(A) It is recognized that certain types of zoning districts would be inappropriate at particular locations in the absence of special conditions. Some land uses are of such a nature or scale that they have significant impacts on both the immediately surrounding area and on the entire community which cannot be predetermined and controlled by general district standards. There are also circumstances in which a general district designation allowing such a use by-right would not be appropriate for a particular
, even though the use itself could, if properly planned, be appropriate for the
consistent with the objectives of this chapter and the Making Mills River 2040 Comprehensive Plan.
(B) Establishment of a Conditional Zoning District
only be considered upon the request of all the
and/or their representatives of the
to be included. A Conditional Zoning
not be initiated by the
, the Planning Board, the Board of Adjustment, the Town Manager, the
, or other Town staff.
(C) As authorized under G.S. 160D-703, the following conditional districts are established which require the submission of an application and a master plan as a prerequisite to any
.
(1) A Residential Conditional Zoning District (MR-R-CD).
(2) Commercial Conditional Zoning District (MR-C-CD).
(3) Industrial Conditional Zoning District (MR-I-CD).
(4) Mixed Use Conditional Zoning District (MR-M-CD).
(D) Each district is subject to applicable standards and conditions imposed by the
in the ordinance creating the district. If the ordinance creating a conditional zoning district fails to provide specific standards, any
in the district
comply with the applicable standards for the corresponding base district contained in this chapter. These conditional districts are not intended to relieve hardships that should be resolved by means of a variance.
(E) The conditional zoning district classification allows projects of innovative design and layout that would not otherwise be permitted under this chapter because of the strict application of conventional zoning district standards or other general
standards. Conditional zoning encourages innovative land planning and design concepts by:
(1) Reducing or eliminating the inflexibility that sometimes results from strict application of zoning and
standards that were designed primarily for individual
;
(2) Allowing greater freedom in selecting the means to provide access, light, open space, and design amenities;
(3) Allowing greater freedom in providing a mix of land uses in the same
, including a mix of housing types and non-residential uses in a conditional zoning district;
(4) Promoting quality urban design and environmentally sensitive
by allowing
to take advantage of special site characteristics, locations, and land uses.
(F) In return for greater flexibility in site design requirements, conditional zoning districts are expected to deliver exceptional quality community designs that preserve critical environmental resources, provide high quality open space amenities, incorporate creative design in the layout of
, open space and circulation; assure compatibility with surrounding land uses and
character; and provide greater efficiency in the layout and provision of roads, utilities, and other infrastructure.
(1) (a) In order to apply for a rezoning to a conditional zoning district, proposed
projects and subject
must meet both of the following minimum requirements:
(b) Subject must have Making Mills River Comprehensive Plan, Future Land Use Map designation of Community Center, Industrial and Employment, or Community Crossroads districts. Subject total contiguous acreage: 2 acres.
(2) (a) Uses.
(b) Each conditional zoning district ordinance
specify allowable uses and associated approval processes as one of the following:
1. Permitted by Right (P). A use which is permitted by right must comply with the
standards mutually agreed to for the conditional district.
2. Permitted with Standards (PS). Same as above except that the use must comply with 1 or more additional standards not required of other permitted uses in the district.
3.
(SUP). Requires issuance of a Major or Minor
from
or the Board of Adjustment, respectively.
(3)
standards.
(a) Certain
standards
not be altered by means of a conditional zoning district, these include: water supply watershed regulations, stormwater regulations, water supply permitting, wastewater permitting, NCDOT driveway permitting, and any other
or federal requirements, such as sedimentation and erosion control permitting, and stream and wetland disturbance permitting.
1. Residential
in a conditional district must adhere to the Town requirement of a maximum of 1
per 30,000 SF for detached single-
, and 4 dwelling units per acre for multifamily
,
,
, and
.
2. Residential minimum
size in a conditional district must adhere to the Town requirement of no less than 30,000 SF for detached single-
, and 20,000 SF for single
residential cluster
s and planned residential
.
size requirements are waived for multifamily
.
(b) Unless specifically stated in the approving ordinance all
must comply with existing standards for parking, landscaping, corridor overlay district architectural requirements, road construction standards,
, and setbacks, as identified in the most closely related conventional zoning district.
(c) Conditional zoning districts
allow for modifications to any or all of the following:
1. Uses.
2.
.
3.
size.
4.
architectural design.
5. Parking.
6. Landscaping.
7. Setbacks.
8. Open space.
9. Signage.
10. Number of Principle Uses or
.
(Ord. 2023-04, passed 9-14-2023)