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Planning Board and Board of Commissioners Joint Meeting

Town of Hillsborough · Planning Board
Thursday, November 20, 2025 at 7:00 pm

Regular meeting AnnexationComprehensive planHousing and affordabilityLand conversion and large developmentRezoningZoning text amendment

Agenda document Full packet Minutes Meeting page Watch Meeting recap

What's on this agenda

Hillsborough's Planning Board and Board of Commissioners hold a joint public hearing on two Oakdale Drive matters: an annexation petition for two parcels and a rezoning request that would shift roughly 6.9 acres of Oakdale Village from Entranceway Special Use to General Commercial. A staff-initiated text amendment would drop the one-year wait before a withdrawn or denied application can be resubmitted, following a change in state law.

The Planning Board also plans to adopt its 2026 meeting schedule and hear a density primer from Senior Planner Tom King covering lot-size minimums, dwelling-unit density and floor-area ratios.

Summarized from the published agenda. Read the agenda itself before acting on it.

Meeting recap

What happened, drawn from the records published after the meeting. Minutes

The applicant withdrew the Oakdale Drive annexation petition before the hearing opened, and the boards removed it from the agenda. On the rezoning, the Planning Board heard from applicant Tony Whitaker, an engineer with Civil Consultants, and broker Mark O'Neal of Pickett Sprouse Commercial, then voted 6-0 to recommend approval to the town board. Members raised concerns that General Commercial zoning technically allows single-family homes, but Whitaker and O'Neal said the property's restrictive covenants and commercial value make residential development impractical. The board also recommended the UDO Section 3 text amendment unanimously, 6-0.

Also on the 20th, the Planning Board adopted its 2026 meeting schedule, moving all meetings to a 7 p.m. start, and heard Tom King's presentation on density-regulation methods. Staff reported that Orange County commissioners had denied a 49-lot subdivision on NC 86 North in the county's jurisdiction.

How the votes went

Agenda approved as amended (removing the withdrawn annexation item), 11-0. October 23 minutes approved 6-0, Planning Board only. Motion to open the public hearing, 11-0. Rezoning of the three Oakdale Village parcels recommended to the town board, 6-0. UDO Section 3 text amendment recommended, 6-0. 2026 meeting schedule adopted, 6-0. Motion to close the public hearing, 11-0. Adjournment, 6-0.

From the published minutes.

Speaking at this meeting

Town of Hillsborough's own rules for public comment — check them before you rely on anything here.

Agenda items (5)

Public hearing · 3Procedural · 1Discussion item · 1
  1. 5.A Applicant-initiated annexation request – Oakdale Drive (PINs 9863-68-0014, 9863-67-2966)
    Public hearing Annexation
    A public hearing on an applicant's request to annex two parcels on Oakdale Drive into the town.
  2. 5.B Applicant-initiated rezoning request – Oakdale Village (three parcels)
    Public hearing Rezoning
    A public hearing on an applicant's request to rezone three parcels in Oakdale Village.
  3. 5.C Staff-initiated text amendment to UDO Section 3, Administrative Procedures
    Public hearing Zoning text amendment
    A public hearing on a staff-proposed amendment to the administrative-procedures section of the Unified Development Ordinance.
  4. 7.A Adoption of 2026 Planning Board schedule
    Procedural
    The Planning Board adopts its regular meeting schedule for 2026.
  5. 7.B Density discussion with Tom King, Senior Planner
    Discussion item Comprehensive planHousing and affordabilityLand conversion and large development
    A staff-led discussion with the Planning Board on residential density, with no formal action listed.

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