Agenda 5-a - Unified Development Ordinance Text Amendment - Flags and Flagpoles

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Approved 5/2/2018 167 Alex Gregory said that content neutral means the board is not discussing or regulating what appears on a flag. 168 169 Randy Marshall invited the public to comment. 170 171 Ryan Barnett addressed the board. He said he lives in Sanford, North Carolina, and he thinks that this proposed 172 ordinance is a great mistake. He is a veteran and he believes that this is an attempt to constrict people’s 173 constitutional rights. This is about the Confederate flag, he said. People are not really educated on this flag, he said. 174 He said the flag is not about hate. He said he is from New York and was brainwashed in school to think the 175 Confederate flag was about hate. He said restricting the Confederate flag is part of a historical purge. He urged the 176 Planning Board to defeat the ordinance amendment and he said there will be lawsuits filed if the county passes this 177 ordinance, and he said the county will see more Confederate flags if the county passes this ordinance. 178 179 Katherine Walker addressed the board. She said she was born and raised in Orange County and lives in 180 Hillsborough and is in full support of this revision. She asked some questions. After one year, will flagpoles out of 181 compliance be required to comply? Also, if the house covers the area that is 50 feet back, can the flagpole be placed 182 on the house and how tall can it be? And her third question is if a tree is used as a flagpole, does the flag flying have 183 to comply with these standards? Katherine Walker also said there are others in the audience this evening in support 184 of the proposed amendment. 185 186 Michael Harvey answered Katherine Walker’s questions. He re-read the proposed clause about those flagpoles that 187 would be considered nonconforming. Effectively, there would be one year to bring the flagpole into compliance. If the 188 property owner cannot, there is a process whereby a property owner could seek a variance on the location of the 189 flagpole. Michael Harvey said the ordinance does not specify that the flags have to flown on a flagpole and all flags 190 have to meet the requirements of the applicable zone in which it is located, both for size and number of flags. 191 192 Randy Marshall asked for clarification that the height of a house would count as part of the height of the flagpole if 193 the flagpole were located on a house. 194 195 Michael Harvey read from Section 6.12.12 for residential districts which state not only the height limitation of a 196 flagpole but that the flagpole cannot be higher than the principal building’s roof. 197 198 Adam Beeman asked what the enforcement mechanism would be for those property owners who do not bring 199 flagpoles or flags into compliance within one year of the adoption of this ordinance. 200 201 Michael Harvey answered that the county can seek judicial action. 202 203 David Blankfard asked what a property owner has to provide to obtain a permit to erect a flagpole. 204 205 Michael Harvey said the property owner would have to provide a plat plan to show the location on the property to 206 determine setback from the property line, schematics so that staff can determine the height, and a rendering of the 207 flag’s size. County staff would then issue a zoning compliance permit. 208 209 David Blankfard asked if the property owner would have to get a civil engineer to draw the plans. 210 211 Michael Harvey answered no. And, when asked another question by David Blankfard, Michael Harvey said Orange 212 County Building Inspections would be concerned with the actual building of the structure. The Planning Department 213 would just be concerned with the height and setback of the flagpole and size-of-flag requirements. 214 215 Heather Redding addressed the board. She said she is a member of the Hillsborough Progressives Taking Action 216 group and she thanked the board for taking public comment and taking this matter seriously. She voiced her support 217 for the amendment. She said a 1,500-square-foot flag was erected outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, recently on a 218 flagpole that is 125 feet tall. This flag has a symbol on it that has been flown alongside swastikas and other hate 219 symbols in Charlottesville, Virginia. It has been flown as a symbol of retaliation, intimidation and threat. Once a flag 220 gets to be a certain size, it is not a private statement, she said. It is a public message. A public message can be 221 11