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