Staff proposal

[Tom Schopler]

I strongly urge you to reject the staff proposal that would eliminate public review of subdivision plans and plats by County Commissioners and Planning Board members.  By doing so, you eliminate the public's ability to raise concerns about subdivisions prior to their approval.  

If this proposal goes through, you will find yourselves in the same position as Alamance County commissioners, having developments go in that don't make sense and having no recourse to influence them.

• Reject proposed UDO amendments that would eliminate public review of subdivision plans and plats by County Commissioners and Planning Board members - the proposed amendments are unreasonable and run counter to the public interest
• Ensure a public review process, including resuming staff coordination and attendance at Neighborhood Informational Meetings, to inform citizens and answer questions about proposed developments, the application and appeal process
• Complete the Land Use Plan 2050 process resuming on September 14, seeking community engagement in a vision for protecting farms and rural communities’ future
• After adopting a new land use plan, update UDO amendments to align regulations with the LUP's guiding vision
• Require both a Statement of Consistency and a Statement of Inconsistency for all Planning Board and BOCC decisions, outlining reasons to vote for or against a proposal

Thank you for your consideration,

Tom Schopler

8220 Morrow Mill Rd.

Chapel Hill, NC 27516

[Tom Schopler]

Hi Jean,

Thank you so much for the follow up.  I appreciate it very much.  I look forward to further discussions on this topic.

Tom

Endeavour Fabrication Group, Inc.

NC Stone Encounters, LLC
1534 Cher Dr, Building #1
Durham, NC 27713
Phone: 919-536-0190 ext: 227
Cell: 919-624-4905
Fax: 919-544-6699


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On Wed, Sep 2, 2026 at 11:00 AM Jean Hamilton <jham...@orangecountync.gov> wrote:

Dear Tom Schopler,

 

On behalf of the Orange County Board of Commissioners (BOCC), thank you for sharing your viewpoints about recent Orange County Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) amendments. The BOCC did not pass those proposed changes at the September 1 business meeting. However, the BOCC does want to support changes that benefit the community and looks forward to further discussions on these topics.

 

Sincerely,

Jean

Jean Hamilton, Chair

Orange County Board of Commissioners

 

---

From: Tom Schopler <tsch...@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, September 1, 2026 11:24 AM
To: ALL_BOCC_MANAGER_CLERK <OCB...@orangecountync.gov>
Subject: Staff proposal

 

CAUTION: External email. Do not click links or open attachments unless verified. Report suspicious emails with the Phish Alert Button located on your Outlook menu bar on the Home tab.

[Jean Hamilton]

Dear Tom Schopler,

 

On behalf of the Orange County Board of Commissioners (BOCC), thank you for sharing your viewpoints about recent Orange County Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) amendments. The BOCC did not pass those proposed changes at the September 1 business meeting. However, the BOCC does want to support changes that benefit the community and looks forward to further discussions on these topics.

 

Sincerely,

Jean

Jean Hamilton, Chair

Orange County Board of Commissioners

 

---

From: Tom Schopler <tsch...@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, September 1, 2026 11:24 AM
To: ALL_BOCC_MANAGER_CLERK <OCB...@orangecountync.gov>
Subject: Staff proposal

 

CAUTION: External email. Do not click links or open attachments unless verified. Report suspicious emails with the Phish Alert Button located on your Outlook menu bar on the Home tab.

I strongly urge you to reject the staff proposal that would eliminate public review of subdivision plans and plats by County Commissioners and Planning Board members.  By doing so, you eliminate the public's ability to raise concerns about subdivisions prior to their approval.