[Durham INC] Zoning Bill Update

[Tom Miller]

Dear Neighbors:

 

Today, the protest petition repeal bill, House bill 201, passed the Senate
on its second reading by a vote of 39 to 9.  Senator Andy Wells from Hickory
argued for the bill on the senate floor as he did in committee yesterday.
He suggested that citizens interested in a rezoning have all the influence
they need and that  the bill does not impact their ability to protest a
rezoning to their city council members.  He argued that the supermajority
aspect of the protest petition right is unfair to developers.  The champions
in favor of keeping the protest petition right were Senators Mike Woodard
and Floyd McKissick of Durham, Senator Joyce Waddell of Charlotte, and
Senator Terry Van Duyn of Asheville.  

 

Woodard led with an impassioned speech about how important the protest
petition right is to level the playing field between developers with their
huge resources and ordinary citizens trying to protect their homes and
neighborhoods.  He proposed a compromise amendment that would raise the
signing threshold for a protest petition from the owners of 5% to 15% of the
100 foot-deep band of land surrounding the property to be rezoned.  The
amendment would also eliminate the supermajority requirement for city
councils of 5 or fewer members and reduce the supermajority vote of the city
council from 75%  to a simple majority plus one vote when the city council
has more than 5 members.  Even this drastic cut of the petition right was
unsatisfactory to most senators.  The amendment failed by a vote of 15 to
33.

 

Senator Waddell spoke at length about how important it is to protect healthy
and stable neighborhoods from unwanted development.  She defended the rights
of ordinary homeowners to protect  their  investments in their homes.  She
pointed out that the value of the protest petition wasn't in it impact on
final council votes, but in the fact that it brings developers to the table
with their neighbors.

 

Senator McKissick noted that many city officials had contacted the senate to
ask that the protest petition right to be preserved as a valuable part of
the process in their communities.  McKissick asked the proponents of the
bill whether they would object to allowing each city decide for itself
whether to include a protest petition in its own zoning procedures.  He
argued that protest petitions yield better results in land use matters.  He
objected to allowing the bill to be read a third and final time today so
that he could have time to work on a local option provision for the bill.

 

The bill will come up for its required third reading in the Senate tomorrow
at 11 a.m.  We expect more amendments to be offered.

 

Please ask the senate to support reasonable amendments to give ordinary
people a fair chance in rezoning cases and local governments the right to
include protest petitions in their local ordinances.

 

Again, here are the e-mail addresses of all N.C. Senators:

 

 <mailto:John.Alexander at ncleg.net> John.Alexander at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Tom.Apodaca at ncleg.net> Tom.Apodaca at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Dan.Blue at ncleg.net> Dan.Blue at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Andrew.Brock at ncleg.net> Andrew.Brock at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Angela.Bryant at ncleg.net> Angela.Bryant at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Ben.Clark at ncleg.net> Ben.Clark at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Bill.Cook at ncleg.net> Bill.Cook at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Warren.Daniel at ncleg.net> Warren.Daniel at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Joel.Ford at ncleg.net> Joel.Ford at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Valerie.Foushee at ncleg.net> Valerie.Foushee at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Kathy.Harrington at ncleg.net> Kathy.Harrington at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Brent.Jackson at ncleg.net> Brent.Jackson at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Joyce.Krawiec at ncleg.net> Joyce.Krawiec at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Michael.Lee at ncleg.net> Michael.Lee at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Tom.McInnis at ncleg.net> Tom.McInnis at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Floyd.McKissick at ncleg.net> Floyd.McKissick at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Buck.Newton at ncleg.net> Buck.Newton at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Bill.Rabon at ncleg.net> Bill.Rabon at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Bob.Rucho at ncleg.net> Bob.Rucho at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Norman.Sanderson at ncleg.net> Norman.Sanderson at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Jane.Smith at ncleg.net> Jane.Smith at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Dan.Soucek at ncleg.net> Dan.Soucek at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Josh.Stein at ncleg.net> Josh.Stein at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Jerry.Tillman at ncleg.net> Jerry.Tillman at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Joyce.Waddell at ncleg.net> Joyce.Waddell at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Rick.Gunn at ncleg.net> Rick.Gunn at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Wesley.Meredith at ncleg.net> Wesley.Meredith at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Tamara.Barringer at ncleg.net> Tamara.Barringer at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Harry.Brown at ncleg.net> Harry.Brown at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Chad.Barefoot at ncleg.net> Chad.Barefoot at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Phil.Berger at ncleg.net> Phil.Berger at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Stan.Bingham at ncleg.net> Stan.Bingham at ncleg.net;
<mailto:David.Curtis at ncleg.net> David.Curtis at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Don.Davis at ncleg.net> Don.Davis at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Jim.Davis at ncleg.net> Jim.Davis at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Kathy.Harrington at ncleg.net> Kathy.Harrington at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Fletcher.Hartsell at ncleg.net> Fletcher.Hartsell at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Jeff.Jackson at ncleg.net> Jeff.Jackson at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Ralph.Hise at ncleg.net> Ralph.Hise at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Paul.Lowe at ncleg.net> Paul.Lowe at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Louis.Pate at ncleg.net> Louis.Pate at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Ron.Rabin at ncleg.net> Ron.Rabin at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Shirley.Randleman at ncleg.net> Shirley.Randleman at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Gladys.Robinson at ncleg.net> Gladys.Robinson at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Erica.Smith-Ingram at ncleg.net> Erica.Smith-Ingram at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Jeff.Tarte at ncleg.net> Jeff.Tarte at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Tommy.Tucker at ncleg.net> Tommy.Tucker at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Trudy.Wade at ncleg.net> Trudy.Wade at ncleg.net;
<mailto:Andy.Wells at ncleg.net> Andy.Wells at ncleg.net; Mike.Woodard at ncleg.net

 

Before I close, let me offer a shout out to all of the neighborhood
advocates who have come to Raleigh in the last few days.  Marcel Dawson has
come all the way from Charlotte twice!  

 

Thank you to everyone for your patience and your steadfast support.

 

Tom Miller

Durham

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