Zoning and the Ag Advisory Board

A few days ago Dr. Dykers mentioned on the Chatham Chatlist that the Ag Advisory Board had voted to recommend against county-wide zoning. Wanting to read the minutes for myself, I looked to the County website and found that the minutes for Ag Advisory Board meetings were not posted. 

After I submitted a formal records request, the County posted some of the Ag Advisory Board minutes at http://www.chathamnc.org/index.aspx?page=1795 (January 2016 not yet posted as of this writing). 

From the Ag Advisory Board minutes, this is the timeline of their zoning discussions in 2015:

March 10, 2015 - Ag Advisory Board notified that the Planning Board and Commissioners are looking at zoning restrictions and countywide zoning. George Lucier and Brian Bock from the Planning Board agreed to seek Ag Advisory Board input on County issues regarding agriculture.

April 14, 2015 - Ag Advisory Board was told that the Planning Board is considering four zoning options, and that the entire county does not need to be zoned at this time. Commissioner Hale said that the county needs zoning as another leg to the County comprehensive land use plan. The Ag Board requested more information about zoning and its impact on agriculture. Commissioner Petty supports an open zoning approach that names the industries that cannot be allowed in the County without due process.

June 9, 2015 - Ag Advisory Board told that that County Commissioners have charged the planning board to develop land use regulations. Commissioner Hales stated that zoning is a comprehensive process and can take a long time, and that a comprehensive plan is ideal but there are short-term needs that are immediate.

September 8, 2015 - A report to the Ag Advisory Board stated that the Planning Board votes on zoning were tied, and that nothing was passed; also that the Planning Board defeated a motion to define western Chatham County as that west of US 421.

November 11, 2015 - the Ag Board voted to support the Planning Board recommendation not to zone the entire County. Voting for that proposal: Dr. Dykers, Chip Price, Terrill Ellington, Ronnie Vaughn, Larry Hicks. Voting against the proposal: Cathy Jones, Sharon Day, Bobby Tucker, Esta Cohen. 

So what? 

Two items are worth noting. First is that the meeting minutes of the Ag Board were not available to the County citizens until I made a formal request to County staff. That begs the question of how much other County business has not been made widely available. The County has been forthcoming when directly asked about meeting minutes; if they are available, why not post them? The result of not posting is to wonder what the County does not want widely known.

Second, and more disturbing, is that again a County board of citizens voted against the blanket R1 and R5 zoning process and the County Commission appears to ignore that input. Are the County advisory boards merely window-dressing? If so, lets either get rid of them or change their charters.

Finally, thank you Dr. Dykers for bringing this to our attention!

And finally, if you are not registered to vote, do so. Study the candidates positions for local, state and national elections. Put a circle around November 8 on your calendar and vote for those who best represent your values.