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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDecember 7 2010 Regular MinutesIREDELL COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MINUTES DECEMBER 7, 2010 The Iredell County Board of Commissioners met in Regular Session on Tuesday, December 7, 2010, at 7:00 P.M., in the Iredell County Government Center (Commissioners' Meeting Room), 200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC. Board Members Present Chairman Steve Johnson Vice Chairman Marvin Norman Renee Griffith Frank Mitchell Ken Robertson Staff present: County Manager Joel Mashburn, Deputy County Manager Tracy Jackson, Assistant County Manager Ron Smith, EMS Director David Cloer, and Clerk to the Board Jean Moore. CALL TO ORDER by Chairman Johnson INVOCATION by Chairman Johnson PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ADJUSTMENTS OF THE AGENDA: MOTION by Chairman Johnson to approve the agenda with the following adjustments: Appointment Before the Board: Kimberly Clarke, with Avalon Farms, was Allotted Three Minutes to Speak (In addition, Chairman Johnson allotted three minutes to the individuals desiring to speak regarding the Permit Extension Law Opt -Out Item) VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. Appointment Before the Board Kimberly Clarke, with Avalon Farms, said her organization had been trying to obtain a property tax exemption; however, the request was recently denied. Clarke said that in August of 2010, she appeared at a commissioner's meeting to report that the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council (JCPC) had denied her organization any funding due to "logistics." She said consideration by the board about her "points" made in August regarding the JCPC decision, and the property tax exemption, would be appreciated. Clarke said her organization served at -risk kids, at no charge, due to being subsidized by grants and other organizations. She said it was interesting that Iredell County had "flags" up about her organization. She encouraged people to visit Avalon Farms to learn more about its services. Clarke requested answers to her questions, and she said her organization desired to be a part of the decision making. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS Request from the EMS Department for Approval to Apply for a Cardiac Arrest Care Toolkit Grant Funded by The Duke Endowment: EMS Director David Cloer requested permission to apply for a "Lead the Wave" grant sponsored by the North Carolina EMS Office with funding from The Duke Endowment. He said eight cardiac monitors would be requested to replace older units. Cloer said that if awarded, the older units would be donated to the local rescue squads. MOTION by Commissioner Robertson to approve the grant application. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. Request from the Planning Department for a Decision Regarding an Opt -Out of the 2009 Permit Extension Law Passed by the North Carolina General Assembly: Assistant County Manager Ron Smith said that in 2009, the state enacted a law that allowed for the extension of development approvals and permits. He said in an effort to mitigate the effects of the economic downturn, the permits were extended from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2010. Smith said permits for zoning, grading, building, health improvements (septic tanks), subdivisions, and erosion control were all included in the act. He said revisions occurred in the law this year, with one change being the extension of the sunset date from 2010 to 2011; however, counties were given the opportunity to opt -out of this provision. Smith said that if the board chose against the opt -out, the development community would continue to receive the extension. Smith said the Land Development Code (LDC) was nearly completed, and it would be affected should the county not choose the opt -out. He said this would be due to having two sets of standards (pre -extension projects would develop under older rules and others would be under the newer LDC regulations). Smith said there was no empirical data to provide the number of permits that would be affected, and he recommended that the board opt -out of the permit extension. Commissioner Griffith said she understood the number of permits that would be affected was unknown. Smith said this was correct -- the number was unknown, and this included the septic permits. Chairman Johnson asked about vested property rights. Attorney Pope said generally the legislature would have to determine the extent to which rights were vested. He said that to the extent the legislature had spoken on the law, it would be suggested that vested rights would not be a strong argument for a developer. Scott Needham, a developer with Bonanza Development Company, spoke in opposition to the opt -out. Mr. Needham said his company had been building homes in Mooresville for 20 years, but none had been built in two years. He said individuals were interested in building; however, they couldn't sell their current homes. Needham said there were concerns about the septic and building permits that had already been purchased, due to not having buyers. He said it would be difficult to make projects work if the fees had to be paid again. Needham encouraged the board to allow the extension through 2011. He mentioned his company continued to provide jobs, as well as to pay taxes, and that private developers and regulatory agencies would have to look at creative ways to encourage development. Ginger Dowdle, affiliated with Dixieland Inc., and a past president of the Iredell County Homebuilders Association, spoke in opposition to the opt -out. Dowdle said taxes were being paid on subdivision lots in three developments she owned, plus interest. She said the developers were already having a difficult time, and the opt -out would further harm them. Dowdle said prior to 2008, her company was building at least 25 homes a year in the county, but now, none were being constructed. She asked that the board allow for the permit extension. David Pressley, a landowner and permit holder, spoke in opposition to the opt -out. He said that between the summer of 2008 and 2010, the county had lost between 6,000 to 7,000 jobs in the construction industry. Pressley said most all small business owners would tell the board that financing or credit for construction projects was nearly impossible to obtain. He said it was erroneous to believe that builders who purchased permits from 2008 to 2010 would have already used them. Pressley said the permits hadn't been used due to the financing problems. He asked for a permit extension. Commissioner Griffith asked, assuming the board did not approve the opt -out, if an extension would automatically occur. Smith said this was correct. Griffith said due to not knowing the number of permits, it would be difficult to get a revenue projection. Smith said it would be difficult. 2 Commissioner Robertson said it was not the intention of the board to place builders and homeowners in a situation where they would have to purchase the permits again. He said the legislation was talking about a one-year extension while a permit extended for multiple years. Robertson said some middle ground had to be found between the permit duration for the county and not requiring the homebuilder to pay for the same service twice. He suggested the postponement of action on the request, and to instead, direct the staff to come up with an option. Robertson said that if an individual property owner, builder, or commercial builder had a permit that was going to expire, and the only change was the date, that they be allowed to renew it. He said the permit could be re -issued (date change) with a nominal filing fee ($10 or $20). Robertson said the staff could propose the amount. He said that if the original use wasn't allowed anymore, then the developer would have to comply with the new rules. (An example provided by Mr. Robertson was as follows: There is a permit to construct 20 homes; however, the builder can't sell the lots. As long as the same type of subdivision is being planned -- it's still in compliance with the rules and regulations -- the only item needed from the builder would be the fee for a date change. A new permit could then be issued.) MOTION by Commissioner Robertson to table the action and to direct the staff to develop a procedure in accordance with his suggestion. Chairman Johnson said on-site wastewater permits were issued for five years. He said that if a septic permit were issued in 2008, it would be valid until 2013, and the number of people who would be impacted would not be as great as those holding building permits. Johnson asked how preliminary subdivision plats would be affected, similar to the ones mentioned by Ms. Dowdle. Needham said septic permit owners would be impacted. Smith said generally speaking, that if the preliminary subdivision plat lapsed in a normal situation, the builder would appear before the technical review committee and the subdivision review administrator. He said that if the regulations had changed, and the plat did not meet the requirements, then a re -platting would have to occur. Smith said that if nothing had changed, only an administrative review would be needed. Chairman Johnson mentioned that he had arrived at the meeting prepared to vote against the opt -out; however, he would support Commissioner Robertson's motion for the advancement of further discussion on the matter. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. Request from the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners for the Designation of a Voting Delegate for the Legislative Goals Conference to be held January 20-21, 2011 in Durham County: Chairman Johnson asked for volunteers to attend the conference. Commissioner Griffith stated she would attend. Chairman Johnson asked if alternates were needed. County Manager Mashburn said an alternate could also be designated, and this could be a staff person. MOTION by Vice Chairman Norman to appoint Commissioner Griffith along with either the county manager or the deputy county manager as an alternate. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. ANNOUNCEMENT OF VACANCIES OCCURRING ON BOARDS & COMMISSIONS Board of Health (1 announcement): MOTION by Commissioner Mitchell to suspend the rules of procedure and to nominate, as well as appoint, Sylvia Chapman to the Board of Health by acclamation. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. 3 Boyce. APPOINTMENTS TO BOARDS & COMMISSIONS Zoning Board of Adjustment (2 appointments): Commissioner Robertson nominated Alan Commissioner Mitchell nominated Roy West. MOTION by Chairman Johnson to close the nominations and to appoint Boyce and West by acclamation. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. Farmland Preservation Board (1 appointment): MOTION by Commissioner Mitchell to postpone this appointment until the December 21 meeting. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. Criminal Justice Partnership Program Committee (4 appointments): Commissioner Robertson nominated Reggie Weisner, Woody Woodard, Bryan Shumaker, and Lynn Gullett (DA's designee). MOTION by Chairman Johnson to close the nominations and to appoint Weisner, Woodard, Shumaker, and Gullett by acclamation. Jolly. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. Animal Grievance Committee: (From Reminder List): Commissioner Mitchell nominated Hal OTION by Chairman Johnson to close the nominations and to appoint Jolly by acclamation. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. COUNTY MANAGER'S REPORT County Manager Mashburn reminded the board members about the following events. County Employee Christmas Luncheon: Wednesday, December 15 from 11:30 a.m. — 1:30 p.m. at the Statesville Civic Center. NACo Legislative Conference: March 5-9, 2011 in Washington, D.C. Winter Budget Review & Planning Conference: February 25 and 26, 2011 at the Agricultural Resource Center. A draft agenda will be distributed soon. Should the board members have any items they would like to be discussed, please notify the staff. OLD BUSINESS Chairman Johnson thanked all of the emergency personnel involved in the recent Statesville Airport drill. CLOSED SESSION: OTION by Chairman Johnson to enter into closed session pursuant to Economic Development — G.S. 143-318.11 (a) (4) at 8:00 p.m. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. (RETURN TO OPEN SESSION AT 8:10 P.M.) CALL FOR A PUBLIC HEARING ON DECEMBER 21, 2010: MOTION by Commissioner Robertson to hold a public hearing on Tuesday, December 21, 2010 at 7:00 p.m., regarding an economic development incentive of $1,047,635.00, over a six-year period, for an undisclosed company based on a $60 million investment. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. 4 ADJOURNMENT: MOTIO by Commissioner Norman to adjourn the meeting at 8:10 p.m. (NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, December 21, 2010, at 7 p.m, in the Iredell County Government Center, Commissioners' Meeting Room, 200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC.) VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. Approval: Clerk to the Board