03/29/2024
Spread the love

By Erin Smith

Dale HollandThe Elizabethtown Town Council met on Monday at noon for a work session prior to the evening board meeting.

During the meeting the council heard from Dale Holland of Holland Consulting Planners regarding updates to their zoning ordinances. Town Manger Eddie Madden told the group that the town staff are in need of assistance in regards to the town’s zoning ordinances.

Madden reminded the board that they had requested to see the town ordinances streamlined and more business friendly. He said that Mary Rose of the town of Clinton recommended Dale Holland.

“I extended an invitation to him to come and meet with you,” said Madden.

Holland began his remarks by telling the board, “I don’t know the existing ordinances are in that bad of shape. Organizationally and structurally, it covers all of the bases.”

Holland said he understood the board had held conversations about sing coverage and window coverage. He said the town’s ordinance is currently very restrictive.

Holland said that over the period of about four years there have been many legislative changes that have ocurred.

He pointed that currently the town’s conditional use permits go before the panning board and then come to the town council. Holland said it does not have to go before the planning board. instead, he said it can simply come before the town council. Holland said that conditional use permits by NC General Statute are supposed to be issued by one body.

He added that under the general statute there is a quasi-judicial process that must be followed for conditional use permits and Holland said the way the town handles them is problematic. He said that either the planning board of board of adjustment can issue such permits.

Mayor Sylvia Campbell said, “When comes down to it, we are elected by the people and we have to answer to them. We pick the planning board and they are not as accountable to the public as we are.”

Holland also pointed out that it is difficult to operate a planning department with only one person.

He also told the board that the town cannot prohibit a flea market. “You have to give it a place to go,” said Holland.

Campbell said that from a legal standpoint, the town needs to update their ordinances.

Holland said there are tow ways the town can handle the ordinance situation — one is to abandon the current ordinances and rewrite them or the second option is to update those ordinances to reflect current North Carolina General Statutes and rules.

He explained that when Holland writes a set of ordinances, the five chapters consists of the development processes, the legislative review process, and things such as the types of zoning districts.

Holland also told the board that his company has prepared going ordinances for Wrightsville Beach, Oak Island, Pembroke, Burgaw, Stallings and Kinston.

Madden reminded the board that the town currently has a contract with the Wooten Company to update the town’s sign ordinances but that has not been completed.

Holland related how the town of Grafton, Az was sued by a church over a sign ordinance in the town. The church was placing small yard signs around the town as the church met in different locations each Sunday. Holland said the case worked its way up to the Supreme Court which ruled that the town’s sign ordinance was too restrictive as it was written. According to Holland, the court ruled that the ordinance had to be message neutral. In other words you can regulate the size, you can regulate the location, but you cannot regulate what the message of the sign is.

Read more about Monday night’s evening session of the Elizabethtown Council meeting in Joy Warren’s story on bladenonline.com.

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