TITLE
Vote on a request to schedule a public hearing to amend Sections 7.2, 10.13, and 17.8 of the Chatham County Zoning Ordinance. The purpose of these amendments is to include zoning regulations for Sexually Oriented Businesses.
ABSTRACT
Action Requested:
Vote on a request to schedule a public hearing to amend Sections 7.2, 10.13, and 17.8 of the Chatham County Zoning Ordinance. The purpose of these amendments is to include zoning regulations for Sexually Oriented.
Introduction & Background:
As defined within N.C.G.S. 14-202.10, a sexually oriented business (S.O.B.) is, "Any businesses, or enterprises that have as one of their principal business purposes, or as a significant portion of their business, an emphasis on matter and conduct depicting, describing, or related to anatomical areas and sexual activities." Currently, S.O.B.s are only permitted in the unzoned parts of the County. However, when those areas are zoned as R-1 and R-5, the Zoning Ordinance must be amended to reflect the new county-wide zoning; the County cannot prohibit sexually oriented businesses outright, but is afforded the opportunity to regulate their location and certain operational characteristics in an effort to ensure identified negative secondary impacts are mitigated.
Staff is requesting a public hearing to consider amendments to the Zoning Ordinance to establish criteria for such businesses including separation requirements from identified uses such as places of worship, schools, parks, and residentially zoned properties. The proposed amendments would allow for their development consistent with applicable State and Federal requirements.
Discussion & Analysis:
In support of recommended land use regulations, staff offers the following information with respect to addressing identified secondary impacts. A summary authored by David Owens of the UNC School of Government (available at https://www.sog.unc.edu/resources/legal-summaries/regulating-sexually-oriented-...
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