Subdivision ordinance stalled

By NICOLE CARTRETTE

Columbus County commissioners are not ready to vote on the latest draft of a county subdivision ordinance presented Tuesday at a joint meeting with county the planning board. The 172-page document, revised after a public hearing in July, is stalled due to questions about giving land to heirs and the rights of developers before the ordinance passes.

Despite changes made to lot sizes and buffers and replacing “family subdivisions” with a “gift lot” exception, commissioners are not completely satisfied with measures to protect existing subdivisions and the transfer of property to a family member.

The ordinance, which sets minimum standards for cutting or dividing a lot from a larger tract of land, gives the subdivision administrator authority to certify final plats submitted for recording. The administrator, by consulting the county attorney, is to determine if an applicant has a vested right to complete an “existing subdivision.” The attorney is directed to “rely on existing case law in the area of vested rights.”

Although the applicant may appeal any decision in 30 days to the Appeals Board, many of the commissioners believe the exception is too vague and needs clarification.

“This is wide open,” Commissioner James Prevatte said. “You have to have the same treatment for everyone.”

“You have to have the criteria spelled out,” Commissioner Bill Memory said.

“I would personally suggest to be more specific in this,” Tom King of the N.C. Department of Commerce said.

Chairman Kip Godwin takes a different view of the vested rights exception. “There are advantages to leaving it open to interpretation,” Godwin said, pointing out that it would allow people to provide documentation or evidence that in the drafting process may be overlooked.

Nelson Soles, a local land surveyor, said months of surveying go into some projects before any “proof” exists. He is concerned about what documentation will be necessary to show a vested interest and how a “significant expenditure” will be defined, Soles asked if time sheets would be considered proof.

“If I have to go through this process I have sold my last lot in Columbus County,” Lacy Wilson, a local real estate broker, told commissioners. He said that it is not uncommon for individuals to divide property to sell lots without knowing what type of home the purchaser will want on the property. He wants commissioners to address the mobile home ordinance while working on the subdivision ordinance because he sees too much of a gray area between the two.

“We are talking about jurisdiction,” Godwin said, redirecting the meeting back to the subdivision ordinance that sets standards for building lot sizes, road access and building density.

The ordinance, which establishes two types of subdivisions minor and major, no longer includes guidelines pertaining to family subdivisions. A “gift lot” exception has been created for the transfer of individual lots to family members. Families are no longer subject to eight or fewer lots and, instead, are limited to one lot per “direct lineal family member” –meaning children, grandchildren, parents and grandparents’ gifts are exempt from the ordinance. Harnett County has a similar exemption adopted in 1997 that has resulted in abuse of the exception that offers little or no oversight, King said.

Commissioner Bill Memory said he would like the ordinance to be written in plain language. He pointed out that “inter vivos” (between the living) and devise (death) used in the gift lot provision to explain lots may be transferred during a lifetime and through last will and testament are not common words.

“This needs to be made so that it is readable,” Memory said.

Godwin suggested the ordinance be adopted in its current form and that the county put together a user-friendly booklet explaining the ordinances to interested parties like many state and federal agencies. He pointed out that Greene County has such a document.

Godwin said he hopes to see the ordinance pass before he steps down from his position in December. “We are beginning to see development from other areas,” Godwin said. “We must be prepared for that; right now -- we are not.”

The meeting was recessed tentatively until Monday, Sept. 25.