Thursday 23rd of May 2013


news menu leftnews menu right
top news photography Putting it in park

Ridgway police investigate a car that rolled into Hartwell Park last week and came to rest against the swing set. The owner did not set the brake properly. Fortunately, no one was hurt and the owner's dog that was in the car was not ticketed for driving without a license. Read more...

Visual impact hearing rules set | Print |  E-mail
Saturday, 02 February 2013 20:45

The proposed draft is available at www.ouraynews.com and will be on the county's website.
Thursday night commissioners discussed procedures for the public hearing, including the most equitable, yet efficient, way to take public comment. They agreed individuals will have three minutes to speak, and time cannot be donated by another person to a speaker. Those who wish to speak will sign in, designating "For" or "Against." That way, the commission can alternate speakers on each side. Members of the public will be able to submit written comments also.
Groups of individuals with similar viewpoints can have one speaker for 15 minutes, who can give a prepared presentation. Groups will go first, alternating as described above.
Lipton cautioned commissioners to be disciplined and not engage in back and forth with speakers. "Please review your code of ethics and code of conduct before the hearing," he said.
Copies of the "public packet" will be at the door and available prior to the hearing on the county's website. The public packet will include the BOCC's 2010 draft of a revised Section 9; BOCC Resolution 2010-45, directing OCPC to address 12 issues; current Section 9; OCPC's current draft of a revised Section 9; two spreadsheets showing criteria used to determine whether a road should be added to the view corridor list; comparison of current point system and proposed point system when applied to various buildings; a list of how OCPC addressed each of the 12 issues; and, an historical point system analysis.
On display at the hearing will be a map of proposed view corridors and an illustration of 'distance from road' mitigation. Land use staff members will present the draft to the public at the hearing, showing the proposed changes to each part of Section 9.
County Attorney Marti Whitmore explained that the OCPC's report to the Board of County Commissioners will consist of the record, including the draft document, minutes, recordings of meetings, etc. She also said it would not be appropriate for the two bodies to have a joint work session for the OCPC to present the draft.
Whitmore also advised the county commissioners not to attend OCPC's public hearing.
"There is no need for a group report," she said. Asked by Commissioner Tim Currin about a "minority report," Whitmore said when the roll is called for a vote on the draft, each commissioner may make a statement, oral or written, expressing personal reasons for their vote.
"The proposed draft needs to stand on its own," Whitmore said. "Why you made specific decisions (throughout the drafting process) is irrelevant, and you each have a different perspective on it...The appropriate time to present your opinion and any explanation is in the record. It is not appropriate to go to the BOCC hearing and say what you intended."
Whitmore said the record must be as clean as it can be, as one has to assume there could be litigation. Commissioner Randy Parker asked if her comment could be a rallying cry for opponents, but Whitmore replied that a Rule 106 action would examine only whether the BOCC had sufficient basis in the record to justify its decision.
"There is a perception that the public hearing is to convince the public," Chair Ken Lipton said. "But the reason for the public hearing is to take comment from the public. We need to show the BOCC how we arrived at our decision by virtue of our record."
Whitmore said commissioners could respond to questions if they felt the need to, but the better practice would be to make a statement when the vote is taken.
Parker said the BOCC gave the OCPC 12 specific tasks in its resolution, and he felt the OCPC should explain how each one was completed.
"But this is a different BOCC," Currin said.
"Yes, but they didn't change the resolution," Lipton countered.
Planning commission alternate John Baskfield said Wednesday in an email that he will not be able to attend the Feb. 26 hearing.
County Planner Mark Castrodale said anyone can visit the Land Use Office at 111 Mall Rd. in Ridgway to get copies of any materials from the last three years of visual impact meetings.
Last Updated on Saturday, 02 February 2013 20:56
 


Powered by Joomla!. Valid XHTML and CSS.