Staff Writer
Monday, May 21, 2007
After three years of amendments and heated public discussions, a state agency has finally signed off on a 10-year blueprint for future development in Currituck County — but not before one last-ditch effort to delay the plan split the county Board of Commissioners.
The N.C. Coastal Resources Commissionapproved Currituck's much-debated land-use plan during its meetings in GreenvilleFriday.
But the agency's consideration of the planwas in doubt only days before, after Currituck Commission Board Chairman Barry Nelms moved to have it removed from the CRC's consideration.
In a memo to commissioners last week County Manger Dan Scanlon stated that he had been directed by Nelms to contact "the CRC staff and request that our plan be withdrawn from the agenda."
In his directive to Scanlon, Nelms claimed to have the support of fellow Commissioners Ernie Bowden and Gene Gregoryforpulling the land-use plan from the CRC's consideration, essentially overturningthe full board's decisionin Marchto send it to the state agency. Although no formal vote was taken at a board retreat in March, Gregory and Commissioners Janet Taylor and Owen Etheridge had spoken in favor of the land-use plan being submitted to the CRC.
But by mid-week it was apparent Nelms didn't have enough support to hold back the plan. Gregory said Tuesday he had not changed his mind and did not support Nelms' position.
"I thought it was going forward to be honest," Gregory said. "The first I heard that it wasn't was at Monday's (commissioners) meeting. I wanted it to go ahead."
Taylor said she had been contacted by Gwen Keene, clerk to the board of commissioners, on Tuesday to double-check her position on submitting the land-use plan.
"I said I was in favor of it being sent to the CRC. There could be a need for amendments but that can be done after it's adopted," Taylor said.
Nelms declined to comment on the land-use plan or on his apparent role in trying to prevent from being submitted to the CRC.
Nelms didn't attend the March board retreat. At that meeting, however, Bowden indicated that Nelms wasn't happy about the previous Board of Commissioners' decision to have the plan designate three miles of land north of the Wright Memorial Bridge as a "limited service" area. Because of the designation, housing density and "big box" stores such as Wal-Mart will be severely restricted in the area.
Bowden's beef with the plan is its restriction on commercial development in the off-road area north of Corolla.
Even if Nelms had Gregory's support for holding back the land-use plan, the commission chairman would have faced two other obstacles, officials said.
Etheridge said it was his understanding that new County Attorney Ike McRee had advised county officialsthat Currituck couldn't overturn a public decision — to submit the land-use plan — without a public vote.
"To follow proper procedure you would need a public vote," Etheridge said.
A second problem for Nelms emerged when the CRC was unwilling to remove the plan from its announced agenda.
Jerry Old, a commissioner with the CRC said Wednesday the agency's board needed to take a formal vote for Currituck's land-use plan to be removed from its agenda, and that had not taken place.
Prior to its adoption, the land-use plan had been retooled a number of times.
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