The Seven Lakes Aeromodelers can, for now, continue to fly their remote-controlled planes on a tract of land near West End on NC Highway 73, Planning Director Joey Raczkowski told The Times after the Tuesday, April 7 meeting of the Moore County Planning Board.
But the Planning Department will make another stab at defining "outdoor recreation" in the Zoning Ordinance, in order to ensure recreational activities are appropriate to the zoning district in which they occur.
Planners discovered they needed a definition for “outdoor recreation” when property owners Andy and Elizabeth Blackwell of Raleigh, who own a ten-acre lot zoned Residential Agricultural RA-5 on Highway 73 near its intersection with Beulah Hill Church Road, filed a complaint about the noise level the Seven Lakes Aeromodelers Club was producing on an adjacent sixty-acre tract they lease and use to fly their radio-controlled model airplanes.
The Club’s President, Bill Sherman, represented the organization at the hearing and said they have not received noise complaints from any other neighbors. The Club also questioned if noise truly is the issue, since the Blackwells do not live on the undeveloped ten-acre tract they own.
Neil Yarborough, Blackwell’s attorney, said that the Club is in violation of the the property’s RA-5 zoning -- which discourages high traffic volumes -- and argued that the violation is occurring whether or not the Blackwells actually live on the property.
Sherman rebutted Yarborough's claim, reporting that the Club’s operating hours are on Wednesdays and Fridays from nine to noon, with at most ten to twelve cars at the site on flying days.
"This club has been in violation for five months," Yarborough said, "and, instead of punishing them, you [the Board] are trying to legalize this violation,” by changing the County’s zoning ordinances.
Board tables the matter
The County’s Zoning Ordinance does not address the use of model airplanes or define other types of outdoor recreation, so the Planning Department was tasked with developing a text amendment to the Zoning Ordinance, which was presented to the Planning Board in a Public Hearing during Tuesday's meeting.
Planner Robert Farrell presented the Board with a proposed definition that enumerated the types of outdoor recreation permitted in various zoning districts, but that approach met with skepticism from Planning Board members.
Farrell explained that activities not listed in the zoning ordinance are prohibited, rather than permitted by "omission." But Planning Board member Bernard Capstick said that would set up “a never ending list” in the ordinance, if every activity has to be recorded.
With other members in agreement, the Board tabled consideration of the amendment and asked the Planning Department to return to them with new draft language that better defines “outdoor recreation.”
Raczkowski told the Board he would consult with County Attorney Misty Leland about the alleged violation of the existing ordinance. He told The Times after the meeting that, for the time being, the Aeromodelers can continue to fly their planes on the adjacent property.
Other Business
In other business during the Planning Board’s Tuesday, April 7 meeting:
• Long Range Planner Jeremy Rust presented information on the Land Use Plan Advisory Committee [LUPAC] and on public participation in the revision of the County's Land Use Plan. The next step for the Advisory Committee is for the Board of Commissioners to approve the formation of a committee of 9-15 individuals, who will meet twice a month for eighteen months. Rust described LUPAC as a “Rubic’s Cube” to include purpose, people, methods, and evaluation by Moore County citizens.
• The Board approved by an eight to one vote the scheduling of three-hour work sessions, dedicated solely to revising the Unified Development Ordinance, to be held the second Thursday of every month. Further details will be presented at the Board’s regular meeting in May.
• The Board tabled a discussion of time limits on public participation during public hearings until their next meeting.
• Planner Tim Garner reviewed Article 6: Zoning Districts of the Unified Development Ordinance.
