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Planning commission outlines schedule and review process for county-wide zoning ordinance rewrite
Summary
Commissioners agreed to a consultant-supported schedule and a rolling review process for a countywide zoning ordinance review, assigned topic leads and two reviewers per module, and asked legal staff to check a past case about whether a board properly issued an initiating resolution for zoning amendments.
At the Dec. 5 meeting the Orange County Planning Commission set a schedule and internal review process for a countywide zoning ordinance review that staff and commissioners expect will run through early spring.
The chair presented a consultant-proposed schedule and described a rolling "Shipley"-style review in which small committees draft outlines and two designated reviewers provide comments before commission work sessions. The chair said the goal was to have commissioner input ready to send to consultants by an April meeting if the consultant work stream proceeds on the proposed timeline.
Commissioners volunteered topic leads and agreed on a structure: short (two- to three-page) outlines of purpose and permitted and special uses for each district; assignment of reviewers; and three public work sessions to arbitrate reviewer comments. Commissioners discussed adopting a "sliding scale" approach for lot-division rights (citing Fauquier County as an example) and agreed to identify "things we don't want" for each district to guide consultant drafting.
A commissioner raised a legal concern from a prior case that a board had "failed to promulgate an initiating resolution or motion for the zoning amendment in accordance with Virginia law." The commission requested that County Attorney (Miss Wilson) and staff review that case and confirm whether a formal initiating motion or other procedural step is required before the review proceeds.
Planning staff (Mr. Frederick) said the Berkeley Group diagnostic is scheduled for a Board work session on Dec. 17; staff will circulate draft and final diagnostic documents to commissioners when available.
Next steps: commissioners will finalize committee leads and reviewer assignments, prepare outlines for their assigned topics, and expect preparatory work and two reviewers' comments ahead of a January 16 committee review and subsequent work sessions.
