Ag Council Advisory Minutes?

One week ago I submitted a formal records request to Chatham County requesting the Ag Council Advisory Minutes for 6/9/2015, 4/14/2015, 3/10/2015, and 2/10/2015. I have been told that in these minutes are a formal recommendation NOT to blanket zone Chatham County, and I want to read it for myself.

Thus far I have not received anything from the county, other than an electronic acknowledgement that my request has been received.

I sent the County an email this morning asking how long I should anticipate waiting. We'll see if these minutes ever appear.

Analyzing the Zoning Discussion

I was curious if there was any pattern to who spoke out for and against zoning or the zoning process at the June commissioner's meeting and the recent planning board meeting. Here is what I found:

Of about 49 total speakers - 

• 15 spoke in favor of zoning
• 32 spoke against zoning or the current zoning process.

Of those 15 speaking in favor of zoning - 

• 13 are registered Democrats, and
• 2 do not seem to be registered to vote in Chatham county. 

No registered Republicans or unaffiliated voters spoke in favor of zoning.

Of those 32 speaking against zoning or the current zoning process - 

• 4 are registered Republicans,
• 10 are registered Democrats,
• 10 are registered Unaffiliated, and
• 8 do not seem to be registered to vote in Chatham county. 

Also interesting is the make up of the Planning Board, and of the County's planning staff.

The Planning Board consists of 5 registered Democrats, 1 registered Republican, and 4 registered Unaffiliated.  

The County planning staff has 2 registered Democrats, 2 registered Unaffiliated, 1 registered Libertarian, and 2 that I could not find in the voter registration file. There are no registered Republicans on the County planning staff.

Overall party affiliation is about what I expected. Since the County has more registered Democrats than Republicans, it is not a big surprise that more Democrats expressed an opinion than Republicans. Neither is it surprising (at least, to me) that Democrats are much more in favor of zoning than are  Republicans. It is disappointing that there are no Republicans on the county planning staff. But more zoning regulations means more workload for county staff which means more government staffing which means - well, you can take it from there.

What IS MORE disappointing are the number of people who do not seem to be registered to vote. How else can you make your opinions heard in the election process? If you haven't registered to vote, please go to http://www.chathamnc.org/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=27281 RIGHT NOW and get it done.   

Then in November look at which candidates best support what you believe, regardless of your past party affiliation, and cast your vote accordingly.  

Note: want to look up party registration? Go to https://vt.ncsbe.gov/voter_search_public/.

Open Government in Chatham County - Ag Advisory Board

After Dr. Dykers posted on Tuesday’s Chatlist about his Ag Advisory Board recommendation that opposed county-wide zoning, I sought a copy of the meeting minutes in order to read it for myself.

For those of you not following the Chatlist, here is Dr. Dyker's posting:

Alas, the Ag Advisory Board meeting minutes are not posted online, even though the County website indicates they get posted after each meeting. See http://www.chathamnc.org/index.aspx?page=1795.

When asked, a County representative politely responded that the Ag Board is redoing the ordinance that covers this board, and are developing bylaws. They will let me know when minutes get posted. The website also shows that the Ag Board meets four times per year, but has not had a meeting in the last 13 months. One can wonder if last June was when the Ag Board opposed county-wide zoning.

In the meantime, I sent a formal records request to the County for the 2015 meeting minutes of the Ag Advisory Board. When I receive them I will post the information to my blog. 

But more importantly, any citizen can request County public records by submitting the on-line form at https://chathamnc.seamlessdocs.com/f/PublicRecords. I highly encourage everyone to do so when information is not posted in a timely manner. Records of the County belong to the county citizens, and public access to public information ensures that we will continue to have transparent government for the County.

Planning Board Subcommittee minutes ARE online

I previously posted that Chatham County has not posted meeting minutes of the Planning Board Subcommittee meetings.

Since then, Renee Paschal, our County Manager, has told me that these minutes are available electronically, despite my being told by two different county employees that they were not being posted. A big thanks to Ms Paschal for clearing this matter up for both county citizens and for county staff.

The minutes and other information are not found in the normal County Meetings section of the county website. They can be accessed at ftp://ftp.chathamnc.org/Zoning/.

There are several dozen files at this location, and they are not clearly labeled as to their contents. I plan to download them and I will try to write a summary once I have read them.

County Minutes not posted online

The Chatham County website is a wealth of information about our county government. At least, usually. The problem is that many county meetings have not been posted online.

First, though, what is the North Carolina law about open meetings?

Meetings of county public bodies must be conducted openly. North Carolina official policy is that government operations are the business of the people.

Next, what are county public bodies?

All government boards, commissions, committees, or councils are public if they have two or more members, if their members are elected or appointed, and if they exercise a legislative, policy-making, quasi-judicial, administrative, or advisory function. Of course this definition includes the commissioners meetings. It also applies to the planning commission and its subcommittees.

Finally, which public bodies have to keep minutes?

All of them: every public body is required to keep full, accurate minutes of all portions of all official meetings, including closed sessions.

So what?

Minutes of the Commissioner’s meetings, of the Planning Board, and the Planning Board subcommittees must be kept and must be made available to the citizens.

What is the problem?

Most of the Commissioner’s meeting minutes are on the county website. But as of the 5th of July, the minutes from April 2016 forward have not yet been posted.

More concerning is that none (Zero! Zip!) of two particular county public body meetings have been posted - the ‘Planning Board Subcommittee-Alternatives to open use zoning’, or the ‘Planning Board Subcommittee-Land Use’.

Planning board subcommittee meeting minutes would give us insight into the deliberations about zoning within the western portion of the county.

I asked county officials about why those minutes were not posted. One answer I received was that county staff have been so busy with new committees plus the Comprehensive Plan and rezoning they have not had time to post minutes of zoning meetings. Another, different answer was that they are not required to post those minutes online. The county did agree that these meeting minutes must be kept, and they told me that I could request specific pieces of information by filling out a Public Records Request. I asked to be emailed the minutes from 6 meetings related to zoning discussions. If I get that information I will post it to my blog.

Requesting information might work great if you can take time off to go to the county courthouse, if you know what to ask for, and if you can wait for county staff to provide the information. While that seems to comply with the letter of the law, it certainly does not provide easy access to information. This is a particular problem for those who cannot make it to the courthouse during business hours.

I am very disappointed by the response I received from the County Staff who are employees of the citizens of the County.

So, County Staff, how about helping citizens get access to information that belongs to the county citizens, particularly about such a divisive issue as county-wide zoning?

Zoning questions and answers

I was contacted by a local reporter with some questions about Chatham County zoning. Here are those questions and my answers.

What is your main issue with Karen Howard, Hales, Dasher, and others who seek to zone the county? What is your primary concern, and can you give an example of what you fear may happen?

I have several issues with the zoning approach by the Board of Commissioners. The current Board is using a one-size-fits-all zoning approach (R1 and R5 housing zoning) to impose a poorly-defined desire to limit uncontrolled growth in the agricultural portions of the county. They are doing this despite a contrary recommendation by the County Planning Board, doing this prior to the county comprehensive plan being completed, and they ignore concerns of those being zoned. This will lead to even more east-versus-west divisions within the county, and will prevent landowners in the rural western portion of the county from using their own land as they see fit.

What are some examples of the commissioners ignoring public input ("my way or the highway" approach you mention in your article on Chatham Journal)?

One example is Commissioner Howard’s ‘I’ve heard nothing’ comment at the county zoning meeting. Another is Commissioner Hale’s declaration that she will see zoning in the county even if it means she is a one term commissioner. These approaches encourage divisiveness within the county.

I've heard there is talk of suing the board of commissioners? Are you a part of that effort?

No

Who would be a couple of good people affected by zoning to contact about their concerns/their opposition to the zoning?

You could contact any of the several concerned citizens who spoke in opposition to zoning at the county zoning meeting at the Historic Courthouse.

What about the argument that zoning is necessary to prevent a firing range from going in next to a daycare or animal refuge, etc.?

The Planning Board and two of the commissioners believe that there are other less invasive means of controlling growth - through open-use zoning, through existing county regulations, through environmental regulations, or other means. Zoning may be the most appropriate method but zoning without county by-in or without a good plan is likely to create additional political divisions within the county. Is an animal refuge better than a firing range? Is a daycare better than a pottery studio, a tractor repair shop, or a solar energy farm? The current approach mandates that every new, expanded or modified business in the newly-zoned areas of the county is subject to the whims of the planning board and county commission.

What about the argument that development is coming in one way or another from Wake and Orange and the eastern part of the county, and thus zoning is necessary to preserve the rural parts of the county--to confine a manufacturing plant or housing subdivision to one part of the county and leave the rural parts untouched?

A well-thought out zoning approach may be the right solution for the county. This approach, of R1 and R5 zoning, merely means that the western half of the county is zoned to build housing. How will that preserve the rural parts? The R1 and R5 definitions define housing restrictions for the county, and do not address manufacturing. Zoning as currently directed by the Commissioners is imposing unnecessary government control over the legal uses of one’s own land.

R1 and R5 zoning rules

A lot has been said about the upcoming R1 and R5 zoning in Chatham County;  some have said it would not have a major impact on landowners but would protect the County from unconstrained development.

So I read through the 116 pages of zoning regulations on the county website.

First, let us consider the so-called Farming Exemption. To qualify, one must have one of the following: a farm sales tax exemption certificate; a farm property tax listing; a Schedule F from the federal income tax return; an approved forest management plan; or a Farm Identification Number.

Next, these are the definitions for R1 and R5 zoning:

R5 residential zoning is primarily for very low density residential developments along the County's rivers and streams which are compatible with protecting the water quality of the rivers and streams. New residences need a minimum lot size of two acres.

R1 residential zoning is primarily for low to moderate density residential development within the residential-agricultural areas of the County. Residences need a minimum lot size of one acre.

If a property owner wants to request a change in zoning, there is a five-step procedure to follow, all at the owner’s expense.

1 - A community meeting with all owners of abutting property to present the proposed zoning change

2 - A presentation to the County Appearance Commission

3 - Delivering a zoning change Application to the County Planning Department

4 - Presenting to a hearing of the Commissioners and the County Planning Board, but only after notices have been posted on the properties adjacent streets or highways, meeting notices mailed to adjoining property owners, and notice of the hearing published in the paper.

5 - After this the Commissioners may approve, deny, or direct changes to the application.

If you wish to erect a commercial building, you must follow the Chatham Commercial Design Guidelines.

Homes in R1 and R5 zoning also have a set of rules they must follow. Those rules include distance setbacks, open space requirements, requirements on deck design, and requiring connection to county water systems when available. Plantings should be selected from the Chatham County Design Guidelines, using xeriscaping for water conservation whenever possible. Lighting needs to follow the County Lighting Ordinance. The Planning Department may demand 'reasonable fees to cover the administration' of the program.

The regulation specifically lists what is allowed in R1 and R5 zoning other than housing:

 Guest houses

 Avocational farming

 B&Bs with less than 2 rooms

 Churches

 Day care centers with less than 15 children

 Manufactured dwellings

 Family care homes

 Fire stations

 Hunting and fishing clubs

 Public parks and recreation areas

 Public utility transmission lines

 Schools

 Solar farms with less than 2 acres

 Spray irrigation of reclaimed water

 Streets and railroad rights-of-way

Home occupations in R1 and R5 are permitted only after receiving a permit from the Zoning Administrator. They must follow rules on the total number of employees and family who may work in the home, restrictions on how much home space you can use, prohibiting outdoor displays of goods or materials, and creating no noise, vibration, glare, fumes, odors, or electrical interference. There must be no additional vehicle traffic.

Penalties for noncompliance are served by the Zoning Administrator. Fines for a first violation are $50 per day. The County may seek destruction of non-conforming buildings, and may put a lien on your property.

These are a lot of restrictions on rural property. They may be exactly appropriate for the urban eastern areas of the County. They constitute a huge change to the existing rural areas west of Highway 87. I am sure that the western areas are mostly unaware of the R1 and R5 zoning impacts, and we might become even more concerned about this action than we are now one once the full implications are more widely known.

Vote in November.