[Durham INC] Zoning Bill Clears Senate

[Tom Miller]

Dear Neighbors:

 

Today, before leaving for their holiday break, the Senate passed H 201, the
protest petition repeal bill, on its third reading.  The vote was 39 to 10.
Voting no were Senators Don Davis, Valerie Foushee,  Jeff Jackson, Floyd
McKissick, Gladys Robinson, Josh Stein, Terry Van Duyn, Joyce Waddell, Mike
Woodard, and John Alexander.  If you can, please let these senators know how
much you appreciate their support.  Their e-mail addresses are in the
message I sent you yesterday.  No amendments to the bill were offered today,
however, it is my understanding that there may be a bi-partisan effort afoot
to amend another bill to provide for a 30-day minimum notice period before a
zoning case is decided by a city council.  I have also been informed that
not all of the sponsors are on board with this idea.

 

Because the Senate changed the bill from the version it received from the
House, it must go back to the House for what is called "concurrence."  A
concurrence vote is an up or down vote.  A bill under consideration for
concurrence cannot be amended.  Although the Senate took out the 30-day
notice provision the house put in the bill, it seems unlikely that the house
will vote against concurrence over this change.  If the House concurs with
the Senate version of the bill, its political journey within the chambers of
the General Assembly will be over.  It will then go to Governor McCrory for
his signature or veto.  

 

Our next effort, then, is to ask the governor to veto the bill.  Here's what
we can do:

 

1)            Please send an e-mail to Governor McCrory and ask him to veto
House Bill 201.  You may wish to remind him that as Mayor of Charlotte he
must have seen many cases in which development proposasl were dramatically
improved as a result of negotiations between developers and their neighbors
- negotiations spurred by the existence of the protest petition right.  To
email the governor, visit www.governor.state.nc.us and hit the "Contact" and
then the "E-mail Governor McCrory" buttons.  I am sorry I do not have direct
e-mail address to share with you.  These days, a real old fashioned paper
letter sometimes carries more weight than an e-mail message.  If you wish to
write the governor, send your letter to Pat McCrory, Governor of North
Carolina, 20301 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-0301.  If you choose
this route, act fast as letters are slow and I do not know how much time we
have. 

 

2)            Please share this message with your contacts in your
neighborhoods.

 

3)            Write a short letter to the editor of your local newspaper
about the importance of the protest petition right to ordinary citizens and
good planning.

 

We are all disappointed in the way things are going.  I, for one, cannot
imagine how any member of the General Assembly can return to his
constituents and boast that he voted to take away a right granted to them
more than 90 years ago in order to help developers and speculators who are
already winning about 90% of their zone change requests.  But, having said
that, it is important to make our best arguments without rancor.

 

Thank you for allowing me to intrude on your peace of mind day after day and
thanks to all of you who have answered the call and have joined in the fight
to preserve the protest petition right.

 

Tom Miller

Durham


 

 

 

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