October 12,
2004 Agenda
October 12,
2004 Minutes
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Action Agenda
(Approved 5-0 vote)
(Approved 4-1 vote - Hedreen, McElraft, Messer, Wootten voting in favor, Isenhour opposed)
(Approved 5-0 vote) (Approved 4-0 vote) |
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MINUTES OF THE REGULAR SCHEDULED MEETING OF THE EMERALD ISLE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2004 – 6:00 P.M. – TOWN HALL
The regular monthly meeting of the Emerald Isle Board of Commissioners was called to order by Mayor Art Schools at 6:05 P.M. Present for the meeting: Mayor Art Schools, Commissioners Nita Hedreen, Robert Isenhour, Pat McElraft, Floyd Messer, and John Wootten. Others present: Town Attorney Richard Stanley, Town Manager Frank Rush, Asst. Town Manager/Finance Officer Mitsy Overman, Town Clerk Rhonda Ferebee, Planning Director Kevin Reed, and Parks & Recreation Director Alesia Sanderson. After roll call all who were present recited the Pledge of Allegiance. 4. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Motion was made by Commissioner Hedreen to adopt the Agenda. The Board voted unanimously 5-0 in favor. Motion carried. 5. PROCLAMATIONS / PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS Mayor Schools announced the following upcoming meetings and events:
a) Minutes – August 30, 2004 Special Meeting b) Minutes – September 14, 2004 Regular Meeting c) Tax Refunds / Releases d) Resolution Authorizing US Fire Administration Grant Application Motion was made by Commissioner McElraft to approve the Consent Agenda. The Board voted unanimously 5-0 in favor. Motion carried. 7. PUBLIC COMMENT Jack Weidman, 140 Sandcastle Drive, commented that now that the new beach driving regulations were in effect, he wanted to speak on behalf of his family and many of the residents in Sea Dunes, and Deer Horn Dunes. He said his primary access to the beach is the Doe Drive access. He said they were told years ago this particular access, when the Point washed out, would be limited to emergency vehicles only. He expressed they weren’t happy with the change in the beach driving law. He felt they had a nice compromise between the fishing community and the beachgoers. He said this past weekend the beaches were packed, and he didn’t see a lot of people fishing but he saw a number joyriding. He felt it was dangerous to people on the beach. He showed photos to the Board of what the access looked like the previous weekend. Mentioning an editorial in the local newspaper, he felt they should take the sign down about turtle nest protectors. He asked the Board for a response to their question that when the sand is reclaimed at the Point if that access will open again to public beach access and emergency beach vehicles. He said they want to know that their access is only temporary. Commissioner Messer said that is a promise they have already made. He said when the Point opens back up, the Doe Drive access will go back as it was, as a pedestrian and emergency access. Commissioner Isenhour pointed out that this will not happen tomorrow, simply because it will not accrete that fast. Commissioner McElraft added that if they get CAMA approval they will have a pathway fenced off for pedestrian traffic for a safe access to the beach. 8. ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 19 – ZONING – TO CREATE THE BOGUE FIELD AICUZ OVERLAY DISTRICT Planning Director Kevin Reed addressed the Board concerning this agenda item. Mr. Reed stated that the Eastern Carolina Joint Land Use Study (JLUS) was completed in November, 2002. He said this study was a cooperative effort between Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, Craven County, Carteret County, City of Havelock, the Towns of Emerald Isle, and Bogue, and the State of North Carolina. Mr. Reed said the focus of the JLUS was to create a cooperative planning effort by military and local governments in order to anticipate the potential for land development conflicts, and to avoid problems that might arise as the result of those conflicts. Mr. Reed said since completion of the study the JLUS Technical Advisory Committee had been working on the implementation phase of the recommendations that were contained in the study. He said the success of implementing these recommendations is intended to have a positive impact on the military operations in our area when the US Department of Defense presents it’s next round of Base Re-Alignment and Closures (BRAC’s) in 2005. Mr. Reed said the JLUS contained a total of 32 recommendations and he noted that not all of the recommendations were applicable to the Town of Emerald Isle. He said an example of those, and the status of the recommendations, were as follows:1) Modify land use plans to insure compatibility with military operations, noting the Town’s recently adopted 2004 CAMA Land Use Plan includes land regarding Bogue Field and it’s operations, and the desire to mitigate the potential hazards associated with the operations; 2) Adoption of the noise attenuation requirements for development in high noise areas, noting the Town is not considering mandating noise attenuation requirements, they are working with the Technical Advisory committee to develop a set of model recommendations, and noise attenuation techniques that can be made available to developers and builders beginning new construction within the AICUZ footprint or substantial remodeling; 3) Produce maps for public distribution that outline the areas of accident potential and high noise, noting the Technical Advisory Committee had been working on that map, and they anticipate in the near future passing on the final draft of the map, and then the Town of Emerald Isle, along with the other communities will be a resource in providing those maps to the community; 4) Restrict land uses to certain types of development in accident potential zones and high noise areas, noting that the Town is not considering any additional land use restrictions with regard to that recommendation; 5) Develop a web page outlining the areas of accident potential and high noise, noting that the Town of Emerald Isle has placed on the Town’s website a link that provides information not only on the AICUZ, JLUS study, but also on noise contours and accident potential zones in the Town of Emerald Isle; 6) Provide information on aircraft operations on the Town’s website, noting that when extra flying times, and late hour flying times associated with operations at Bogue Field, and this information was posted on the website, making the public aware of the deviation from the normal operating procedures; 7) Adopt policies to promote the disclosure of safety and noise hazards prior to the sale or the execution of a long term lease, which is the subject of the item on the Agenda tonight. Mr. Reed stated that the Planning Board at its meeting held September 27, 2004 considered amendments to the zoning ordinance which would establish the Bogue Field AICUZ Overlay District, and appropriate regulations for that district. Mr. Reed said that these proposed amendments would establish a Bogue Field AICUZ Overlay District, the boundaries of which district follow the AICUZ footprint, secondly the Carteret County Tax Assessor is requested to communicate on the tax parcel cards those properties which are located within an accident potential zone or noise contour. He said property owners would be encouraged to voluntarily disclose the fact that their property is located within an accident potential zone or noise contour, and that while this disclosure is voluntary, it is hoped that the Town of Emerald Isle could be a resource in providing sample disclosure forms for those wishing to do so. He said an additional requirement of the proposed amendments is that subdivision plats approved after the adoption of these amendments would be required to include which properties were located within an accident potential zone or noise contour. He noted that condominiums, townhouses, or other similar developments which are approved after the adoption of the proposed amendments would be required to include within their declaration of ownership or bylaws, an indication that the property is located within an accident potential zone or noise zone, and finally the proposed amendments would require a property owner or an applicant to sign a disclosure statement prior to receiving a building permit if their property is located within an accident potential zone or noise contour. Mr. Reed noted some of the impacts to proposed development, questions received over the past week. He said there had been a number of questions relative to conventional mortgages, and mortgage rates, and insurance rates. He said based on research by himself, and members of the Technical Advisory Committee, it was indicated that there would be no adverse impact if this AICUZ Overlay District were adopted, on the ability to obtain a conventional mortgage or mortgage rate, likewise research also showed that insurance providers would not deny insurance to anyone or institute additional rates based on whether or not a property is located within the AICUZ Overlay. Mr. Reed noted that Craven County had adopted zoning, land use restrictions, disclosure, and noise attenuation requirements relative to the operations of Cherry Point, and applicable sections of Craven County. He said just the night before the City of Havelock Board of Commissioners adopted zoning, land use restrictions, disclosure and noise attenuation requirements. He said Carteret County is currently in the process of working on amendments to its zoning ordinance and it’s anticipated they will conduct a second public meeting later this month on their proposed amendments. Mr. Reed said the Town of Bogue is in the initial stages of considering amendments to its zoning ordinance relative to disclosure and other recommendations contained in the JLUS. Frank Sheffield, with the Ward & Smith Law Firm in New Bern representing Allies For Cherry Points Tomorrow (ACT) which is a group of local governments, businesses, and individuals in this four-county area that was formed to protect and promote MCAS Cherry Point and NADEP Depot at Cherry Point. Mr. Sheffield said the reason ACT has taken on the task of insuring that the base is protected is because of the BRAC process, and that process will culminate in the publication by the Pentagon of a list of bases that will be closed or re-aligned in May of 2005. He said ACT’s goal is to insure that Cherry Point is not on that list of base closures. He said he felt we all appreciate the tremendous economic and community benefits of Cherry Point, with over 7,500 uniformed personnel, 5,000 civilian employees, particularly NADEP an average wage of $40,000 or more, so the economic impacts on the community of closure of either facility would be tremendous. He said their hope is rather than closure, additional missions will be assigned to Cherry Point. Mr. Sheffield said the relationship of these measures being considered tonight is that it is important to demonstrate to the Pentagon that the community supports its local military facilities, and is prepared to do what is necessary to prevent encroachment by incompatible development. He said to look at NAS Oceana for an illustration of what can happen, the practice field in the Virginia Beach area where encroachment has been allowed to proceed unabated for years and the life of that base is being squeezed out. He said the idea is to inform people so they will understand that there are some impacts associated with being near an airfield, whether it be the main base in Cherry Point or Bogue Field, and to demonstrate to the Pentagon as they approach the BRAC decision that the community is prepared to protect the base, not just support it, from incompatible development. Mr. Sheffield said the key is for Cherry Point to survive, and hopefully prosper in the future, it has to have training facilities. It is an air base and training facilities are not provided on the base itself, they are provided at remote locations, so without the training facilities the base cannot survive. Commissioner McElraft asked Mr. Reed about the tax cards, and why this was being done. Mr. Reed said that both Carteret County and Craven County received as part of this process grant funds to enhance the level of information that is located on the geographic system that includes a link to the tax parcel ID cards. He said it was hoped that the link would provide information for individuals researching potential property they wish to purchase, and also provide another avenue for realtors or other individuals researching the property to have that level of information available to them. He said this would provide another level of awareness of information. Mr. Reed clarified this was tax information at the courthouse, not the tax bills. Motion was made by Commissioner McElraft to open the Public Hearing. The Board voted unanimously 5-0 in favor. Motion carried. John Grady, 113 Fawn Drive, he said they are going to make people aware of what they are coming into, a fly zone. He said he had a problem with this being on the tax cards. He felt this should be done by realtors, mentioning his situation on Fawn Drive with water coming from Pebble Beach and everywhere else. He hadn’t heard of a plane that kept people from getting out of their house for 12 weeks steady because of water. He felt if they are going to tell them about this, they need to tell about the other hazards. He was not for anything that would hamper our young military, he felt we did need to work with them but they did not need to give up individual property rights. He said just make a blanket statement and then let the realtors make people aware of what they are getting into. Lewis Layman, 117 E. Seaview Drive, stated that he had owned three properties within this zone over the last 15 years. He said there were more concerns, noting that over the 15 years he had been coming here he was with the fifth insurance company. He said it is very difficult to keep insurance with just the hurricane season and everything else, and now they state they are in a dangerous zone, just making it harder to get insurance. He had heard the opposite as far as mortgage brokers, they are reluctant to loan on properties in areas flagged this way. He felt this was setting them up for property values to go down, but taxes would continue to go up. He said insurance would continue to go up, if they could even get insurance other than through the State organization. He felt when selling there would be trouble with people trying to get a mortgage to buy the home, and people would not want to buy the home if it’s branded this way. He didn’t see any good that could come out of this, and didn’t feel they should make a big issue, if it’s not broke, don’t break it. Vinnie Bonanno, 7306 Sound Drive, said he was a former Marine, adding exactly what he feared would happen with the JLUS has happened. He said this is a very one-sided situation. He would like to hear what the military was bringing to the table if they are expected to accept this ordinance and have this plague put on all the homes within the noise contour district. He said the Town should have a copy of their standard operating procedures on file. He said there should be someone here in the Town who is responsible to look after and protect the rights of the citizens, especially those heavily impacted by the noise, hours of operation, minimum altitudes, number of aircraft in a pattern. He said the contour that had been distributed was in and of itself a joke. He said if they added one more aircraft to that pattern, then throw it in the garbage. He said somebody had to say what we were going to get in return for implementing this ordinance, if it is implemented, and he hoped very much it was not. Frank Marden, 7321 Ocean Drive, said he realized the military contribution, having served over 40 years in the military himself, but he questioned what benefit is this proposed ordinance to all those sitting in the room tonight. He said he hadn’t heard anything that is going to help the property values, style of living, conditions. He noted that the Attorney who spoke earlier, Frank Sheffield, was greatly concerned about one aspect, which was the point of the whole ACT is to protect against the encroachment of housing on a military base, going on to explain what happened in Virginia Beach, how it was being inundated and losing its vitality as a military base, i.e. too much is building. He felt what that indicates to him is that Mr. Sheffield was saying the purpose of this ACT is to try to squelch things so it can’t grow, you can’t use the land for the full utility. He said this would indirectly signify that there will be a lessening of their property value because the potential to develop it is gone. He felt there must be a specific purpose for this, and looking at the proposed ordinance it almost invites litigation from attorneys against the Town. He said such an ordinance that if you have a lease for 90 days or more, or if you convey the property, you should notify. He said is that to indicate that there is a problem, is the Town backing off, or are we backing off to say it is just a suggestion. He said there are thousands of people that rent on a weekly basis, what rights do they have? He said if anything should happen, they would look at such an ordinance and ask why they aren’t protected. He said this was inviting a distinction, making a separate class, creating a problem. He thought the whole thing should be shelved and forgotten. Bonnie Brown, 104 Stuart Avenue, said she was a proud member of Leadership Carteret 2004. She said when they visited Bogue Field they were told there were foreign pilots trained at Bogue Field. She asked why they had to suffer because of that, and property value be depleted. She was very concerned, noting it was also indicated to them that some of the pilots were sent home because they were not conforming to particular regulations. Jackie Davidian, 102 Yaupon Drive, said she was a realtor, and the very proposal that the Town has done, because she is a realtor and a homeowner, when she signed a lease this morning on her property, she had to attach a copy of the letter she received in the mail. She said the realtors are held to a higher standard that the homeowner, and any time any kind of communication comes from a town, particularly a proposal like this, it needs to be disclosed. She said that to read this and say it will not diminish her property values was hogwash. She said she has to price property all the time to sell and that zoning district would have a definite effect on how she priced property. She said you are talking about a portion of the tax base, she felt the letter should have gone out to all taxpayers, because when her property is diminished, the rest of the taxpayers will have to pick up the tab, and there is a big sand bill to pay. She said she felt the proposal was unnecessary, and Emerald Isle is image here, it is sun and fun, that is what we sell here. She said we are not completely dependent on Cherry Point, Havelock yes, but we also have another income base which is our tourism. She asked why a tenant of 90 days or more should be served a notice, but the family that has spent the money to come here for a week’s vacation didn’t have the same rights. She felt they are stigmatizing the entire Town, and the smaller portion of the taxpayers. Richard Sperling, l02 Indigo Drive, said we first had to acknowledge that the value and contribution of Bogue Field and the Marine Corps is immeasurable, for the honorable function of defending our freedoms, but also because they play a vital economic role in our region. He said Pete Allen had published a report about a year ago, and the economic dependence on the military if they left, would leave a lot of people without jobs around here. He said tourism would not pick up the slack. He said Bogue Field was here before Emerald Isle. He said if you read a history of the Town, the people that developed this town bought the property from the Department of Defense. He said that is not something new, it’s been there for 50-60 years. He said the original developers were certainly aware that Bogue Field was there, and the operations were ongoing. He said now the Town is going to pass an ordinance placing the very stringent burden on the consumer to make this disclosure about the property lying in a certain zone, and that will diminish property values. He said they are holding the consumer to a more stringent level, and standard of care, than the real estate professionals who knew when those consumers bought the property originally. He felt this was unfair, and the issue before the Board also includes what kind of disclosure they can expect from real estate professionals, what will the Board do to protect the public who will be negatively impacted when their property values are reduced. Robert Burch, Raleigh, said that he and his wife own property at 8605 Oceanview Drive, purchased about 5 ½ years ago hoping to one day retire here, until he received the letter about 1 ½ weeks ago. He mentioned the speaker before who sold real estate, who said it would affect property values, he felt sure this would happen. He said he had been an appraiser in Raleigh for 25 years. He saw the airfields around Raleigh/Durham International Airport and the change over time. He also referenced on page two of the handout, paragraph (5) that mentioned something about not being able to obtain a building permit for any development. He asked what that meant, could he not add an extra story to his house, or sunroom. He asked if he would run into a height limitation. Mayor Schools said this was just a way to get the information out to the public, when they come in to get a building permit, they will know about the AICUZ zone. Mr. Burch mentioned the Navy operations in Beaufort County, asking if this had anything to do with that. Mayor Schools said because of the lawsuit in Beaufort County, they don’t know what will happen. Long term for Bogue Field, long term being 15-20 years, as new aircraft comes up, usage of it will diminish, and that is what the projection is, but they will obviously have to find somewhere else to fly. Mayor Schools said they couldn’t give any concrete plans as to what would happen. Mr. Burch also mentioned his experience in Wake County tracking taxes and tax bases, how they migrate. Mr. Burch said people on the Island or in the county will eventually have to shoulder some of the burden when the tax values change on these properties. He asked if the overlay also constituted an easement that will allow anything else later on relative to aircraft, or is it limited to the Marines. Mayor Schools said it is limited right now to the AICUZ zones set up by the military. Paul Harbaugh, 7302 Sound Drive, said there were a couple of things he didn’t understand, he mentioned terms like accident potential APZ-1, significant potential for accidents, noting that the proposed notice to be given out would scare people, asking how many accidents there had been in the past 50 years. Mayor Schools said he was aware of none. Mr. Harbaugh asked why they would want to scare people that might want to buy his house with words like that, realizing there may be technical requirements, but how do you have significant potential for accident when you haven’t had an accident, and why couldn’t they have something that described the history of accidents to mitigate some of the terribly harsh language. Mr. Harbaugh felt this was overstated, and there were no mitigating words that would potentially set someone’s mind at ease. His other question concerned the Marine Corps deciding they’re going to change their operating pattern, assuming that once all the communities pass this kind of thing, and the military says they have carte blanche here so let’s increase our training, what would stop Bogue Field, in our case, from increasing operations, to going on a 24 hour operational basis, to changing their flight patterns, which could increase the number of significant potential areas. He asked what assurance there was that things would not get worse Mayor Schools said he could assure him that his communication with the military had been very professional, one on one, listening to concerns and trying to work things out. Mr. Harbaugh said he was looking at worse case, when things like this get done, then it’s a new ball game. Commissioner Isenhour said he was struck the same way when he read this the first time, the significant potential for accident. He said if there had been an accident in the last 40 years, then he would say to leave the significant there, but we haven’t and he suggested they look at wording that would possibly mitigate this for someone coming in to the area that doesn’t know the area but wants to buy a piece of property, and is concerned because they see significant potential. He felt they would certainly have second thoughts. Mayor Schools suggested they note Commissioner Isenhour’s suggestion, and come back to it during Board discussion following the public hearing. Linda Curtis, 102 Stuart Avenue, said she had been in numerous meetings talking about problems about losing tourism here in this area. She said they are going to spend money trying to define why they are losing money, and not growing in tourism. She said if they have an ordinance that states this type of thing where people are afraid, and if they put this out, they will be.Then they wouldn’t have the tourism they have, and as a homeowner she would have thought maybe she shouldn’t do this. She said they have had planes going over for years. She asked why now they have to have an ordinance that will give the Federal Government more leeway. She asked they please not do it. Faye Lloyd, 315 Cedar Street, addressed the insurance issue. She said they already have a problem here with insurance. She said Emerald Isle is unique to the situation around Cherry Point. She said Havelock and the other areas don’t also have the additional factor that they are oceanfront, hurricane potential that we are, as well as this additional burden. She said they have one strike, don’t give us two. She added that they are told as of now it shouldn’t create a problem, she said she trusted that for at least 3 months. Mayor Schools said the AICUZ zone is there no matter what the Board does tonight. Ms. Lloyd said when they start looking at insurance policies this is one additional thing, as with accidents. She said if you have an accident even though you’ve driven for 30 years without one, the insurance company immediately takes that opportunity to cancel. Mayor Schools said that this had not happened in Hampton Roads or Virginia Beach. Commissioner McElraft noted that it had not happened here in Emerald Isle either, stating that Emerald Landing was one of three communities, that have a very strict disclosure of where the AICUZ zones are, property values have not gone down, they have increased 300%. Their insurance has not gone up, it is not recognized by insurance adjusters that it is any more dangerous with the overlay than it is right now. She said it had been this way since 1974. Pat Shelding, 120 Sandcastle Drive, said he received the letter about six days ago, and when he read the letter he said all it told him was his value would go down on his house. He asked if they had this same sort of thing at other military installations, calling it dangerous zones. Commissioner Hedreen stated that this is not just a military designation but it is all airports have the clear and the accident potential zones. Mr. Shelding asked why it wasn’t all of Emerald Isle, could they expand their area? He felt something could be done without putting a bunch of restrictions on the people that live in that area, he felt putting something on the tax card was the closest thing you could get to a lien. He said if anyone looked up anything on that property they would find that you are in a dangerous zone. He said if he were coming down from New Jersey or Ohio and sees dangerous zone, he would just get back in the car and drive about 7 miles and forget the house on 120 Sandcastle and buy somebody else’s house. Bruce Goepel, 8529 Oceanview Drive, said he didn’t know how they could do this in good conscience. If they do this they should look at the stagnant water areas in Spinnakers Reach and label them as West Nile Virus area, and the high area of the Island by the Chapel by the Sea, designated as a high wind area, or put a sign under the Emerald Isle bridge for the boaters warning of potential of automobiles flipping off the bridge and crashing into their boat and sinking it because, airplanes in the living rooms in Emerald Isle have happened with the exact same frequency as cars flipping off the bridge and landing on boats. Harvey Ann Goodwin, 118 Heverly Drive, said that when you hear accident, potential danger zone, it means exactly that, and you also hear that in Iraq. She said she had been here since 1969, living close to the sound, and there were jets that came by so low they could see the pilots in the jets. She didn’t know how they draw the line but felt if they were going to be in a danger zone, all of Emerald Isle needs to be in a danger zone. She said her hail and wind insurance had gone up $700 because of hurricanes everywhere else. She said she has had insurance cancelled, and she felt their insurance would go up, they could not guarantee it. She felt this would increase the property tax, and they would get absolutely nothing. She felt it should be voted on by the people that pay taxes. She said she was a military supporter, but she didn’t have the money that the military government has. She said the government could do whatever they want, and we are stuck with it. She asked what if there was an accident out of the danger zone. She asked why certain property owners were being penalized. She felt none of the Commissioners could say this was a good idea. She also asked if a plane fell and hit their house would the government pay for it. Commissioner McElraft stated that nothing is changing about what the military is going to do, this is educational only, this is not changing flight patterns. Ms. Goodwin said why put a burden on them they don’t need. She felt the property owners were here tonight that pay the taxes. She proposed they have a vote on this. A. J. Bur, 104 Live Oak Street, mentioned his degree in Economics, not that he had to rely on that to tell them, he didn’t know who the Board had talked to but he felt property values would go down. He also mentioned that the collateral was at risk, the lender would want more interest, if they would lend any money at all. He said the insurance company that is told you’re in an accident potential zone, they are in the risk business, and now you’ve identified this. He said he could not find one benefit for the property owners of Emerald Isle. He suggested that the elected officials represent this Town. Commissioner McElraft said the benefit to this Town is for people who are coming here to understand that they are in an AICUZ area. That has been disclosed in many of the communities, and has not hurt property values, insurance has not gone up, taxes have remained the same. She agreed they shouldn’t put all the negative things on the disclosure and they will work on that. Doug Efland, 107 East Seaview, said he didn’t personally expect property values to immediately go down because of this, he was looking at going forward, and asked if there was any device if there are impacts with his properties valuation versus somebody out of this area. He said if he owns a property that is now of equal value with someone who is outside of this, going forward, their property will escalate more than his property increases. He said if the county does not take this into consideration, then without some sort of device being talked about going forward, he didn’t feel this was equitable. Barbara Morgan, 211 Cedar Street, she said she is in the APZ-2. She said clearly she did not support these amendments to our ordinance. She said she strongly supported our military, she did not want the planes to stop flying over her house, however, referencing Attorney Sheffield’s comment that we need to demonstrate to the Pentagon that we support our military installations in this area, what she failed to see was how having her house listed in the AICUZ identification area on the tax card, and how the disclosure at the time of the sale of her property to a potential buyer, will make the Pentagon happy and make them want to keep the bases here. She failed to see the tie-over from the BRAC, to the AICUZ, as it relates to the amendments to the zoning ordinance. She also didn’t see how it would protect the military from having incompatible development, not understanding what incompatible development would mean other than density issues. Mayor Schools said typically for undeveloped areas the military recommends what kinds of buildings go up in the undeveloped areas. He said Emerald Isle is developed so in the Land Use Plan it said they were not going to increase the density, but we were not going to change the density of what is already there. Ms. Morgan asked why, at the time of resell, did they need to disclose this, as it relates to the density issue. Commissioner McElraft stated that the Board did not take the recommendation about density. Ms. Morgan said she felt confident that if a potential buyer came to her house and could choose between her property, when they find out there is a measurable risk of a plane landing in their living room, and there is another piece of property of equal value in a reasonable location not in APZ zone 1 or 2, they would not choose her property. Jerry Stockdale, 8521 Oceanview Drive, pointed out to the Board that several weeks ago the County Commissioners had a public hearing and considered these same disclosures being considered tonight, and because they thought they were too strict and too scary, they tabled the adoption until they could come up with terminology that is not so scary, and he encouraged the Board to get together with the County and the other communities and come up with something a little different before they come to their final decision. Max Hollamon, 136 Sandcastle Drive, stated that he too was opposed to the adoption of this ordinance. He said he would especially like to address the issue of the disclosure for building permit. He said that the current laws on the books already require that if you have an improvement to the property in excess of $5,000 you must have a building permit. He said this would mean if he wanted to improve his own property for more than $5,000 he had to sign this disclosure statement. He said in looking at the map it was difficult to tell just who was located where. He felt the configuration of the overlay district boundary arbitrarily included part of Sandcastle Drive, without including the entire subdivision of Sea Dunes, and includes a good portion of the neighboring community Doe Drive, Fawn Drive in Deer Horn Subdivision. He wanted the Board to consider questioning the person who drew this up because it looked like he was arbitrary in picking his locations. Mayor Schools noted that the AICUZ was set back in 2002. Jay Thomas, 115 Lee Avenue, stated that he was opposed to this ordinance. He said the Board was elected by these people, and asked for a show of hands of those against this. There being no other comments, motion was made by Commissioner McElraft to close the public hearing. The Board voted unanimously 5-0 in favor. Motion carried. Mayor Schools said that based on the last three years he spent in the JLUS position he certainly felt he was representing Emerald Isle. Mayor Schools said he was Chairman of the Tourism Board and was the one pushing to get a project to improve tourism in Carteret County, and didn’t feel that these disclosures would negatively affect tourism. He said there are a significant number of people in Emerald Isle who work at Cherry Point, and that Emerald Isle would be tremendously impacted if Cherry Point were to close. Commissioner McElraft spoke concerning the history of Emerald Isle and Bogue Field, there have not been accidents, it is a very safe town to live in, and she did want to change the disclosure, but adding that she was leaning toward voting for this because it was not going to change anything that is not already there. She said the mortgage companies, the insurance companies, know about the AICUZ zone, they have known about it since 2002. She said insurance had not gone up in Emerald Landing, Sunset Harbor. Commissioner McElraft said property values had gone up 300% in the past two years. She said Emerald Landing is one of the strictest areas along the sound. She said the Marine Corps had asked for them to do even stricter things, they had asked them to downzone property, and she was a property rights person and would not do that, but this is the minimal amount they could do to show our support that the Town definitely wants to live as good neighbors with the military. Commissioner McElraft agreed there is a problem with the disclosure and they need to change that, and also had a problem with it being on the tax records, she didn’t know if that was necessary. She did feel that this would not harm property values, increase insurance rates, prevent mortgages from happening. She said the disclosure they give in Emerald Landing is about 12 pages that must be signed before buying a piece of property. She noted that has been in effect for about seven years and that goes directly to the mortgage company, and the insurance company. She believed this should be a voluntary disclosure, and that the Town should not be involved in who is misrepresenting, noting that section had already been removed. Commissioner McElraft stated that she and Commissioner Hedreen had attended a meeting of the Assistant Undersecretary of the Navy held in New Bern the previous week, and they were told how important it is for the towns to at least make an effort to show their support of the military. She said they need to show history on the disclosure that there haven’t been accidents, but definitely felt they need to do the overlay and have a voluntary disclosure. Commissioner Isenhour said he wanted to see word changes on the disclosure form. Town Manager Frank Rush said they could revise the disclosure forms and bring them back to the Board at their next meeting. Town Attorney Stanley stated that this ordinance is not approving a particular disclosure form so the Board can work on the disclosure form later. Commissioner McElraft felt the zones did not need to be spelled out, but could be a very general disclosure that you are in an AICUZ zone, and then have a pamphlet describing the history of Bogue Field, that there have been no accidents here on Emerald Isle to show it is a safe area, with an explanation of why the Town is doing this, making it very general, thereby accomplishing what is needed for the Marine Corps and not scaring people to death. Commissioner Hedreen spoke concerning the meeting she and Commissioner McElraft attended the previous week, noting one of the things they learned was this is somewhat time critical. She said this was something they have been looking, thinking, and talking about for quite some time, noting that it had been put on the back burner due to other issues such as the Bogue Inlet project. Commissioner Hedreen said that if the Pentagon doesn’t announce the realignment or closure by May 2005, this BRAC period is over, noting there had been activity today that came out that they tried to get a two year extension, and that would not be done. She said that means they are looking at the towns now who want to protect the lands, preserve and promote the positive relationship, and the compatible land uses. Commissioner Hedreen said that with our height limits we already have a major compatible land use with them because we will not have tall buildings. She also noted that with the Base Realignment and Closure, everyone thinks closure, but a lot of it is realignment. She said the Federal Government and the Department of Defense wants to look at ways to reduce some of the money being spent unnecessarily every year. Commissioner Hedreen said the communities that are surrounding the bases who have both the space and the compatible land uses, and the positive commitment towards working together on common issues stand the greatest chance of surviving the closing part, and perhaps gaining with the realignment. Commissioner Hedreen said she felt that we have a lot at stake here, and it is very important. Commissioner Hedreen mentioned questions concerning the flight patterns changing, and stated that even if they change the flight pattern it wouldn’t impact the other parts of the Island as much because the greatest danger is at take-off and landing. Commissioner Hedreen appreciated everyone’s comments tonight. She mentioned an insurance concern she had a couple of years ago, and felt after talking with the Mayor, the military, and based on research done in the last month, much more convinced that it will not impact it. She pointed out that there are clear zones and accident potential zones at commercial airports also, it is not just us. Commissioner Messer stated that every time they have a controversial issue they all receive a lot of email, phone calls, personal contact, and he said he had more on this issue than he had the three years he had been on the Board. He said there is normally some positive and some negative, he had all negatives which caused him to be concerned and investigate on his own. He agreed and disagreed with what had been said. Commissioner Messer said he was in the real estate business for 17 years, and had been disclosing for years, verbally, because there was no ordinance that required that he do so. He said with flight patterns, noise levels, he had certainly not seen a decline in property values. He said whether or not an ordinance requiring something to be signed would have an effect, he didn’t know. He said he had talked with lenders who say it will probably not affect mortgage rates, he had talked with insurance agencies. He said he had talked with appraisers, noting that the appraiser is required now on FHA loans on the last page to disclose any hazardous situation, he is not required to disclose this on conventional loans. Commissioner Messer said the appraiser does not do it because there is no ordinance that requires it. He said the appraisers opinion was that if there was an ordinance that in good conscience he may report to the lender that it is in an APZ, they are not doing it now. He didn’t know what effect that may have on the lender. Commissioner Messer said he did not feel property values were going down, insurance and mortgages he didn’t know, and stated that his vote tonight may not be what his personal opinion was but it would be the opinions of the people he had talked to. Commissioner Wootten stated that he received one of these letters, he lives in the APZ zone, he had done research, as had the Mayor. He said in response to the question what is in this for Emerald Isle, the truthful answer is nothing except for a better relationship with the air station at Cherry Point, and the potential by doing so, to save the Naval Aviation Depot. He said there are two Naval Aviation Depot’s on the east coast, one here and one down in Jacksonville and in all likelihood a major part of the work is going to be consolidated into one of those. Commissioner Wootten said if they lose the Depot here at Cherry Point, then you will start feeling some economic impact. It is for that reason, Commissioner Wootten said, that he is looking favorably towards doing this, and also after checking personally himself on the issues of decreasing home values, and the experience of Oceana and the people up in Virginia bears that out. He felt home values wouldn’t go down because of the tourism, tourism won’t go down because the airplanes are flying here. He mentioned speaking with two high powered insurance brokers in Raleigh, and it was confirmed insurance rates should not go up unless there is a cost increase. Commissioner McElraft stated that she is definitely a property rights advocate, and had been for her three terms here in Emerald Isle. She did not feel hesitant to do this because of her research as a real estate broker, noting what has happened in areas that have had real estate disclosures for seven years. She said nothing is changing; we are in this AICUZ zone already. Commissioner McElraft said there have been no accidents, and agrees they have to let people know the history and not scare them with this disclosure, which she felt would help a lot in relieving people’s fears. She said she owned property in this area too. She said this was for education, and she felt it was only fair for people to know if they are in an area where there is a noise level. Motion was made by Commissioner Wootten to adopt the Ordinance Amending Chapter 19 – Zoning – To Create the Bogue Field AICUZ Overlay District. The Board voted 4-1 in favor with Commissioners Hedreen, Isenhour, McElraft, Wootten voting in favor, Commissioner Messer opposed. Motion carried. Town Manager Frank Rush asked if he was correct in understanding the Board would like staff to take another look at the disclosure statement. The Board indicated their concurrence. Mr. Rush said they would do so, and bring this back to the Board at their next regular meeting. Mayor Schools called for a brief recess at 7:45 pm. The meeting was called back to order by Mayor Schools at 8:00 pm. Mayor Schools recognized an Emerald Isle citizen in attendance tonight, Louise Rhoads, celebrating her 85th birthday. Motion was made by Commissioner Messer to reconsider the vote on the Ordinance that was just passed in order that we may delete the section that requires notification to the tax office. Town Attorney Stanley stated that the county will put this on their mapping and computer base, it is not something that a property owner typically would pick up just going in there, and unless the county codes it in some way on the tax listing card, the typical eye will not pick it up, but they could very well code it with something on there that would allow an appraiser to pick it up. Commissioner Messer said if someone goes to the courthouse interested in a piece of property in Emerald Isle and they see that notification they will not look at that property. He didn’t want to discourage anyone from coming to Emerald Isle. The Board then voted on the motion made by Commissioner Messer 5-0 in favor. Motion carried. Motion was made by Commissioner McElraft to pass the AICUZ overlay zone ordinance striking the section that talks about having the information attached to the county tax records, that being Section 19-87 Paragraph (1). The Board voted 4-1 in favor, with Commissioner Hedreen, Isenhour, McElraft, Wootten voting in favor, Messer opposed. Motion carried. Town Manager Frank Rush said he clearly understood the Board’s intentions on the proposed disclosure statement and would revisit the language incorporating their changes. 9. ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 19 – ZONING - DUNES AND VEGETATION Planning Director Kevin Reed discussed this proposed zoning amendment with the Board. He said at the Town Board’s direction, the Planning Board had on a couple of occasions brought to the Board changes to the Dunes and Vegetation Ordinance, and in a continuation of their directive they looked at it again through a Planning Board subcommittee to try to seek a proper balance between property owner rights and protection of the remaining dunes and vegetation. Mr. Reed said at the September 27 meeting of the Planning Board they considered three proposed amendments to Chapter 19:1) includes additional language recognizing property owner rights,
2) changes the size of “protected” trees from 3” in diameter to 4” in diameter,
3) increases the fine for violations from $500 to $1000 per day per tree. Mr. Reed noted that the Planning Board at their September 27, 2004 meeting did recommend unanimously that these proposed changes be adopted. Motion was made by Commissioner McElraft to open the Public Hearing. The Board voted unanimously 5-0 in favor. Motion carried. Doje Marks, 134 Sandcastle Drive, stated that she had a couple of problems with what is proposed, the first being cutting down the diameter of the trees, the problem is you don’t designate trees, it is indicated that it is vegetation, any woody plant. Ms. Marks said that Commissioner Wootten had brought up a case where he couldn’t have cut shrubs because they were more than 36” in diameter, and before this ordinance had nothing to do with shrubs, it had only to do with trees. She said right now you can take down tree less than 3” in diameter. She felt the vegetation on this island is so important to the integrity of the island. She felt by increasing that size it allows you to take trees out to put in more grass. Ms. Marks said these are adolescent trees, not little seedlings. She said for twenty years people had removed trees and put in grass, the grass requires irrigation, and that impacts the ground water. She felt they need to consider this and to look at the wording where they use woody plants and talk about trees. Mr. Reed stated for clarification that a tree is defined as a woody plant with a diameter currently 3 inches, measured 36” from the ground. That is consistent with what was originally adopted about a year ago when they adopted the revised dunes and vegetation ordinance. Mr. Reed said if the Board desired they could look at different language, but that is the definition in the ordinance, a woody plant. Mr. Reed said the typical interpretation is tree preservation. Motion was made by Commissioner Wootten to close the Public Hearing. The Board voted unanimously 5-0 in favor. Motion carried. Following discussion concerning the proposed amendments the consensus of the Board was to take no action at this time, and to schedule a workshop with the Planning Board for further review. 10. RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING INSTALLMENT FINANCING AGREEMENT – NEW FIRE ENGINE Asst. Town Manager/Finance Officer Mitsy Overman summarized for the Board the attached resolution authorizing an installment financing agreement for a new Fire Engine. The attached resolution authorizes the appropriate Town officials to execute the necessary documents to enter into an installment financing agreement with First Citizens Bank. Ms. Overman noted the resolution specifies a maximum loan amount of $350,000 at an annual interest rate of 2.96% for a term of 4 years.RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING INSTALLMENT FINANCING AGREEMENT – NEW FIRE ENGINE Whereas, the Town of Emerald Isle (Town) has decided to purchase a new Fire Engine to replace an outdated Fire Engine and improve its fire suppression capabilities, and Whereas, the Town desires to utilize an installment financing agreement in an effort to distribute the cost of the new truck over present and future beneficiaries of the Town’s fire suppression services, minimize the annual budget impact, and maintain Town cash accounts at a high level, Now, therefore be it resolved as follows:
Rhonda C. Ferebee |