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LeAnn Brown continued, stating that N.C.G.S. §160A-388(g),which is a statue that governs the Board of 146 <br />Adjustment, is quoted in pertinent part on Page 52 of the agenda packet in herletter to Chair Samantha 147 <br />Cabe seeking subpoenas on November 7, 2017.What N.C.G.S. §160A-388(g) allows is it allowspersons148 <br />with standingto seek subpoenas. The procedure is to give the Board of Adjustment a written request, 149 <br />which she did by letter. And it provides the chair shall issue the subpoena if it is determined toberelevant 150 <br />material and reasonable in nature and scope and not oppressive.The statutealso contemplates that 151 <br />partiesfrom whom documents are soughtmay file motions to quash subpoenas. There was no motion to 152 <br />quash or modify the request that she filed some six months ago. 153 <br />154 <br />LeAnn Brown reviewed that six months ago sheprovided a letter of appeal to the Current Planning 155 <br />Supervisordated October 13, 2017. She noted that Pages 49-51 of the agenda packet outline the errors 156 <br />alleged. The letter to Chair Samantha Cabe that she sent sought five subpoenas to the following properties: 157 <br />Southeast Property Group LLC, which is the legal owner of the property; Wild Flora FarmLLC,which was 158 <br />createdat some point in time,KaraBrewer individually;ChrisBrewer individually; and Barn of Chapel Hill159 <br />LLC. She noted that under the law, those are all separate legal entities. What shesought from them was 160 <br />informationsubmitted to the North Carolina Department of Revenueor to Orange County regarding their161 <br />alleged eligibility or alleged compliance with the statute regarding the farm exemptionas it has been 162 <br />amended. She noted where the farm exemption provisions can be found in the state statutes, as noted on 163 <br />Page 53 of the agenda packet, and that the session law amends several places in the statutes. The other 164 <br />information shesought is the relationship among these entitiesbecause information has been provided to 165 <br />the county, suggesting that a tax certificate that was received identifies Wild Flora Farms and KaraBrewer166 <br />somehow applied to Southeast Property Group LLC. The statute requires the tax certificate to be issued to 167 <br />the owner of the property and one of the errors that her party has alleged is that a certificate to Wild Flora 168 <br />Farmor KaraBrewer cannot apply to SoutheastProperty Group LLC. On its face, it does not.Frankly, the 169 <br />income amounts and time increments in the two statutes applying to the North Carolina Department of 170 <br />Revenue do not appear to have been possibly temporally to have been metand so her party thinks the 171 <br />information she is requesting would be helpful to inform them as to whether there is compliance with those 172 <br />issues. That would be the issue when she comes before this board again. 173 <br />174 <br />LeAnn Brown reviewed that what the statues requireisan annual income from farming forthe previous tax 175 <br />year of$10,000 or anaverage for three years ofthat amount. There are conditional exemptions for tax 176 <br />purposes but that provisiondoes not qualify a property owner. The letterto Kara Brewer with an exemption 177 <br />identification number for Wild Flora Farm is dated September 22, 2017. Wild Flora Farm was created 178 <br />February 14, 2017, so it had only existed a few months. There is annual record of an assumed name 179 <br />certificate for Wild Flora Farm dated October 12, 2017, but it is after the certificate was issued as well. The 180 <br />property was purchased in 2015 by Southeast Property Group LLCand has been owned by it throughout 181 <br />this process. 182 <br />183 <br />LeAnn Brown said that webelieve that in order for the Board of Adjustmentto make an intelligent and 184 <br />informed decision on the appealing chief as to whetherOrange County has misinterpretedwhat it has185 <br />received or has failed to make the appropriate legal distinctions among the parties would be informed by 186 <br />the requested subpoenas. She and her clientsbelieve that without the information, it would be difficult for 187 <br />her and herclients in the dark without underlying information to know whether what has been provided 188 <br />meets the statutory requirements. At a hearing on this matter, any evidence that is obtained through the 189 <br />subpoenas can be objected to. The boardcan choose in a hearing to sustain the objectionsand LeAnn 190 <br />Brown can offer to make an offer of proof and have that information available so that a court can look at it 191 <br />later.Or the other party can object and the board can sustain that and a court can look at it later. If LeAnn 192 <br />Brown is not allowed to subpoenathe information, then it renders it very difficult under her due process 193 <br />rights toprepare an argument before the Board of Adjustment. She appreciates Karen Barrows’s decision 194 <br />20