§ 38-1203. Approval procedure.

The procedure for obtaining approval of a planned development shall be as follows:

(1)

Preapplication conference. The applicant shall submit four (4) copies of the concept plan to the zoning director at least ten (10) working days prior to a preapplication conference which shall be scheduled by the applicant with the planning director, zoning director and county engineer or their designees. The purpose of this meeting will be to acquaint the staff with the proposed project and to provide the prospective applicant with preliminary review comments to identify major concerns or the need for additional support data. Within five (5) working days following the meeting, the zoning director shall send a letter to the prospective applicant/consultants summarizing the major points of the meeting. The concept plan shall not be binding.

(2)

Land use plan (previously preliminary development plan). The applicant shall submit to the planning department, after payment of application fees to the zoning department, fourteen (14) copies of the land use plan and support data. The planning department shall schedule the project for review by the development review committee (DRC). The planning and zoning directors shall determine if review of the project is necessary by other advisory boards other than the planning and zoning commission. The zoning director shall schedule the project for the next regular meeting of the planning and zoning commission for a review hearing.

a.

The DRC shall review the proposed land use plan, and issue a written recommendation to the planning and zoning commission. A copy of the DRC recommendation shall be sent to the applicant at least five (5) days prior to the planning and zoning commission public hearing. (The DRC must complete their review at least twenty-one (21) days prior to the date of the planning and zoning commission public hearing in order to be placed on the agenda.)

b.

Upon receipt of the DRC's written recommendation, the planning and zoning commission shall hold a public hearing to review the application and shall submit its recommendation (which may include conditions of approval) to the county commission for its official action. Public notice to consider the land use plan shall include a generalized list of the proposed land uses and shall indicate that the board of county commissioners will hold a public hearing to consider the project. The public hearing before the board of county commissioners shall be held at least ten (10) days after the planning and zoning commission hearing.

c.

In addition to complying with all approval procedures contained in this section 38-1203, a big box development shall comply with all the standards and requirements outlined or referenced in section 38-79(153). Any big box development applicant seeking a waiver from any such standard or requirement shall, concurrently with and as a part of the land use plan submittal, include such waiver request, stating and explaining, in detail, the exceptional circumstances which the applicant believes justify a waiver. Orange County shall review such request, and may either deny or grant the waiver. Furthermore, before any public hearing is held regarding a big box development land use plan, a community meeting shall be held with public notice issued to the owners of record of properties located within a two thousand-foot radius of the proposed development site. In establishing the limits of public notification, all addresses within an entire neighborhood, any part of which falls within the two thousand-foot notification radius, shall be noticed. In addition, the applicant shall be responsible for prominently and conspicuously posting notice of the community meeting directly on the property.

(3)

Development plan (previously final development plan). The applicant shall submit to the planning department, after payment of the application fee to the zoning department, fourteen (14) copies of the development plan and support materials.

a.

The development plan may cover all or a portion of the approved land use plan. The planning department shall review the plans to determine if all appropriate data and information has been properly provided.

b.

The development plan shall be reviewed by the DRC in order to determine that:

1.

It substantially complies with the land use plan;

2.

The phase of development can exist as a stable independent unit; and

3.

Existing or proposed utility services and transportation systems are adequate for the uses proposed.

c.

The DRC shall review the development plan and shall evaluate it for consistency with the land use plan and all applicable ordinances, regulations and policies. The DRC shall either approve the development plan (which may include technical conditions consistent with applicable county ordinances, regulations and policies) or deny the development plan based upon specific findings which shall be stated.

d.

The decision of the DRC may be appealed to the board of county commissioners by an aggrieved party. Any party choosing to appeal the DRC decision shall file a notice of appeal within fifteen (15) days of the rendition of the DRC decision. If the developer or applicant proposes to create a subdivision, a preliminary subdivision plan should be processed concurrently with the development plan and shall be subject to approval by the board of county commissioners. The DRC decision shall be rendered within ten (10) working days of the final DRC meeting date.

e.

In addition to complying with all approval procedures contained in this section 38-1203, a big box development plan shall comply with the land use plan and with all the standards and requirements outlined or referenced in section 38-79(153), except that any PD approved for commercial uses prior to April 3, 2006, shall not be subject to the two hundred-foot buffer requirement adjacent to single-family residentially-zoned property only to the extent that it can be demonstrated that the property is physically constrained from meeting that requirement. Any big box development applicant seeking a waiver from any standard or requirement governing big box development shall, concurrently with and as a part of the development plan submittal, include such waiver request, stating and explaining, in detail, the exceptional circumstances which the applicant believes justify the waiver. Such a request shall be deemed a substantial change to the land use plan, and shall require a public hearing before the board of county commissioners. The board may approve or deny the waiver request.

(P & Z Res., art. XXIX, § 3; Ord. No. 98-37, § 16, 12-15-98; Ord. No. 2007-01 , § 16, 3-20-07)