Rodney Pickler resigned from the Moore County Planning Board at the conclusion of its Thursday, July 11 regular meeting, to the surprise of Chairman Robert Hayter and most Planning Board members.
"When I was in school, I made all A's," Pickler said. "A Beta Club member. I took the IQ test; they didn't believe it; and I had to take it over again."
"But I don't feel like I'm smart enough for this Planning Staff or for the Commissioners of Moore County. So, I am officially resigning, as of right now. That's it."
A surprised Chairman Hayter thanked Pickler for his service, but Pickler, already on his way out of the meeting room, replied, "I don't want a recognition award. I won't show up; so don't bother."
Pickler did not explain the reasons for his resignation beyond those brief comments, and Hayter told The Times that Pickler had not notified the Chair in advance of his intention to resign.
However, other Board Members suggested that Pickler was motivated by the Planning Staff's decision to forward zoning ordinance text amendments permitting industrial scale solar farms to the Board of Commissioners, even though the Planning Board had unanimously opposed the proposed rules.
The Commissioners ultimately approved the text amendments in a unanimous vote. Pickler had criticized the tax subsidies received by North Carolina solar farms during the Planning Board's discussion of the proposed amendments.
Pickler was appointed to the Planning Board in 2009; his current three-year term was scheduled to expire in June 2015.
Quarter-Acre Seven Lakes West Rezoning Approved
In other business during Thursday's meeting, the Planning Board registered unanimous support for the rezoning of 0.22 acres near the front gate of Seven Lakes West from Gated Community - Seven Lakes to Village Business.
The quarter acre is part of a 1.77 acre tract that runs along the right side of the entrance lane of Lakeway Drive and includes the real estate sales office near the gate.
The bulk of that property is zoned Village Business; surveyor Ronnie Graham, representing property owner James R. Kirkpatrick, told the Board that the small 0.22 acre triangle at the south end of the tract had been mistakenly zoned Gated Community - Seven Lakes when the original zoning lines were drawn.
Graham said Kirkpatrick's goal was to have the entire tract zoned consistently, so that it can be developed commercially.
Rezonings must be approved by the Board of Commissioners, so the request will move next to that body's agenda, carrying with it a unanimous recommendation of approval from the Planning Board.
College Seeks Transfer of Control Over Watershed
The Board also supported, during Thursday's meeting, the transfer of control over 4,825 acres of public water supply watershed from Moore County to the Town of Southern Pines.
The request for the change originated from Sandhills Community College, which eventually plans to build on now vacant property that lies on either side of Airport Road, in both the Nick's Creek and Little River II Public Water Supply Watersheds. That property falls within Southern Pines' planning jurisdiction.
State rules restrict the amount of impervious surface — roofs and parking lots, for example — that can be built in watersheds. But the state gives local governments flexibility in administering the restrictions, so that density limits can be exceeded on a given piece of property, so long as they are not exceeded in aggregate.
The County currently administers those restrictions on the college's property, but, for technical reasons, the College would benefit from having that authority transferred to Southern Pines.
The Planning Board voted unanimously to support that request, and forward it to the Board of Commissioners for a final decision.
Mistake Corrected
Also during Thursday's meeting, the Board approved an amendment to a conditional use permit for an Accessory Dwelling Unit that corrected an error in the original permit.
Planner Jeremy Sparrow explained that the five-acre property, on Aiken Road near Vass, had been subdivided into two lots in 1999. But that fact was overlooked when the owner applied for a conditional use permit that allowed him to install a manufactured home straddling the property line that divides the two lots.
The Board approved an amendment that moves the property line sufficiently to leave the structure on only one, rather than both, of the lots.
Sign Ordinance Discussed
Presenting the final installment of a three-part review of options for revising the County's sign ordinance, Planner Jeremy Rust briefed the Board on signs with changeable copy, as well as LED signs, which can display a wide range of changeable, color images.
Representatives of two sign companies were on hand, and brought with them an example of an LED sign, mounted in the bed of a pickup truck.
Rust explained that LED signs are not permitted by the County's current ordinance. Most Board members seemed inclined to alter the ordinance to permit the signs, though Todd Williams and Molly Boggis both expressed concerns that the signs may not be appropriate in some settings.
Williams asked whether the use of LED signs could be restricted to daylight hours, to avoid light pollution invading neighboring properties. He also expressed concern that the signs can add to the sensory confusion caused for drivers entering a brightly lit intersection.
"We may want to think about what kind of image our County projects along major byways," Boggis said.
Sand Mine Tabled
A request from McDonald Family Farms for a conditional use rezoning that would permit the operation of a sand mine on fifty acres along NC Highway 211 near the Pine Valley subdivision was tabled at the applicant's request.
It is expected to be on the agenda of the Planning Board next scheduled meeting, on Thursday, August 8.
Blake & Harris Honored
Former Planning Board members Martha Blake and Ralph Harris were honored for their service during Thursday's meeting.
