Orange County NC Website
:: <br />Approved 12/3/14 <br />323 <br />324 Paul Guthrie: It may be a little bit of a pain if we have to look at a million items but it could serve a useful purpose <br />325 and it could expedite the process. <br />326 <br />327 Tony Blake: 99.99% of the time, staff is correct that it meets or doesn't meet....but there are cases where there is <br />328 something they are not aware of. <br />329 <br />330 Lisa Stuckey: But we can't receive that information. <br />331 <br />332 Tony Blake: If staff says it meets this checklist and you know otherwise, that is not testimony.... <br />333 <br />334 Lisa Stuckey: When we go through the checklist, is that before or after the public hearing? <br />335 <br />336 Perdita Holtz: After the public hearing. <br />337 <br />338 Lisa Stuckey: The Planning Board is not allowed to take additional testimony so we can't insert things we have <br />339 heard. <br />340 <br />341 Craig Benedict: You can ask questions. You can ask the applicant to provide information. <br />342 <br />343 Lisa Stuckey: Can you ask a member of the public who spoke? <br />344 <br />345 Craig Benedict: You have the right to cross examine anyone at the hearing. <br />346 <br />347 Lisa Stuckey: If we don't have a quorum and we come back to our meeting, are we allowed to go forward with the <br />348 checklist? If a quorum of the Planning Board is not required at the public hearing, can we proceed? <br />349 <br />350 Lydia Wegman: What would be the role of the Planning Board after the public hearing? <br />351 <br />352 James Bryan: From a legal standpoint, the public hearing, as the trial, once that is closed, there will be no other <br />353 comments considered by the Board except for the Board talking among themselves and to their attorney. My belief <br />354 now is the current process, if we have a written comment after the hearing is closed, it should not be considered from <br />355 a legal perspective. <br />356 <br />357 Lydia Wegman: The way it is set up now, any comment that comes in after the public hearing are a problem? <br />358 <br />359 James Bryan: Yes. <br />360 <br />361 Lydia Wegman: Your concern is whatever comments are coming in have to come in at the public hearing or before <br />362 the public hearing? <br />363 <br />364 James Bryan: At the public hearing, at the trial because everything the Board hears, all the parties, which is a legal <br />365 term, anything the Board hears, I get to hear it being spoken to them, I get to question whoever speaks it to the <br />366 Board. <br />367 <br />368 Paul Guthrie: Does that also preclude the BOCC in considering the trial of discussing it? You used the analogy of <br />369 the jury system. A jury can discuss in its own quarters. Who is the jury? <br />370 <br />371 James Bryan: The BOCC. After the public hearing is closed, the only words they can hear are what they heard at <br />372 the hearing. As a practice, in some jurisdictions, there is no planning board meeting. Other jurisdictions have it set <br />373 up where it goes to the planning board first and they have a mock hearing. A dry run. <br />374 <br />375 Lydia Wegman: Also an opportunity for citizenry to have information about what is required. <br />376 <br />7 <br />