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<br />as <br />Orange County Board of Commissioners <br />Page 3 <br />March 13, 2006 <br />Questions about conflicts of interest frequently arise in <br />,land use planning decisions. I have included Attachment D, a <br />summary of the law on conflicts of interest applicable in land <br />use planning decisions, prepared by David Owens, Professor of <br />the School of Government. As you will see as you review Mr. <br />Owens' summary, the "rules" are intuitive. <br />Constitutional requirements applicable to land use permit <br />decisions resulted in the 2005 amendments to N.C. Gen. Stat. S <br />153A-44. Permit decisions require an impartial decision maker <br />and prohibit undisclosed ex parte communications, close familial <br />business or other associational relationship with an affected <br />person and so forth. Copies of N.C. Gen. Stat. ~ 153A-340(g) and <br />N.C. Gen. Stat. ~ 153A-345(e1) are Attachments E and F. The <br />Board of Commissioners, when it considers and makes decisions on <br />Class A Special Use Permit applications, is subject to the. <br />requirements of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 153A-345(e1). Similarly, N.C. <br />Gen. Stat. ~ 153A-355 (Attachment G), contains conflict of <br />interest prohibitions with respect to building inspectors and <br />building inspections. A copy of that statute is enclosed. <br />Conflicts of interest principles affect County <br />Commissioners and County employees in other areas, the most <br />common being contracts between the government and its public <br />officers or its employees. These rules are summarized in another <br />School of Government publication by Professor Frayda Bluestein, <br />a copy of which is Attachment H. Attachment H also summarizes <br />N.C. Gen. Stat. ~ 132-32, a law regulating "gifts and favors." <br />Orange County also must meet federal conflict of interest <br />requirements when it accepts federal money. For example, the <br />Board will be asked at its March 21, 2006 meeting to approve <br />Attachment I, a Code of Conduct/Hatch Act Policy, the approval <br />of which is a requirement for the County's receiving FY 2005 <br />Community Development Block Grant funds. <br />I have also enclosed documents which may help you consider <br />this issue which are in the form of "codes." That is, they <br />prescribe ethical conduct. Comparing-code requirements with <br />legal requirements demonstrates that frequently code <br />requirements are also legal requirements including legal <br />prohibitions. The NACo Code of Ethics for County Officials is <br />