Title
Vote to approve a contract amendment with White & Smith LLC (dba White Smith Cousino) for the UDO
Abstract
Introduction & Background:
At the February 15, 2021 Board of Commissioners meeting the Board approved a contract with White & Smith, LLC to develop a Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). The goal of the UDO is to combine the County’s existing development regulations into one cohesive and user-friendly ordinance. The new UDO aims to simplify and clarify development standards, ensuring that the process is easier to understand for the public, elected officials, and appointed boards, while creating a more predictable development review process. The primary result of the project is the new Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), which serves as the primary regulatory document that guides all development and land use in the county.
This project began in late 2021 and has included multiple meetings with the Board of Commissioners (BOC) & Planning Board to gather input and direction. A UDO Planning Board Subcommittee was formed, composed of Planning Board members and Ex-Officio members from other Advisory Boards and Committees. Their feedback, alongside staff contributions, has been essential in shaping the UDO to reflect the County’s policy guides, including Plan Chatham <https://www.chathamcountync.gov/government/departments-programs-i-z/planning/adopted-plans/comprehensive-plan>, Plan Moncure <https://www.recodechathamnc.org/planmoncure>, & the Recode Chatham Health & Equity Assessment. <https://www.recodechathamnc.org/healthandequity>
The consultants began with a code audit <https://www.recodechathamnc.org/_files/ugd/1d382f_cffe6f3183844bafa1cf62e03d699abf.pdf> in May 2022, which informed the draft revisions. Module 1 (Zoning) was released as a Public Review Draft in March 2023. Following this, the team worked on Module 2 (Development Standards), which was presented in May of this year. Module 3 (Administration & Procedures) and Module 4 (Definitions) were finalized and presented in mid-July of this year. The full consolidated draft of the UDO was released to the public on September 6th, with public comments accepted through October 10th via Konveio <https://recodechathamnc.konveio.com/>. Staff and the consultants will review the feedback for consideration by the BOC. A special Planning Board meeting was held on September 24th to review the document with the consultant team, address concerns, and identify top priorities. The Planning Board concluded the meeting by directing each member to identify their top five issues with the draft, which was further discussed at their next special meeting on October 8th.
The BOC met on October 7th to receive a presentation during the work session from the consultant team and staff about the UDO’s consolidated draft and changes that have occurred since they last reviewed each of the modules. Following that, the legislative public hearing was held during the regular session the evening of October 7th, and the BOC received public comments as well from about 6 people. During the October 8th Planning Board meeting the board formalized their key issues with the UDO. They passed several motions and votes to determine whether there was sufficient support for each concern to be included in their recommendations to the BOC. Ultimately, the Planning Board voted 7-1 to recommend adoption of the UDO, with their list of motions to be included as part of their recommendation of the UDO to the Commissioners. The board also voted 7-1 to recommend a consistency statement that the UDO complied with all ten goals listed in Plan Chatham. After that meeting, the Board of Commissioners (BOC) convened on October 21 to review the Planning Board’s UDO recommendations and public feedback, and to discuss remaining topics that needed direction for the UDO. Using insights from this meeting, staff prepared a series of agenda attachments for the November 4th meeting’s work session, aimed at clarifying decisions on key topics, addressing the Planning Board’s UDO motions along with staff input, and reviewing any additional public comments received.
At the November 4 meeting, the BOC dedicated the entire work session to the UDO. They confirmed their alignment with staff’s recommendations on the Planning Board’s UDO motions, provided guidance on outstanding topics, and reviewed project scenarios under the new UDO regulations to understand how these would affect project outcomes compared to current regulations. The BOC ultimately directed staff to incorporate their feedback into a revised UDO draft, which was reviewed and adopted at the November 18th, 2024, BOC meeting with an effective date of July 1, 2025.
Discussion & Analysis:
The Chatham County Board of Commissioners (BOC) adopted the UDO on November 18, 2024, with an effective date of July 1, 2025. On December 11, 2024, North Carolina Senate Bill 382 <https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2023/S382> became law (Session Law 2024-57). Part of this law prohibits local governments from initiating, enacting, or enforcing a zoning map or zoning regulation that down-zones property without the express written consent of the affected property owner(s). The law defines “down-zoning” as creating any kind of nonconformity in a non-residential zoning district, decreasing development density, or reducing permitted uses.
Due to concerns expressed by local governments and communities across the state, members of the North Carolina Legislature have introduced bills in the 2025-2026 Session that would repeal the “down-zoning law” in its entirety or exempt certain counties from the law’s provisions.
The UDO implements Plan Chatham policies to preserve rural character and agricultural areas, promote a compact growth pattern, and increase access to open space. In some instances, consistent with the community’s vision set out in Plan Chatham, the new UDO regulations create nonconformities, decrease development density, or reduce permitted uses. If the State law remains as adopted, Chatham County must revise certain provisions of the UDO. Due to the uncertainty surrounding the new down zoning law, the contract with the UDO Consultants was set to expire at the end of March and this contract amendment would extend their contract with us until July 30th, 2025. This extension will allow the consultants and staff to work together on making changes to the UDO contingent upon the outcome of whether the down-zoning law remains the same, revised, or repealed. The funding allocated to the UDO will be adequate to complete the project without the need to request additional funding.
How does this relate to the Comprehensive Plan:
The UDO implements the policies, goals, and vision of Plan Chatham, ensuring that the comprehensive plan’s guidelines are reflected in the County’s land use regulations.
Budgetary Impact: N/A
Recommendation/Motion:
Motion to approve a contract amendment with White & Smith, LLC (dba White Smith Cousino) for the UDO.