County Planning Board is Embarrassment

Not that anyone is shocked that any board led by Jim King and Mark DiBiasio is turning into the latest laughing stock of Union County, it is unfortunate the way they have decided to make the headlines this time.

We all recall when the Union County Board of Commissioners, led by none other than puppetman Lanny Openshaw and his two sidekicks the liberal torchbearing Kim Rogers and Tracy Kuehler decided to disband the Union County Planning Board. While they gave the standard and overused "they are all in the developers pocket" reason for their action, we all knew they did it so as to fill the board with those they felt would carry out their twisted liberal ideas of growth management.

Well it didn't take the new planning board long to realize that the national economy had stopped development in Union County so the workload was not what they had hoped for. While the opportunity to halt all development and lead the crusade against the evil developer was now not on the table, they still had their plans to rip apart the county landuse ordinance and rewrite it so it will be more akin to something you would find in New York. They are currently so busy with this task that they have had to add a second monthly meeting just to accomplish the liberalization of the county planning guidelines.

Well, that wasn't enough either. Chairman King and Vice Chairman DiBiasio were not in the headlines enough with plain old boring ordinance stuff and with no evil developer to go after....someone would have to pay. Enter the Union County School Board.

The School Board has typically been given significant latitude with regards to the construction of schools and while they have to meet all state and local guidelines, the planning board nor county commission has never felt it necessary to step in and take an active role little on require a county major development permit for school construction. The school board is elected, therefore the assumption has been that they can handle the job and if at some point they fail to act they can be voted out of office.

A mistake made in the construction of Marvin Ridge High School opened the door for the planning board bosses to attempt to sieze power never held by the appointed group, and power that few would ever assume that they were capable of handling. Actually, the "mistake" was over a state regulation and while it did come at a significant cost to Union County, it is not really clear that the school system were the ones that erred. In any case, the involvement of the local planning board to an extent that they would have caught the mistake would likely require the planning board to micro-manage every aspect of school construction.

Micro-manage school construction....ahhhh, can't you just hear them salivating now and see the smoke coming from their ears and they conjure up images of the newfound power they would have? Many on the planning board, particularly King and DiBiasio are the type that love to regulate. Put them in charge of school construction and they will see to it that every little detail is taken care of. Pink and white summer blooming flowers with flowers no larger than 1 inch an only on the front facing elevation of the building with yellow and blue flowers only allowed in rear facing elevations however bloom size up to 2 inches accepted so long as they are not native to NC. Any native flower unacceptable anywhere on school property. No pine trees on the property due to tar, but oaks are permitted so long as they are no closer that 15 feet, and 9 and 1/20 inches to the property line so not as to drop leaves on the street. All steps must be exactly 1/32 inches wider than state requirement. School signs must be no larger than 3 feet, 2 and 1/32 inches by 6 foot, 4 and 3/213 inches and cannot be lit except between the hours of 6:47 pm-11:01:45 pm, and only with Al Gore approved eco-friendly lighting, and not on Saturday or Sunday. School spirit rocks allowed so long as they are native New Hampshire Granite and are no larger than a 2008 model volkswagen bug with no after market additions.

Let me tell you...with this crowd that is a little exaggerated...but only just a little bit exaggerated!

Recently it appeared that the power starved planning board had agreed to moderate somewhat and accept a plan brokered by school officials and planning officials which would have required the school board to meet some planning board checklist requirements but would have stopped short of requiring a permit from the planning board to proceed with construction. The plan would have allowed the planning board to "see" everything that was going on but would not have given them permitting power. Six of seven planning board members agreed that the plan was acceptable and the school board agreed. However, the night set in.

Apparently a few planning board members had a change of heart. In a vote at its September 28 meeting, the planning board voted 4-2 to trash the plan and move forward with their first plan to micro-manage school construction. They will seek approval of such plan at the October 5th county commission meeting.

This topic has so many intersesting twists and turns it could occupy pages and pages of this blog. However it is important to catch a few key points:

1. Openshaw, Rogers, and Kuehler created this monster called the planning board.
2. The planning board is limited by what it can do to punish developers due to the national economy so it is looking for other paths to exert its power thirsty agenda.
3. The planning board agreed to a compromise only to later turn their back and run the other direction.
4. A bunch of super regulators who thrive on micromanaging are about to add yet another level to school construction....and untold millions of dollars in additional costs to cut through their red tape.

The Union County Board of Commissioners will take up the matter October 5th. Will they once again side with the fringe or will they stand with the people. Stay tuned.

* Editors note: In a suprising move, Union County Planning Board Vice-Chairman Mark DiBiasio voted against throwing out the compromise with the Union County Board of Education. He along with planning board member Kathy Broom were the two dissenting votes. This adds yet another unique twist to the commissioners decision due to their loyalty to DiBiasio. Who needs Monday Night Football...watch em squirm through this one!