HomeMy WebLinkAboutC.054.93011_1222curtailed on one side, it would pop up elsewhere. She said no growth approaches were responsible for
"leapfrog" development patterns. Mrs. Bowen said the influx of new people would continue, and the
measures being studied would not slow the movement. She said housing prices would increase if fewer
houses were available, and this primarily hurt the service workers. Bowen proposed that a committee
(15 people) be established with representation from the homebuilder's association and other stakeholder
members -- planning staff, schools, fire/police, chambers of commerce, municipalities, and landowners.
She requested that the proposals be remanded to the planning board for further study.
Anna Bonham, an investment broker, and a resident in the Brawley School Road area, said she
wanted to speak in regards to property -owner rights. She said that in speaking with residents in the
area, most everyone said the failure to plan for adequate public facilities was the major problem.
Bonham said, "Let's not make the mistakes of the past, let's do something to fix it."
Brian Robinette, President of the Lake Norman Homebuilders Association said restrictive land -
use policies had been a "disaster" in other areas. He said growth planning forced more and more
families in high-density areas thereby reducing the availability of housing. Robinette said this not only
increased housing prices but also the tax rate. Robinette said smart growth policies led to sprawl, and
this had an impact on land for development. He said lot restrictions would decrease the number of lots
in a development by approximately one-third or even up to fifty percent. Robinette said property
owners holding large tracts, usually farmers, would feel the most negative impact. He said tax values
were based on market values, and if market values decreased, so would tax values. Robinette asked
how the county would make up the difference -- through higher taxes or a reduction in services. He
requested that the proposals be remanded to the planning board and a stakeholders committee be
formed.
Ken Jamev, a resident in the East Monbo Road area, spoke about development and its
relationship with fire services. He said the Ratings Supervisor for the Office of the State Fire Marshal
had indicated that water delivery was the primary factor preventing Iredell's fire departments from
achieving ratings that offered homeowners and businesses the best insurance premium benefits. Jumey
said test results showed that inadequate water supply prevented district wide six ratings for Cool
Springs, Trinity, Troutman, and the West Iredell Fire Departments resulting in homeowner insurance
premiums being more than $2 million higher. Mr. Jurney requested that fire chiefs have input regarding
fire hydrant placements. In addition, he requested that for developments with water mains, that they be
required to have fire hydrants within 1,000 ft. of all lots. He said that for developments where mains
didn't exist, to require installation of a minimum 30,000 gallon water storage tank with well and hydrant
availability accessible to a loaded fire truck in all weather conditions, or to provide an accessible
minimum 30,000 gallon water source (pond, lake, stream) with a dry -hydrant accessible to a loaded fire
truck.
Bill Ballatow, a realtor with Allen Tate Realty, requested for the proposals to be tabled for
further study. He said it was a misconception to think realtors made their money by selling expensive
Iake homes. Ballatow said in contrast, they made their living by selling the $50,000 to $100,000 or the
$300,000 to $400,000 homes to average people. He said in several areas of Mooresville, the housing
demand surpassed what was available. Ballatow said industries and companies were being recruited,
but the workers were finding it difficult to locate affordable housing. He said larger minimum lots
hurt only one group -- the working class. He said the health department could tell the builder if the tot
would perk for three bedrooms or more. Ballatow said the taxpayers approved a school bond
referendum by over a two -to -one margin to fund new schools, and this indicated a willingness to pay
higher taxes.
Darren Sandman, a property owner off the Amity Hill Road, said growth could not be stopped,
and if the proposals passed, the developers would just clear even more land to meet the guidelines. He
said the environment wasn't really being helped when huge swaths of land were cleared by the
developers. Mr. Sandman requested that the costs be passed to the builders -- not to the property
owners. He said his tax values would plummet, if he tried to sell his property. Sandman asked for
lower taxes if the proposals passed.
Vickie Kidd, owner of Kidd Realty in Mooresville, said part of her work involved the grouping
of large tracts of land for sale to developers. She said recently in Mecklenburg County, when lot sizes
changed, a project had to be completely cancelled by the developer, and this negatively impacted the