Title
Review and discuss public input and Planning Board recommendations on the Unified Development Ordinance and facilitate discussion to offer guidance for the final draft
Abstract
Introduction & Background: he County entered into 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
, Plan Moncure , & the Recode Chatham Health & Equity Assessment.
The consultants began with a code audit 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 Modul...
Click here for full text