Nov. 21, 2007
Contact: Charlie Horne, County Manager, 919-542-8200
Keith Megginson, Planning Director, 919-542-8205 


At its meeting on Nov. 19, the Chatham County Board of Commissioners took several major steps to address the impact of rapid population growth: increasing school impact fees paid on newly-established homes, zoning buffers along major highways, and regulating certain types of outdoor lighting. 

“All of these actions directly relate to the impact of growth on our rural county, whether it is meeting mandated school needs, identifying good locations for commercial areas or putting reasonable boundaries on growth so that it does not destroy our quality of life and precious natural resources,” said Vice Chairman George Lucier.

The county’s population has grown by estimated 22% in the past seven years, based on US Census estimates, but “we have many more approved new homes on the books already. We’ve just seen the tip of the iceberg,” Lucier said.

He said that it is the commissioners’ responsibility to “put fees and regulations in place to assure that the county is not overwhelmed by growth.”

The increase in the school impact fee from $2,900 to $3,500, effective Jan. 1, 2008, will help pay for new or expanded schools. “These needs will accelerate as developments already approved are built out and as older schools require more costly renovations,” Lucier said.

The impact fee applies to all new single-family homes, including new mobile homes, and any homes moved into the county to establish residence. The fee for multi-family structures and accessory structures, such as garages with an apartment, will increase to $1,100 per unit on Jan. 1, 2008.

The single-family impact fee currently cannot exceed $3,500 per home because it is authorized by a study conducted for the county in 1999.

The Board of Commissioners approved moving forward with a new impact fee study, which will be underway within the next few weeks. This would likely raise the maximum level well above $3,500, Lucier said.

He added that “we have very limited options to pay for schools, especially since the proposed 0.4% land transfer tax was not approved by voters on Nov. 6.” An increase in annual property taxes is the only other option currently available to county commissioners.

County Manager Charlie Horne said that the $600 increase in the impact fee will produce almost as much revenue as a one-cent tax increase would in 2008-09.

The new impact fee revenue will not meet all school facility needs, Horne added. “It’s also important to remember that these revenues can only be used for school construction, not for school operating expenses or for non-school needs.”

Other county facility needs, such as water and sewer systems that would promote economic development, will require other revenue sources, Horne said.

In a second step, the Board of Commissioners approved zoning a 1,500-foot buffer along both sides of several major highways in the county that were not already zoned.

Vice Chairman Lucier said that the zoning of roadway buffers is a first step in identifying appropriate commercial nodes along these corridors and in assuring that the county does not end up with congestion or excessive development.

“Having specific commercial locations identified will help us recruit new businesses, but we also want to make sure that we fully support existing or emerging businesses as well,” Lucier said.

The Major Corridor Task Force appointed by the Board of Commissioners early this year developed the proposed corridor zoning plan and will next work on identifying locations for commercial areas and other recommended changes.

Roadways affected by the zoning are:

• US Highway 421
• US Highway 64
• US 15-501/NC 87, south of Pittsboro
• US Highway 1
• Moncure-Pittsboro Road
• NC Highway 87 north of Pittsboro to the Alamance County line, as well as land east of this highway to areas already zoned, which previously stopped at Old Graham Road

As a temporary measure, all corridor areas will be zoned RA-40, which means land use is restricted to residential and agricultural, with lots of approximately one acre or more. However, existing businesses in the zoned areas will be allowed to expand or change.

“The Board of Commissioners has pledged to work with these businesses to allow them as much flexibility as possible to change their businesses. This includes granting them a waiver in county rezoning fees,” Lucier said.

“We are committed to economic development in Chatham County, especially in fostering the growth and success of existing businesses and commercial activity. The county commissioners fully recognize that this is the lifeblood of Chatham County.”

The Board of Commissioners also has pledged to work with all landowners who have building permit to start a new business as well as landowners who have had businesses in the past and want to restart them.

The current corridor zoning will be revisited when the Major Corridor Task Force completes their recommendations, which will be reviewed by the Planning Board. “We also will hold a public hearing to get input from our residents and businesses,” Lucier said.

Lucier estimated that the major corridor zoning process would be completed in the Spring of 2008.

The third major action of the Board of Commissioners revised the zoning ordinance to regulate certain types of outdoor lighting in the county.

“We do want residents to have enough lighting to be safe at night, but we were getting to the point that people who used to be able to see the stars from their backyard were finding it harder and harder to do that,” Lucier noted.

Some types of fixtures waste energy, cause excessive glare or send too much of their light up into the atmosphere instead of sending light where it’s most needed, he said.

The new regulations promote the use of fixtures that conserve energy and substantially reduce light pollution, which causes those bright areas in the sky around urban and suburban areas, said Lucier.

Residential and non-residential developments must submit outdoor lighting plans as part of the building permit process. The plan must meet specific requirements related to maximum light levels at property lines, proper installation of floodlamps, usage of wall pack fixtures, lighting of privately maintained streets, reduced light output between midnight and dawn (essential all-night security lighting is exempt from this last requirement) and reduced energy consumption.

Other parts of the regulations address: sports fields; parking lots; vehicle canopies (such as gas stations); outdoor performance areas; natural recreation areas; outdoor display areas (such as car dealerships); illumination of buildings; permanent signs and billboards; holiday and festive lighting; walkways, bike paths and parks; and landscape lighting.

Existing lighting that is out of compliance with new county regulations are exempt, but any replacements of fixtures or expansion of lighting systems must meet the regulations.

However, owners of vehicular canopies with lighting (gas stations, drive-through areas at banks and drug stores, etc.) have a deadline for bringing canopies into compliance. They must be in full compliance no later than five years or earlier if they replace at least 50% of their lighting fixtures prior to the five-year deadline.

“We have identified about 16 gas stations in the county’s zoned areas that will have to meet this five-year deadline,” said Keith Megginson, director of the Planning Department. “

For more information on the new lighting requirements and a map of the areas covered by major corridor zoning, visit the Planning Department's webpage or call 919-542-8285.