February 5, 2007 - 5:30 PM - County Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes (Special)

10 60 Meeting of the Johnston County Board of Commissioners February 5 , 2007 5 30 pm The Johnston County Board of Commissioners met in special session Monday , February 5 , 2007 at 5 30 pm in the Commissioners Meeting Room , Johnston County Courthouse Annex , Smithfield , North Carolina The following members were present Present Cookie Pope , Chairman , Wade M Stewart , Vice Chairman , Allen L Mims , Jr , Jeffrey P Carver , W Ray Woodall , DeVan Barbour , and Tony Braswell Absent None Also Present Rick J Hester , County Manager , April N Byrd , Clerk to the Board , J Mark Payne , County Attorney , and Deva C Holt , Deputy Clerk Chairman Pope called the meeting to order and the following business was transacted 1 Public Hearing – Town of Clayton – Request to Extend ETJ Advertised January 23 , 2007 The Smithfield Herald and January 24 , 2007 The Clayton News Star The Chairman opened the public hearing , and stated purpose of the hearing is to give the Town of Clayton an opportunity to present a request to extend their ETJ and receive citizen input on the matter Steve Biggs , Clayton Town Manager , introduced the Town’s planning director , attorney , and several council members that were in attendance at the public hearing He stated a few years ago representatives from the County and towns came together to discuss ETJ extensions , and adopted criteria for evaluation of requests from municipalities to expand their ETJ The criteria outlined four standards which a municipality must meet before the County will consider an extension request Mr Biggs provided the following justification in regards to the criteria and Clayton’s request to extend their ETJ Criteria 1 - The area is within the statutory framework for granting ETJ Justification - The proposed boundary for expanding the Town’s ETJ contains no property located more than two miles from the contiguous town limits as prescribed by General Statutes Also , the Town has been in close consultation with the Town of Wilson’s Mills in review of the proposed extension and has the support of the Mayor Criteria 2 - The Town has demonstrated a commitment to sound planning Justification – The Town of Clayton has diligently enforced land use regulations , both subdivision and zoning regulations , for over twenty years with an active Planning Board eight voting members and two alternates from both inside the town limits and ETJ to provide direction to professional staff Further , the Town Council adopted a Strategic Growth Plan in 2000 , which established goals and policies for its growth and created a mutually - approved boundary for a utility service area with the County Finally , the Town recently adopted an updated Unified Development Code to guide its future growth and currently employs a professional staff of three planners and support staff as well as five Certified Code Enforcement Officers Criteria 3 – The Town has made or is willing to make a commitment to sound planning as necessary to serve the area with municipal services in the future Justification – As noted previously , the Town has an adopted growth plan , which includes a utility service area for the majority of the requested extension Also , the Town is in the process of preparing a Capital Improvements Plan , which will involve the projected needs of all municipal departments to provide services over the next five years These plans will involve growth into the requested ETJ and further analysis of service provision will be performed as specific requests for annexation are received Criteria 4 – The area has a logical , social , or geographic connection with the municipality Justification – As noted , the Town of Clayton is growing in all directions The requested ETJ extension involves properties that have Clayton addresses and generally depend upon the Town for many basic social and economic needs Basic geographic boundaries such as the Clayton Bypass to the south and east , County line to the west , and established residential subdivisions to the north form logical growth limits for Clayton in the next ten years Commissioner Allen L Mims , Jr stated the Board is in the midst of looking at growth management , and asked if Clayton will work with the County to take the necessary actions to keep up with growth Mr Biggs responded Clayton is also looking at growth management , as evidenced in their recent actions and discussions He pointed out that as the Town reviews development plans , staff and council members focusPage61 February 5 , 2007 – 5 30 pm Continued on issues such as impacts on schools , and reserve areas for future school sites Further , Mr Biggs noted the Town invites the County to be involved in its upcoming strategic plan update Skip Browder , Planning Director for Clayton , reminded the Board that the Commissioners granted the Town’s original one - mile ETJ request in 1992 In the last 2 ½ to 3 years , the Town has received requests from citizens that have resulted in the voluntary annexation of 1,300 acres for folks wanting municipal services He stated the present ETJ request follows the statutory limitation of two miles , and the Town qualifies in both the local bill category and on a legal basis Staff has identified areas that , in their opinion , could be served by municipal services , and therefore , the proposed ETJ extension area tries to follow the limits of the Town’s service area Bob Ahlert , Clayton Mayor , supported the request presented by Mr Biggs and Mr Browder He asked the Board to take the request into consideration In response to a question from Commissioner Mims , Mr Ahlert stated there has not been any forced annexation since he has been on the Council , and he did not foresee the Council doing any different in the future Michael de Sherbinin , County Economic Development Director , informed the Board that staff is currently in negotiations with Clayton regarding how the requested ETJ expansion would affect the Research and Training Zone RTZ If approved , a proposed memorandum of understanding MOU will require the respective town councils of Clayton and Smithfield to release properties if the owners choose to be in the RTZ He urged the Commissioners not to take action on ETJ extension requests until the MOU has been ratified by the County and the towns Further , Mr de Sherbinin stated that he resides at 1117 Pritchard Road , Clayton , which is in the proposed expansion area He noted that two nearby subdivisions represent over 3,500 lots when built out , and that a two mile section of Pritchard Road , only taking into account homes on the west side , will have as many people as does the Town itself Mr de Sherbinin suggested the Commissioners encourage the Town to consider three items 1 perform an analysis to look at the difference between the County and Town regulations , 2 make available copies of the ETJ maps in potential affected areas , and 3 invite direct involvement from the public and value their input in the process Carlton Vinson , 1029 Wendell Road , located in the Archer Lodge area , expressed concern that if the Board approves the ETJ expansion , there is a potential for the heritage of the area to disappear He spoke in favor of a phase of community identity and the possibility of incorporation in the future , and requested the Commissioners give the Archer Lodge residents the opportunity to pursue this process before moving forward with Clayton’s request By a show of hands , seven other Archer Lodge residents were at the meeting , all of whom supported Mr Vinson’s suggestion In response to a question from Commissioner Tony Braswell , County Attorney Mark Payne stated an ETJ designation does not prevent that area from becoming a part of another town For example , if Archer Lodge wants to incorporate , this could include the ETJ area of another town County Manager Rick Hester added that incorporation would involve legislative action , and the town’s boundaries would be defined The ETJ boundaries would not matter Ken Crabtree , 2017 Twin Acres Road , Clayton , which is near the 70 Bypass noted that he has lived in Clayton for over 40 years He expressed concern that the Town is growing too fast , and this will have negative impacts in the future Mr Crabtree stated that he did not want to be in the ETJ area of the Town In response to earlier comments , Bruce Thompson , Town Attorney for Clayton reiterated the expansion of Clayton’s ETJ will not prevent the Archer Lodge area from incorporation John Lipscomb , 3409 Barber Mill Road , Clayton , stated a lot of the properties in the proposed expansion area are agricultural In his opinion , the County is more sensitive to the rural and agricultural areas , versus the Town , which has more of an urban feel He emphasized many folks , including him , are trying to preserve their property for future generations Mr Lipscomb felt that a lot of people would feel the same way if they were aware and understood the impact of the ETJ expansion Mr Thompson added there is an agriculture exception , which states the Town cannot change the zoning of anyone’s land that is currently being farmed Page62 February 5 , 2007 – 5 30 pm Continued Connie Mills , 3329 Covered Bridge Road , located in the Archer Lodge area , also expressed concern that many citizens are unaware of the proposed ETJ expansion Jerry Pate , Jr , 13388 Buffalo Road , located in the Archer Lodge area , stated that he would like to preserve the existing community In his opinion , the current one - mile ETJ boundary is working best for everyone Barry Weaver , 1464 Loop Road , Clayton , stated that he lives less than one mile from the current ETJ limits of Clayton He expressed opposition to the proposed expansion , and noted the traffic is already horrible in the area There being no further comments , the Chairman closed the public hearing It was the consensus of the Board to hear ETJ requests from all the towns , and discuss them comprehensively There being no further business , Commissioner Jeffrey P Carver moved the Board adjourn Commissioner Allen L Mims , Jr seconded the motion , which carried by unanimous vote The meeting adjourned at 6 15 pm ____________________________ Cookie Pope , Chairman ____________________________ April N Byrd , Clerk to the BoardPage