Macon tables floodplain ordinance decision
Rivers in Western North Carolina, although normally peaceful, are prone to flash flooding. Hannah McLeod photo
After an outpouring of opposition from members of the public over the course of several county commission meetings, Macon County Commissioners chose to table a vote on the flood damage prevention, soil erosion and sedimentation control and water supply watershed protection ordinances for meetings over the next several months.
“This board here wants to hear from you,” said Chairman Gary Shields. “But also, I want to hear from you again as single groups.”
Commissioners held public hearings on all three ordinances at their July 9 meeting. However, prior to the start of the public hearings, Shields announced that following the hearings he would ask for motions to table the ordinances for later dates.
“Three different ordinances — I’m not sure my brain can stack all that together in one night,” Shields said. “So I’m going to ask, and [commissioners] have to approve this too, when we get down to having to make a motion of what we’re going to do, I’m going to ask that the motion be made so that we table it.”
Shields presented a plan in which the board would take up one of three ordinances at each meeting throughout August, September and October. Commissioner Josh Young, who originally introduced the proposed changes to the board, also spoke in support of Shields’ plan prior to the start of the public hearings.
“I agree with what Mr. Shields just said,” Young told the board and the public. “I think we should table the floodplain [ordinance] and have more community discussion. I have no issue with that, and actually I encourage that, and I do say thank you for the emails, and thank you for your time.”
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Back in March, at the behest of members of the public who came to commissioners with complaints about a few aspects of the three ordinances, commissioners directed the planning board to review them as they are currently written. The planning board came up with some recommended changes and put the ordinances, as well as the decision to revise them or keep them as they are, back in the hands of the county commission.
“These are not things that I pulled out of thin air,” Young said during a May meeting of the county commission. “These are real issues that people in the public, people in the community have come to me about over the years.”
The first of the recommended changes the county is considering involves the soil erosion and sedimentation control ordinance. The state requires county ordinances to stipulate plans for soil and erosion control on any project that disturbs one acre of land or more. Macon County’s current ordinance is stricter, requiring such plans and restrictions for land disturbances of half an acre or more.
The second proposed change would remove the clause that says RV parks are not eligible for Special Non-residential Intensity Allocations (SNIA) in Macon County’s watershed ordinance.
The third recommended removes some restrictions on fill material in the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) in the flood damage prevention ordinance. As currently written, landowners are not allowed to put any fill dirt in the floodplain. The recommended change would allow fill dirt in 25% of a parcel that is located in the flood fringe.
Members of the public opposed to amending the ordinances have been outspoken during public meetings since the planning board took up the issue this spring. The July 9 meeting saw the most input from the public yet with commissioners having to move their meeting to the upper courtroom in order to accommodate the crowd of over 100 people. Despite the plan to table the ordinances, the commission still held public hearings on all three issues and listened to over two hours’ worth of public comment, all of which came from those opposed to any changes to the ordinances.
Prior to public comment during the July 9 meeting County Manager Derek Roland announced that County Planner Caleb Gibson was being appointed the floodplain and watershed administrator.
“If there’s ever been a better example of baptism by fire, I don’t know of it,” said Roland before asking Gibson to review the recommended changes for the commission as well as the public. “He’s doing a great job, and we appreciate his willingness to step up and you will see shortly he is a quick study and we’re pleased to have him here for us tonight.”
Gibson has been in the planning department for over a year now and is moving into the role of floodplain administrator following the resignation of the Director of Planning and Code Enforcement Joe Allen.
Eight people spoke out against changes to the soil erosion and sedimentation control ordinance, after which Shields made a motion to table the ordinance until the board’s August meeting. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Danny Antoine and passed 3-2 with Commissioners Young and John Shearl voting against.
Seven people spoke against changes to the water supply watershed protection ordinance.
“This is a variance that allows commercial-type properties to request and be granted more allowable impervious service area up to 70%,” said Gibson. “Like I said this is normally for businesses, and this I guess would be a business if it’s an RV park.”
According to Gibson, the watershed in Highlands allows for 12% impervious service and around Cartoogechaye allows for 24%.
Shields made a motion to table the discussion of recommended changes to the watershed ordinance until the board’s September meeting. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Antoine and passed by a 3-2 margin with Young and Shearl dissenting.
Nineteen people spoke during the public hearing against changes to the flood damage prevention ordinance including aquatic biologist Bill McLarney, Executive Director of Mainspring Conservation Trust Jordan Smith, current Vice Chairman of the Macon County Planning Board Lee Walters, Western Regional Director of Mountain True Callie Moore, Macon County Farm Bureau Board of Directors representative Kevin McCaskill, previous Planning Board Chairman and contractor Lewis Penland and co-owner of Alarka Expeditions Angela Faye-Martin.
Following the last public hearing Commissioner Antoine said he was ready to leave the ordinances as they are currently written without making any changes.
“My personal thoughts on this are pretty simple,” said Antoine. “After hearing you all and learning so much from you all, and I do believe I’ve learned a lot from hearing what everyone has said tonight, I’m currently for keeping these ordinances as they are with no changes. And I personally wish we could have just voted on this tonight to move forward.”
Shields made a motion to table the discussion on the flood damage prevention ordinance until the board’s October meeting. Young seconded the motion and all commissioners voted in favor.
