Orange County NC Website
4. Proclamations/ Resolutions/ Special Presentations <br /> a. Address and Road Naming Ordinance Update <br /> The Board received an update on the Road Naming and Addressing Ordinance. <br /> This update was given by Dwane Brinson, the Tax Administrator. He introduced <br /> Tammy Walker, the Land Records/GIS Manager, who was there to answer questions. <br /> Dwane Brinson gave brief background on this issue. He said the Board formally <br /> adopted a Road Naming and Addressing Ordinance in December, 2011, and a letter was <br /> mailed to all affected residents on August 29, 2012. He said this letter explained the <br /> ordinance requirements and it did not cite non-compliance. <br /> He said a presentation was given to the Board on March 7, 2013 after the addressing <br /> responsibilities were moved to the tax office. <br /> Dwane Brinson said the issues identified last March are coming to fruition in greater <br /> numbers than expected. He reviewed the following issues as outlined in the abstract: <br /> Pervasive Issues Encountered in 2013 <br /> After adoption of the Ordinance, a letter was sent to Orange County residents in <br /> August, 2012 notifying them of the Ordinance requirements, and it provided information <br /> regarding signage and posting of addresses. This caused residents to go out and purchase <br /> house number signs, often from their local fire departments, prior to them being reviewed for <br /> compliance. Once reviewed, the residents were notified of new house numbers to be in <br /> compliance with the Ordinance. As a result, residents had to purchase a second sign with the <br /> correct house numbers, except in the Orange Grove Fire Department. Orange Grove was able <br /> to locate a chemical that would allow the removal of the numbers. <br /> A second issue pertains to mobile home parks, a top priority identified in our implementation <br /> plan. A mobile home park is defined by the tax office as at least three mobile homes on one <br /> parcel, generally. It was quickly discovered that most mobile homes within mobile home parks <br /> were addressed at the main road instead of the mobile home park road. Hypothetically, an <br /> emergency responder would receive an emergency call for 102 Wide Branch Lane, unit 3, a <br /> mobile home park. The only reference of said address was at the mobile home park entrance <br /> on Wide Branch Lane. Once the emergency responder arrived at the mobile home park, no <br /> identification could be located on any mobile home within the mobile home park. <br /> The Ordinance does not permit such an addressing system as each mobile home within the <br /> park must have identification on the lot itself, and the addresses must reference the road within <br /> the mobile home park if the road is at least 75 feet in length rather than, for example only, <br /> Wide <br /> Branch Lane. A collaborative approach was taken to remedy these issues once discovered. <br /> Tax office staff, the Orange Grove fire chief and the mobile home park owner walked the entire <br /> park on foot to identify issues. Subsequently, the parties involved developed an addressing <br /> system that complied with the Ordinance. After a collaborative plan was agreed upon, the tax <br /> office mailed formal notification letters to the owner(s) and the addressing system was <br /> established. <br /> As a final example of large-scale issues encountered in 2013, it was discovered that, after GIS <br /> was moved under the tax office, a great number of residents were essentially queued as a <br /> result of the letter mailed in August, 2012. Residents had received a letter explaining the <br /> Ordinance and its requirements, which prompted thousands of calls into county offices for <br />