** Submittal Process **

 Welcome to the Town of Rolesville Planning Department Development Application Submittal and Review process and timelines. 

The Submittal Calendar process has been in effect since February 2022 and has provided the development community and the general public a transparent timetable and consistent expectations of the review process and forward movement of Development Applications toward their eventual final decisions. 

             Modifications to or deviations from these Calendars shall be at the discretion of the Planning Director.

Please Note – at this time these Calendars are implementing a one-time-per-month Submittal Date and review cycle. Additional submittal dates and associated review cycles, including those exclusively for re-submittals, may be implemented in the future as Staff capabilities allow and an efficient, timely, and predictable review process can be provided to all Clients. 

HOW does this relate to the UDO and LDO?

All new/original Development Applications subject to/reviewed under the Land Development Ordinance (LDO) will follow these Submittal and Review Calendars. The Calendars reflect the processes as required in the LDO. *

Any older / existing projects and applications that are subject to the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), will continue to be reviewed on an "open-submittal" basis and reviews occurring under the previous timetable (typical review periods of either 12 or 15 business days, with Comments provided after that).  The intent is to swiftly review and process these applications to their final point of Approval in the same manner as their review lives began. See the " * " below.

Staff reserves the right to make case-by-case decisions regarding the review process and timelines.

* Under the UDO, and particularly for the R&PUD District, there are unique process steps for certain types of applications, relative to the necessity of presenting applications to the Planning Board for 'review and recommendation' followed by Evidentiary Hearings before the Town Board. Please refer to the respective Section of the UDO for that application type. Arrange a Pre-Application meeting or contact the Planning Director to discuss the overall process steps. 

HOW are submittals / re-submittals made to the Town ?

• Always PDF’s - no alternative File types please, and no hard copies are required (unless specifically specified by Staff).
• Email to --    planning@rolesville.nc.gov    - it is OK to also cc the Town Staff person you may have been in any pre-submittal conversations with.  
• Include in the SUBJECT line something identifying - address, project name, Application Number (for Re-submittals), etc.  IF the Town Application Number has already been assigned, ALWAYS use this in the Subject line.
• Always follow the timing of https://www.rolesvillenc.gov/planning/submittal-process unless Town Staff has provided you in writing alternative review benchmark dates.
• Initial Submittals should include the Town's minimum requirement documents, and the documents related to the scope of the particular Application.
• Re-submittals are case by case, but generally, whatever original submittal documents that are edited/revised should be submitted, plus any new/other docs/files that Staff has asked for or that you have produced, and then a Written or Mark-up Response to the previous review cycles Staff comments.  There is no right/wrong way to craft a response to comments; do what is best to convey the message of IF, how, where (in a plan, etc.), why/why not comments have been addressed.

WHEN to make submittals / re-submittals?

See the three TYPES of Applications below - Column 1 is the Submittal Deadline.

All applications will be placed in the next available Monthly Cycle (per tables below).

Early submittals, late in the preceding month to the desired Review Cycle, is OK and appreciated.  Submittals will be held until the next "CYCLE" begins. 

HOW / WHEN do I Pay for an application submittal / re-submittal ?

Staff will create an INVOICE for all complete submittals and email that to the applicant, usually as part of the Submittal Acceptance email.  Application fees are adopted annually by the Town Board of Commissioners as part of the Town's Budget process.  Resubmittals are charged 1/2 the initial submittal fee.  Payment is via cash or check at Town Hall (open Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM - Noon, and 2-5 PM) or check via mail made out to Town of Rolesville, mailed in care of Planning Department, 502 Southtown Circle, Rolesville, NC 27571. 

WHERE do I find Development Application submittal forms, applications, etc. ?

Every initial Application submittal requires one or more Town Forms or Applications, all of which are found here:  https://www.rolesvillenc.gov/planning/forms-and-applications .  The respective sections of the UDO and LDO (and the LDO's Appendix A, Handbook) contain further details about minimum submittal requirement when designing/creating various plan sets, etc. For example, UDO Sec. 15 include details on the various required elements and information for subdivision plats. 

NOTE - New Application and Submittal Checklists will be published in 2023 and implemented/required starting TBD later in 2023.  Please bookmark the main page, but not individual linked items, as those links are likely to change.  Please visit this page each and every time you go about creating a new application to ensure you are utilizing the latest/new documents.  Completeness Check review will also work to ensure applications are utilizing/contain the most current or new documents. 

HOW are TRC-STAFF Review Comments provided to Applicants?

A comprehensive set of organized Staff Comments are posted to a/the overall projects webpage here on or by the 'Comments Provided' date column in the Calendars.  These comprise a SUMMARY document, and then any PDF's containing written, "marked up" plans, or other exhibits from individual Reviewers.  Applicants are responsible for visiting their project webpage to download the Comments.    NOTE: Any late publications of comments will be shared with that Applicant case-by-case, and accommodations made accordingly.   

HOW are 'TRC Meetings' functioning under this process?

Per each Calendar and each review cycle, an online TEAMS Meeting Date (during the AM on 2nd Thursdays) is provided, and each Application is given a time-certain time slot.  An emailed TEAMS invitation to this meeting is provided to all Applicants of Record for the applications in that review cycle.  

NOTE - attendance is at the discretion of the Applicant. It is not compulsory. This is a service provided by the Town to facilitate an environment to discuss Comments with Staff.

Off-line phone calls, meetings, etc. between Applicant and individual Staff reviewers is permitted and encouraged, but No Approvals can result, and all revised materials must be submitted per these processes. 

When / How does an Application complete its review by the TRC Staff?

After the TRC Meeting for each monthly "CYCLE", if there were review comments that require revisions and a re-submittal, the Applicant shall re-submit by / before the next Submittal date (of their choice), and the next review Cycle shall commence.

For Administratively approved applications, cycles of submittals/re-submittals and reviews will occur until there are no remaining TRC Staff Comments, and each of those Review entities provides the status of "No further Comments". 

For applications requiring Planning Board (PB) or Town Board of Commissioners (TB) action, all TRC-Staff comments shall be Resolved* before moving forward in the schedule to the PB/TB meeting.

*Staff strives to fully resolve comments and present applications with full Staff support; the Planning Director has discretion to move forward applications without Staff support at the request of the Applicant.   

How do the monthly Submittal & Review Dates relate to the posted Planning Board/Town Board dates?

 Per the above, when applications requiring Planning Board (PB) or Town Board of Commissioners (TB) action reach the "No further Comments" status from TRC-STAFF, they can be moved forward to the respective Planning or Town Board meeting.  Disclaimer - Placement (of an Application) on a particular Planning/Town Board Agenda is ultimately at the discretion of the Planning Director, as there could be unforeseen circumstances regarding the forwarding of any particular Application to that meeting date.  These will be case-by-case circumstances broached with each Applicant at the point of conclusion of the TRC-Staff review, if not earlier/as identified. 

Modifications to or deviations from these Calendars shall be at the discretion of the Planning Director.

Legislative Process requiring Planning Board AND Town Board review

Application Types:

Voluntary Annexation* / Development Agreements / Rezoning (Zoning Map Amendment) / Text Amendments

*- Annexations go directly to the Town Board, skipping Column 4, and require three (3) separate actions by the Town Board (1. Call to Investigate Sufficiency; 2. Call for Public Hearing; 3. Public Hearing).  When an Annexation accompanies a Rezoning, steps 2 and 3 follow the path of the Rezoning in most instances. 

Evidentiary (Quasi-Judicial) Hearing Process to the Town Board of Adjustment

Application Types:

Appeals / Special Use Permits / Variance / Vested Rights Certificate/Determination 

Administrative Review Applications 

Preliminary Subdivision Plats, Construction Infrastructure Drawings, Minor & Major Subdivision Final Plats, Site Development Plans.