BC 2007 01 08 Work Session - Laserfiche WebLink

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January 8, 2007 (Work Session) Page 219 UPON MOTION of Commissioner Privette, seconded by Commissioner Mynatt and unanimously carried, the Board voted to place a budget amendment appropriating an additional $200,000.00 to "fast track" the new Northwest area high school project on the January 22, 2007 Agenda as a Consent item. Request for Refund of Rezoning Fees by Archie Smith At its December 18, 2006 meeting, the Board voted to consider the following refund request at its January 2007 Agenda Work Session: 6590 Hwy 73 East Mt. Pleasant, NC 28129 November 21, 2006 To the Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners Dear Ms. Carpenter, On Thursday, November 16, 2006, the Cabarrus County Planning and Zoning Board unanimously voted to restore our farm to Country Residential Zone from the Office-Institutional Zone. We were told that notices were placed in the newspaper and letters sent to the property owners who live out of county. My sister and I who live in county did not see any notices, and our two sisters who live in Wake County received no letters of notification. As a result, none of us knew that our land was being rezoned in 2005. We, therefore, had no voice in the rezoning and even after the land was rezoned, none of us was notified that it had been rezoned. My sisters and I have paid $1030.00 in fees to Cabarrus County to appeal to the county to reverse a zoning decision that we had no voice in or even knowledge of. With this in mind, I would like to make the following two requests of the Board of Commissioners: 1. For reasons explained above, my sisters and I request that we be reimbursed the $1,030.00 in fees that we paid for this appeal. 2. While, I am told the county followed all state guidelines in the massive rezoning of 2005, something went terribly wrong and many people, myself included, were unaware that their land had been rezoned. I suspect that my case and Mr. Cooper's case are not unique. My second request is that, in the future when rezoning issues arise, the County develop a better plan of notifying the public to be sure that all involved are notified. I would not want other property owners to have to go through what my sisters and I (and Mr. Cooper) have gone through. Property owners deserve to know when their property is being considered for rezoning. Thank you very much for your consideration Sincerely yours, /s/ J. Archie Smith Jr. J. Archie Smith Jr. There was a general discussion on the following issues: if a refund is granted, to be fair the Board would have to refund all fees paid for rezoning appeals; refunds should be granted if an appeal is upheld; compliance with the State's notification procedures by County staff; the notification procedure for out-of-town residents for a mass rezoning; etc. UPON MOTION of Commissioner White, seconded by Commissioner Privette and unanimously carried, the Board voted to place the request for a refund of rezoning fees by Mr. Archie Smith on the January 22, 2007 Agenda as a New Business item. Mr. Day pointed out a change in the notification process would require a text amendment and go through the Cabarrus Planning and Zoning Commission. He also said when Jonathan Marshall, Commerce Director, returns to the meeting, he would ask him to discuss the notification procedures for mass rezonings. Resolution Acknowledging English as the Official Language in Cabarrus County Commissioner Privette presented a resolution acknowledging English as the official language in Cabarrus County for the Board's consideration.