use Permits; Resubmittals of Denied 325
Applications 326
327
71-1: Validity and Extensions of Approved Special Use Permits: 328
329
(1) A special use permit, issued by the Board of County Commissioners, shall become 330
null and void if construction or occupancy of the proposed use as specified on the 331
special use permit is not commenced within twenty-four (24) months of the date 332
of issuance. If an extension is desired, a request must be submitted in writing to 333
the New Hanover County Planning Department prior to the expiration. 334
Extensions may be granted in accordance with Section 112-6 of the Ordinance. 335
336
(2) In the event of failure to comply with the plans approved by the Board of County 337
Commissioners or with any other conditions imposed upon the special use 338
permit, the permit shall thereupon immediately become void and of no effect. 339
No building permits for further construction or certificates of occupancy under 340
this special use permit shall be issued, and all completed structures shall be 341
regarded as non-conforming uses subject to the provisions of Article IV of this 342
Ordinance provided, however, that the Board of County Commissioners shall not 343
be prevented from thereafter rezoning said property for its most appropriate use. 344
345
71-2 Changes to Approved Special Use Permits: 346
347
(1) The original applicant(s), their successors or their assignee may make minor 348
changes in the location and/or size of structures provided the necessity for these 349
changes is clearly demonstrated. Minor changes shall be reviewed by the 350
Planning Department and upon favorable recommendation by the Planning 351
Director may be approved by the Zoning Administrator. Such approval shall not 352
be granted should the proposed revisions cause or contribute to: 353
(A) A change in the character of the development. 354
(B) A change of design for, or an increase in the hazards to pedestrian and 355
vehicle traffic circulation, or 356
(C) A modification in the originally approved setbacks from roads and/or 357
property lines exceeding ten percent. 358
359
71-3 Resubmittals: 360
361
(1) An application for a special use which has been previously denied may be 362
resubmitted only if there has been a change in circumstances as determined by 363
the Planning Director or the director's designee. Evidence presented in support 364
of the new application shall initially be limited to what is necessary to enable the 365
Planning Director to determine whether there has been a substantial change in 366
the facts, evidence, or conditions of the case and shall include: 367
(A) Circumstances affecting the property that is the subject of the application 368
which have substantially changed since the denial; or 369
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(B) New information available since the denial that could not with 370
reasonable diligence have been presented at a previous hearing. 371
If the Planning Director deems the evidence substantially changed, the proposal 372
may be resubmitted as a new application. Appeal of the Planning Director’s 373
decision may be made to the Board of County Commissioners. 374
375
376
ARTICLE XI: AMENDMENTS 377
378
379
111-2.1: Required community information meeting before consideration 380
381
382
Before an application will be accepted as complete for a zoning amendment or special 383
use permit for proposals involving Planned Development, Riverfront Mixed Use District, 384
Conditional Use Zoning District, Conditional Zoning District, or Exceptional Design Zoning 385
District, (11/13/12) or special use permits for uses classified as intensive manufacturing 386
the petitioner must include a written report of at least one (1) community information 387
meeting held by the petitioner. The community meeting shall be held prior to submission 388
of the application for map amendment, but after a pre-application conference with 389
Planning & Inspections staff. (11/13/12) for projects that require a pre-application 390
conference. The primary purpose of the community meeting is to explain the upcoming 391
proposal and field questions from people in the surrounding area. 392
393
The applicant shall provide written notice by mail or other agreed upon measure at least 394
ten days prior to the date of the neighborhood meeting. Notice shall be provided to each 395
owner of record of land and any current tenants within 500 feet of and on the property 396
for which development approvals are sought. Notice shall also be provided to (11/13/12) 397
organizations entitled to notice based on a standing written request on file with the Clerk 398
to the Planning Board (“Sunshine List”). The meeting should focus on information 399
exchange between an applicant and the specific invitees but should be open to the 400
general public as well. 401
402
The report shall include, at a minimum the following: 403
404
(1) A list of those that were not able to be contacted and reason(s) why contact was not 405
successful 406
(2) Date, time and location of the meeting; 407
(3) Roster of the persons in attendance at the meeting; 408
(4) Summary of issues discussed at the meeting; and 409
(5) Description of any changes or adjustments to the rezoning petition made by the 410
petitioner as a result of the community meeting. 411
412
In the event the petitioner has not held at least one (1) meeting pursuant to this 413
subsection, the petitioner shall file a report documenting efforts that were made to 414
arrange such a meeting and stating the reasons such a meeting was not held. The 415
adequacy of a meeting held or report filed pursuant to this section shall be considered by 416
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the Planning Board in its decision and by the County Commissioners, as appropriate but 417
shall not be subject to judicial review. (9/07) 418
419
420
421