HomeMy WebLinkAboutC.054.93011_1225 (2)five had occurred in the targeted area, and out of those, there was minimal impact when going from
30,000 to 40,000 sq. ft. (5%). Niblock said three would have an average of about a 20-25% reduction in
the number of lots based on what had been recorded this year.
Chris Dawes, a resident of the Brawley peninsula since 1994, said she was a member of the
Brawley School Road Citizens Committee. She said the Brawley School Road improvement timeline
had been delayed two -and -a -half years with a completion date of 2010. Dawes said the road was
handling three times more than capacity, and there was one -way -in and one -way-out. She said there
were safety issues, and it was already known that 264 additional homes were to be built. Dawes said
that if the road improvements were delayed, the new construction should also be delayed. She said the
Brawley Citizens Committee members strongly supported the two proposals presented at the meeting.
Bill Ballatow, realtor with Allen Tate Realty, said the moratorium was wrong for a great portion
of the targeted area.
John Masse v said he had lived in the Perth Road area all his life, and he was opposed to the
moratorium. Massey said he didn't know what could be accomplished in six months. He said (1)
family members desired to sell their property located in the area to pay for medical and nursing home
expenses and (2) a moratorium was an invasion of property rights.
Robb Collier, the Vice President of the Iredell County Homebuilders Association and local
realtor, asked if normal protocol had been used regarding the moratorium issue. He said homebuilders
were not causing the growth problems, rather the industry was responding to a need. Collier said that
when industry was recruited, it should be known that employees would need homes, schools, fire and
police protection, water and roads. He said the wrong message was being sent --
"We want industry and jobs, but we don't want the challenges associated with them." He said the jobs
created prosperity for all people in the community.
Roy Hauf said he had lived in the "state's biggest cul de sac" (Brawley School Road) since
1976. He said early on, he knew additional residents would move to the area, and the statement,
"We've got ours, but we don't want more people moving in," was not true. Mr. Hauf said he was
distressed that the Brawley School Road was lumped in with other areas of the county, especially since
Brawley had serious problems. He said regardless of what happened with the moratorium, something
was needed to help the Brawley area. He suggested that a moratorium, just on the Brawley School
Road, be approved.
No one else desired to speak, and Chairman Tice adjourned the hearing.
Commissioner Johnson said governing Iredell County was a challenge due to its diversity. He
said it was the only county in America that bordered nine other counties. Johnson said consequently,
there were two distinct cultures -- rural/agricultural in the north and increasingly urban in the southern
end. Mr. Johnson said it took $451,005 in tax base to keep one child in school per year. He said that
tax base wasn't achieved by the typical entry level homeowner with two kids, and these had to be
subsidized by someone else. Johnson said Iredell County funded the schools well above the state
average per student -- way above average on capital. He said that in North Carolina, counties did not
build roads, and state officials in the past ten years had "robbed" $1.5 billion out of the Highway Trust
Fund. He said if the state officials had been competent in the handling of the funds, discussions on
congested roads would not be occurring. Johnson said North Carolina had the highest gasoline tax in
the southeast, but yet, traveling anywhere over the NC line a person could find gas cheaper and roads
in better condition. He said that in spite of the state having a $2.4 billion surplus this year, the officials
spent it all, and then still took $175 million out of the Highway Trust Fund.
Johnson said his concerns about increasing the lot sizes stemmed from the fact that county staff
members were in the process of re-evaluation. He said the figures from this process would become the
basis for the new budget in a few months, or in January at the Winter Planning Session. Johnson said
that if the lot sizes were increased, the staff would have only a full two months to arrive at a
comparative sales analysis before tax bills were mailed. Mr. Johnson said he preferred not to make
decisions on a $140 to $150 million budget based on a two month real estate sales history.
Additionally, he said some people couldn't afford to live in large houses. He said obstacles should not
be created to prevent them from having a home. Mr. Johnson said that even though counties did not
build roads, people should be able to expect a reasonable response time from emergency vehicles,