Agenda - 05-05-2016 - 5-a - Minutes

Browse Search

1 1 Attachment 3 2 3 DRAFT MINUTES 4 BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 5 Legislative Breakfast 6 April 18, 2016 7 8:30 a.m. 8 9 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a breakfast meeting with the Orange 10 County Legislative Delegation on Monday, April 18, 2016 at 8:30 a.m. at the Solid Waste 11 Administrative Offices in Chapel Hill, N.C. 12 13 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair McKee and Commissioners Mia Burroughs, Mark 14 Dorosin, Barry Jacobs, Bernadette Pelissier, Renee Price and Penny Rich 15 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: 16 COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: John Roberts 17 COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Bonnie Hammersley, Deputy County Manager Travis 18 Myren, Clerk to the Board Donna Baker, Finance Director Gary Donaldson, Assistant to Manager for 19 Legislative Affairs Greg Wilder (All other staff members will be identified appropriately below) 20 LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION PRESENT: Senator Valerie Foushee, Representative Verla Insko, 21 Representative Graig Meyer 22 23 Chair McKee called the meeting to order at 8:42 a.m. 24 25 Chair McKee said the Board of Commissioners is pursuing avenues to repeal HB2. 26 27 Chair McKee said the Board had prioritized their legislative items and referred to their agenda package 28 with their priorities listed and discussion ensued on the various issues and the priority topics first. 29 30 Chair McKee asked that the discussion on the Bona Fide Farms topic be moved to the first item under 31 priority discussion since there were several members of the public in attendance for this item. 32 33 PRIORITY DISCUSSION TOPICS 34 35 Bona Fide Farms — Item #26 36 • Support legislation clarifying the farm use and agriculture exemption of 153A-340 that restricts 37 local zoning authority applies only to property on which the production of crops or livestock is 38 the primary use. Clarify that marketing and agri-tourism activities must be secondary uses of 39 the property and do not qualify for the exemption in the absence of the production of crops or 40 livestock. Local governments are seeing an increasing number of properties that, although they 41 meet one or more criteria for exemption, such as having a federal farm 42 43 Representative Insko asked if there was any legislation on the books with Bona Fide farms and Chair 44 McKee said no but they are looking for clarification on this issue. 45 46 John Roberts said any clarification/changes would need to be done through legislation. 47 Commissioner Pelissier had asked John Roberts to submit this proposed item to our internal 48 Legislative Issues Work Group because many individuals are trying to circumvent the rules on this 49 issue in this county. 50 51 John Roberts said currently all the statute requires to avoid regulation is the property owner meet one 52 of five criteria such as having a forestry plan that need not be approved by any governmental agency.