A. Applicability and Description
1. Development under optional method in the CRT, CR, EOF, or LSC zone requires approval of a sketch plan, unless the development is approved as a Signature Business Headquarters plan under Section 7.3.5, a Biohealth Priority Campus plan under Section 7.3.6, or a Mixed-Income Housing Community plan under Section 7.3.7.
2. A sketch plan describes a project at an early stage to provide the public and the Planning Board the chance to review a proposed development for general design, density, circulation, public benefits, and relationship to the master plan before a developer is required to expend significant resources on design and engineering.
B. Application Requirements
1. An applicant must own the subject property or be authorized by the owner to file the application.
2. If any land or right-of-way encompassed by a sketch plan application is owned or controlled by the State, County, or any other private or public entity, a written agreement or authorization from that entity or agency must be submitted with the sketch plan application.
3. The applicant must submit the following for review:
a. application form and fees required by the Planning Director;
b. vicinity map at 1” = 200';
c. site map showing existing buildings, structures, circulation routes, significant natural features, historic resources, zoning, and legal descriptions on the proposed development site and within 500 feet of the perimeter boundary;
d. list of abutting and confronting property owners in the County tax records;
e. list of any civic, homeowners, and renters associations that are registered with the Planning Department and located within 1/2 mile of the site;
g. statement of justification outlining how the proposed development satisfies the standards and criteria required to grant the application; and
h. illustrative plans showing:
i. building densities, massing, heights, and the anticipated mix of uses;
ii. locations of public use and other open spaces;
iii. pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicular circulation, parking, and loading;
iv. estimated range of peak hour trips; and
v. relationships of proposed buildings to adjacent existing or proposed buildings and rights-of-way;
i. a table of proposed public benefits and the incentive density points requested for each;
j. a general phasing of structures, uses, rights-of-way, sidewalks, dedications, public benefits, and future preliminary and site plan applications; and
k. fees set by the Planning Board.
4. The applicant must submit an initial application to the Planning Director for approval of completeness. The Planning Director must review the application for completeness within 10 days after receipt. An application is incomplete if any required element is missing or is facially defective, e.g., a drawing that is not to scale or lacks proper signatures. The assessment of completeness must not address the merits of the application.
5. The applicant must submit any required revisions to the Planning Director. The Planning Director must review the revised application for completeness within 10 days after receipt.
6. After the Planning Director verifies that the application is complete, the applicant must file the final application with the Planning Director, who will accept the application and establish a hearing date under Section 7.3.3.C.
7. Public notice is required under Division 7.5.
C. Hearing Date
The Planning Board must schedule a public hearing to begin within 90 days after the date an application was accepted. If a sketch plan application is accepted for concurrent review with a preliminary plan, the Planning Board may schedule the public hearing to begin within 120 days after the date the applications were accepted. The Planning Director may postpone the public hearing by up to 30 days once without Planning Board approval. The Planning Director or applicant may request an extension beyond the original 30 days with Planning Board approval. Any extension of the public hearing must be noticed by mail and on the hearing agenda with the new public hearing date indicated.
D. Review and Recommendation
The Planning Director must publish a report and recommendation a minimum of 10 days before the Planning Board public hearing. The report and recommendation must be made available to the applicant and public.
E. Necessary Findings
To approve a sketch plan, the Planning Board must find that the following elements are appropriate in concept and appropriate for further detailed review at site plan. The sketch plan must:
1. meet the objectives, general requirements, and standards of this Chapter;
2. substantially conform with the recommendations of the applicable master plan;
3. satisfy under Section 7.7.1.B.5 the binding elements of any development plan or schematic development plan in effect on October 29, 2014;
4. under Section 7.7.1.B.5, for a property where the zoning classification on October 29, 2014 was the result of a Local Map Amendment, satisfy any green area requirement in effect on October 29, 2014; any green area under this provision includes and is not in addition to any open space requirement of the property’s zoning on October 30, 2014;
5. achieve compatible internal and external relationships between existing and pending nearby development;
6. provide satisfactory general vehicular, pedestrian, and bicyclist access, circulation, parking, and loading;
7. propose an outline of public benefits that supports the requested incentive density and is appropriate for the specific community; and
8. establish a feasible and appropriate phasing plan for all structures, uses, rights-of-way, sidewalks, dedications, public benefits, and future preliminary and site plan applications.
F. Decision
The Planning Board must act within 30 days after the close of the record of the public hearing by majority vote of those present at the public hearing to approve; approve with modifications, conditions, or binding elements; or deny the application. A binding element may include, but is not limited to, a restriction on use or building type that the zone would otherwise allow; a limit on a development standard to less than the maximum allowed; a general development requirement beyond the minimum required; establishment of the public benefits that must be provided; or establishing the general layout and massing of buildings, open space, and circulation. A binding element binds the applicant, and any successor or assign, unless lawfully amended.
G. Subsequent Actions
If a sketch plan is approved, a site plan under Section 7.3.4 must be submitted within 36 months after the date the resolution is sent, unless a longer period is established by the resolution.
H. Recording Procedures
The Planning Board resolution must be maintained in the permanent files of the Planning Department.
I. Amendments
An amendment to any binding element or condition of an approved sketch plan must follow the same procedures, meet the same criteria, and satisfy the same requirements as the original sketch plan application, unless the sketch plan is amended during site plan review. If the sketch plan is amended during site plan review:
1. An amendment to a binding element or condition of an approved sketch plan must be:
a. requested by the applicant;
b. recommended by the Planning Board staff and agreed to by the applicant; or
c. made by the Planning Board, based on a staff recommendation or on its own initiative, if the Planning Board finds that a change in material facts and circumstances since sketch plan approval demonstrates that the binding element or condition does not substantially conform with the recommendations of the applicable master plan or does not satisfy this Chapter.
2. Notice of a site plan application must include any proposed amendment to a binding element requested by the applicant. Notice of the site plan hearing must include any proposed amendment to a binding element recommended by Planning Board staff and agreed to by the applicant.
3. For any amendment to a binding element or condition, the Planning Board must make the applicable sketch plan findings in addition to the findings necessary to approve a site plan under Article 59-7.
(Legislative History: Ord. No. 18-08, §26; Ord. No. 18-45, §5; Ord. No. 19-27, § 6; Ord. No. 20-03, § 7.)