(A) Upon receipt of a petition for an amendment, the Zoning Administrator shall forward the request to the Technical Review Committee for its review.
(B) The Technical Review Committee (TRC) shall review the proposed amendment and submit its recommendation in writing to the Planning Board. The TRC is not required to make a recommendation on a proposed amendment within any specific period of time, but it should proceed as expeditiously as practical on petitions for amendments since inordinate delays can result in the petitioner incurring unnecessary costs.
(C) The Planning Board shall review the proposed amendment and the recommendation from the TRC and submit its own comments and recommendations in writing to the Board of Commissioners including a written recommendation addressing plan consistency and other matters as deemed appropriate. An ordinance that amends any of the provisions of the UDO may not be adopted until it has been referred to the Planning Board for its recommendation.
(1) If a zoning map amendment qualifies as a “large-scale rezoning,” the consistency statement may address the overall rezoning and describe how the analysis and policies in the Land Use Plan and other relevant adopted plans were considered in the recommendation made.
(D) The Planning Board is not required to make its recommendations on a proposed amendment within any specific period of time, but it should proceed as expeditiously as practical on petitions for amendments since inordinate delays can result in the petitioner incurring unnecessary costs. However, if no written report is received from the Planning Board within 30 days of referral of the amendment to that Board, the Board of Commissioners may act on the amendment without the Planning Board report.
(E) The Planning Board, at its discretion, may call for a legislative hearing or other public meeting on any proposed amendment to the UDO. The hearing shall be noticed consistent with § 160.05.
(F) In accordance with the requirements of G.S. § 160D-109(b), members of the Planning Board shall not vote on recommendations regarding any zoning map or text amendment where the outcome of the matter being considered is reasonably likely to have a direct, substantial and readily identifiable financial impact on the member or if the landowner of the property subject to the matter is a person with whom the member has a close familial, business or other associational relationship.
(Ord. passed 7-25-2011; Ord. 21-O-04, passed 6-28-2021)