October 13, 1999 - 7:00 PM - County Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes (Special)

10 646 October 13 , 1999 Special Called Meeting The Johnston County Board of Commissioners met in Special Session , Wednesday , October 13 , 1999 , at 7 00 pm in the Commissioners ' Room , Johnston County Courthouse Annex , Smithfield , North Carolina , with the following members Present James H Langdon , Jr , Chairman , Cookie Pope , Vice - Chairman , Jerry F Wood , DDS , Eleanor N Creech , Thomas M Moore , Wade M Stewart and Allen L Mims , Jr , Absent None Also Present Rick Hester , County Manager , Joyce H Ennis , Clerk to the Board , Mark Payne , County Attorney , and John R Massey , Finance Officer The Chairman called the meeting to order and announced that due to the number of people in attendance , the meeting would be moved to the Superior Courtroom in the old Courthouse 1 Public Hearing - Proposed Growth Management Ordinance Advertised 10 1 99 - The Smithfield Herald The Chairman opened the public hearing and invited comment on the proposed Growth Management Ordinance A number of people had signed up to speak and the Chairman noted he would call on them in the order in which they appeared on the list The first speaker , Sonny Johnson of Clayton , yielded to the second speaker , Jim Uzzle Jim Uzzle of 115 Mariah Drive , Four Oaks , spoke on behalf of the Home Builders Association of Johnston County He pointed out that given the infrastructure and geographic location of Johnston County , growth was and still is inevitable The demand for quality housing continues to rise and free enterprise needs to be allowed to work He stated , in his opinion , the problems with growth will take care of themselves given time The Association is willing to assist in smart growth , but oppose the ordinance as proposed Bruce Nichols , of 1340 White Creek Church Road , Clayton , NC , suggested the County's problem might be leadership ; not a lack of revenue He recommended the Board address the proper spending of county funds and noted , in his opinion , it would be extremely costly for the County to administer this program if the ordinance is adopted Torri Rockwell , of 3001 Red Circle , Willow Springs , pointed out the construction industry is the largest industry in Johnston County , including , electricians , plumbers , framers , roofers , brick layers , suppliers , cabinet makers , as well as developers and builders Many other groups of people are directly impacted by the industry such as banks , mortgage companies , and real estate agencies She stated contractors and developers make many contributions and sponsor many events in Johnston County and should not be asked to take on the burden of trying to fix problems they did not cause She noted the Home Builders Association opposes any limit on building permits , but do support the school bond issue Hank Harris questioned the legality of the proposed ordinance calling it discriminatory against builders Jeff Gray , legal counsel for the Home Builders Association , stated the entire region is facing the same growth problems that Johnston County is facing , and the solution can only be found in Raleigh through the General Assembly He questioned whether the Board of Commissioners has the authority to adopt the ordinance as proposed and suggested there are a number of constitutional concerns involved , including " equal protection " issues and " takings , " which he likened to condemnation He stated the ordinance places the entire burden on the backs of the home builders , exempting all other groups including commercial and industrial builders , retail establishments , and every other average person He pointed out the document exempts the elderly but does not address low income housing which might be challenged by the Fair Housing people He stated , in his opinion , the ordinance is not needed since the housing market itself is solving the problems and building permits are down Jessie Gutierres of the Cleveland Community , voiced support for the ordinance and stated thePage647 County needs to limit growth , not raise taxes He asked the Board to do what is best for the entire County Joseph Ranucci of Smithfield agreed Calvin Ramsey of McGee's Crossroads , who moved into the County about a year ago , stated , in his opinion , stopping growth will not help the schools He pointed to counties and towns surrounding the Charlotte - Mecklenburg area and noted the ones that tried to stop growth such as Concord and Kannapolis have not benefitted from their efforts and their schools have declined Lacy Reaves , speaking on behalf of Rebecca Flowers - Bullock and Flowers ' Plantation , Inc , urged the Board to exempt properties that have vested rights from the ordinance if it is adopted He noted Ms Flowers - Bullock has invested a great deal of money in her Planned Unit Development and has been granted " vested rights " to protect her interest He pointed out the law clearly states that no one can interfere with statutory vested rights , and action contrary to this law would be subject to litigation Phillip Edwards from Clayton maintained the policy if adopted would not change anything since it would not affect the municipalities People would simply build in the towns and their ETJ areas and the schools would continue to grow Mary Jo Futrell Vance of Smithfield questioned why the old schools that have been vacated couldn't have been renovated and used She voiced support of the efforts of the Board and noted people should not criticize unless they can offer a solution to the problem She suggested one way new schools could be built would be to have developers fund a certain number of classrooms for every 100 houses they build She noted she would rather this type of ordinance not be necessary , however , it is fair since everyone has the same opportunities , and the alternative would be raising taxes , which the County cannot afford to do She challenged others who spoke to offer alternative solutions if they oppose the ordinance Wayne Lewter who lives on NC 42 west , stated he does not have a solution , but does realize the County has a serious problem and the developers should be held more accountable He questioned how we can continue to add subdivisions when the highways and schools are already overcrowded Scott Lee of Clayton pointed out that both the State and County have actively marketed this area as a good place to live The home builders have only addressed a need He suggested the County get the State to take some of the burden J David Lee of 200 Tamworth Drive , Willow Springs , voiced two concerns 1 the erosion of personal freedom of citizens to own and regulate their own property and 2 growth without control can be chaotic He noted that history has shown that growth has to be collateral with free enterprise , and urged the Board to do nothing that would impede free enterprise He suggested the County work with the growth and come up with a County budget that answers the problems Linwood Parker of Four Oaks voiced enthusiasm over the show of democracy evidenced by the large crowd in attendance He stated he has always been a friend to the home builders and understands their concerns , however the ordinance , as he sees it , would only slow growth , not stop it He suggested everyone needs to consider what is best for the future of our County Building in and near municipalities makes sense since the infrastructure and services are already in place He noted that uncontrolled building could create serious flooding problems in the future He stressed that with this kind of citizen participation , the County can solve this problem and citizens will be better for having taken part in the solution Deborah Clifton Rosenberg voiced her support of the developers and home builders of Johnston County She asked the Board not to place the entire burden of solving the problems associated with growth on one group of people Others in the audience were invited to make comments either in favor or against the ordinance Robert Ahlert , Clayton councilman , voiced support for the proposed ordinance He noted the County has to find a solution other than raising the tax rate Also speaking in support were Brenda Aikens and Teresa Allen both from the Four Oaks area , and Judith Kolcum from Smithfield Lanny Thomas maintained that residential and agriculture do not mix and stated he would like to see development near the municipalities instead of in the rural areas Page648 Developer Linwood Jones of Clayton asked when the new comprehensive land use plan was going to be considered and suggested that would do more good in helping direct growth and development He questioned why if the County wishes to slow growth do they continue to promote water districts , which encourage growth throughout the County Marty Gilbert of Clayton asked the Board what number they plan to set as a ceiling for the ordinance He suggested the ordinance is not needed since there is already a slow down in the market Aussie Gilbert stated the Board should set a number and then hold another public hearing so people would have a chance to respond once they know the real impact of the ordinance The following speakers also opposed the ordinance Carolyn Allen , Jerry Barbour , Kirk Colman , Greg Johnson , Bobby Hoffman , Dan Simmons , Jenni Blake , Ron Earp , Greg Smith , Ron Griggs , Wayne Cuddington , and Bart Raynor Developer Steven Sanderson stated the real problem appears to be the schools He suggested instead of just wanting more schools , the School Board should be offering solutions such as year - round calendars to fully utilize the school facilities we already have Dr John M Booker , former County Commissioner , pointed out the real problem is money He noted the present County Commissioners are not trying to put anyone out of a job or hurt any facet of society , they simply have to build schools for the large influx of new students , and they do not have the money to do this He noted several years ago when he was a commissioner , the Board saw the problem was coming and knew that something had to be done They , along with School Board members , went to Raleigh and asked the legislators to give the County the option to vote for additional revenue sources Their request for help was rejected Now this Board is left to find answers to solve this problem , and the citizens , instead of getting upset , need to work with them There being no comments , the Chairman closed the public hearing Chairman Langdon thanked everyone for their comments but noted he did not hear many solutions Now the Board has to determine the number for the ordinance and agree not to let that number grow more than 55 to 6 per year This will allow some growth to continue , but will keep it where the County can hopefully handle it Commissioner Thomas M Moore stated he opposed the ordinance because he believes it is improper and would interfere with free enterprise He suggested the ordinance is unfair and would have a negative impact since it singles out one group and does not consider development in the towns He noted the County went through approximately 10 to 12 years of residential development and is now enjoying the commercial development that naturally follows Concerning the cost of schools , Commissioner Moore stated his figures based on the number of building permits and the number of new students indicate that residential development is paying for schools , and pointed out the problem stems from a failure to replace schools in the past when it was needed He suggested the answer is the new development ordinance , not an ordinance limiting building permits He asked why the County is spending money on water and sewer projects which bring growth if they do not want growth Commissioner Jerry F Wood stated he would consider what has been said at this meeting and keep an open mind until more figures are available Commissioner Wade M Stewart noted that developers and home builders are not the problem ; the problem is overcrowded schools , and an increase in taxes is not the solution Concerning the number to be inserted in the ordinance , he stated it has to be directly related to the School Board's request for 290,000,000 for capital needs over the next 10 years The financial model has said the County can do this if the student growth does not increase more than 56 The limit of permits , in his opinion , should be based on the number of houses that would produce no more than that number of additional students He maintained the public wants to know that the County leaders have provided a measure to make sure we have a road map to stay within the financial model's projections Commissioner Cookie Pope thanked everyone for their comments She stated families that move into Johnston County need to know there are schools close by for their children to attend She pointed out the Board does not want to put anyone out of business , but the financial model has been put into place , and the Board is responsible to all the taxpayers She stressed that if everyone works together ,Page649 a solution can be found Commissioner Eleanor N Creech stated she has tried to look at all the facts and only wants what is best for all the citizens She pointed out that sitting on the Boards for both the Department of Social Services and Mental Health , she realizes there is a great demand already on the taxpayers of this County She promised to consider this matter carefully and make the best decision possible , keeping everyone's best interest at heart Commissioner Allen L Mims , Jr stated he believes in the individual's property rights , but noted he would rather be told he would have to slightly reduce the number of houses he could build than be faced with a higher tax rate The previous Board fought for additional revenue sources and were unsuccessful Now the County has to find a way to do what is fair but keep growth at a level we can live with using the only source we have , county tax dollars He pointed out that if the school bond issue fails , the tax rate would have to be significantly higher to pay for the ongoing costs for school construction He noted he liked the idea of year - round schools , however that decision would be up to the Board of Education Chairman Langdon again thanked everyone for coming to the meeting and noted the Board will have to weigh everything carefully before making this decision He pointed out that whatever the Board decides it will be evaluated periodically and can be changed if necessary He called for another meeting on Monday night , October 18 , 1999 at 7 00 pm Upon a motion by Commissioner Cookie Pope , seconded by Commissioner Eleanor N Creech and carried by unanimous vote , the Board adjourned _______________________________________ James H Langdon , Jr , Chairman _____________________________ Joyce H Ennis , ClerkPage