Morrisville Unified Development Ordinance - September 2020

Article 2: Administration Section 2.4. Standard Review Procedures 2.4.7. Planning and Zoning Board or Town Council Review and Decision

b. The body conducting the hearing is not bound by the rules of evidence, or limited to consideration of evidence that is admissible in a court of law. It may consider all testimony and evidence it deems competent and material to the application under consideration, and may exclude testimony or evidence it determines to be irrelevant, immaterial, incompetent, unreliable, or unduly repetitious. d. On being properly recognized by the person chairing the hearing, the applicant, Town staff, or other affected party may be granted an opportunity to ask questions of any other person who has testified at the hearing or to rebut any testimony, comments, documents, or materials presented by such person. Any such inquiry or rebuttal shall be limited to matters raised directly by the testimony being questioned or rebutted. B. Review and Decision The Planning and Zoning Board or Town Council shall consider the application, relevant support materials, staff report, the recommendation from the Planning and Zoning Board (if applicable), and any comments made at a public hearing (if required), and shall make one of the decisions authorized for the particular type of application, based on the review standards applicable to the application type, as set forth in Section 2.5, Application-Specific Review Procedures. 1. The Planning and Zoning Board or Town Council shall clearly state the factors considered in its decision and the basis or rationale for the decision. 2. If the review involves a quasi-judicial hearing, the decision shall be reduced to writing, be signed by a duly authorized member of the Planning and Zoning Board or Town Council, as appropriate, include findings of fact based on competent, material, and substantial evidence presented at the hearing, reflect the determination of contested facts, and state how the findings support compliance with applicable review standards. The decision is effective upon its filing with the Planning Director (for Planning and Zoning Board decisions) or the Town Clerk (for Town Council decisions). 3. The Planning and Zoning Board or Town Council shall take action as promptly as possible in consideration of the interests of the applicant, affected parties, and citizens of the town. c. All persons who will testify at the hearing shall be sworn in or affirmed. 2. Limited to conditions deemed necessary to ensure compliance with the requirements and particular standards of this Ordinance, Manuals referenced herein, or related approvals (e.g., conditional zoning, special use permit, etc.); or 3. Related in both type and scope to the anticipated impacts of the proposed development. D. Revision of Application 1. After the Planning and Zoning Board or Town Council, as appropriate, has reviewed an application but has not yet taken action on it, the applicant may request an opportunity to revise the application. The Planning and Zoning Board or Town Council, as appropriate, may grant such a request on condition that revisions shall be limited changes that directly respond to specific requests or suggestions made by the staff, the Planning and Zoning Board, or Town Council, as appropriate, and shall constitute only minor additions, deletions, or corrections, and not significant substantive changes, to the development proposed by the application. 2. Any other revisions to the application may be submitted, but the revised application shall be submitted to the Planning Director and reviewed as if it were a new application. The revised application is subject to additional application fees to defray the additional processing costs. C. Conditions of Approval Any conditions of approval shall be: 1. Expressly set forth in the approval;

Morrisville, NC

September 1, 2020

Unified Development Ordinance

Page 2-21