Board hears varying opinions on MRPO
The Polk County Planning Board last week began discussing its procedure for tackling the county’s proposed unified development ordinance (UDO).
The board met Thursday, May 24 and was presented the UDO draft for the first time. The board heard from several audience members, particularly on the subject of how the county should protect its mountains and ridgelines.
The planning board created a subcommittee consisting of members Dan Smith, Mike Alexrod, Wayne Horne and planning board chair Lisa Krolak to answer questions regarding the proposed regulations.
The planning board also expects to invite experts to discuss issues such as slope, as well as a representative from the Isothermal Planning and Development Commission (IPDC), who can create a model to help planning board members determine where ridgelines can be viewed from different points in the county.
The planning board was given a recommended UDO from the UDO committee on May 9. The planning board will work on revisions to the UDO and send a recommended draft to the Polk County Board of Commissioners, which will be required to hold a public hearing prior to adopting the document.
The UDO is one document that combines all of the county’s ordinances. Committees have been working on amendments to several individual ordinances in the process of developing the UDO.
The most contested ordinance has been the county’s mountainside and ridgeline protection ordinance (MRPO), which originally prohibited any commercial development at elevations above 1,650 feet, which includes all of Saluda Township.
In recommending the draft document, the UDO committee approved eliminating elevation requirements in the MRPO special use district. It recommended instead that the county apply restrictions on land with slopes of 30 percent and steeper.
Speakers attending the meeting last week voiced their opinions on whether the planning board should change the MRPO or leave it as is with the elevation requirements.
Renée McDermott, a Polk County commissioner and a UDO committee member who voted against eliminating elevations in the MRPO, said she is concerned about the entire UDO. She said one thing that stands out greatest in her mind is the protection of our mountains. She said it appears that too much has been taken out of the MRPO (with the latest draft) and said she hopes the planning board will seriously consider, even if the board decides to go with a slopes approach, reinstating some protections such as for grading work in the sloped areas.
“Some of that was taken out and I don’t know a good reason why,” McDermott said. “I think the 30 percent that was chosen doesn’t have any basis in scientific fact and is probably not the best standard for Polk County.”
Hal Green of Saluda said he has not seen any geological evidence to support the county’s previous restrictions based on elevations of 1,650 feet and 2,200 feet.
“These are highly restrictive provisions for property above these elevations and justification has not been made clear,” Green said.
He said protection comes with a cost and that the county’s restrictions have made life pretty tough for Saluda residents. He said he hopes that when the planning board works on the UDO it will consider the fact that protection has to be balanced by people’s property rights and people’s ability to make a living.
William Day said he finds the UDO to be an “assault on liberty” in that it takes the land away from the people. He said with the ordinances the county is changing the value of the land and to say they are doing it for protection measures is only a few people’s idea.
Margery La Rue said she agrees with McDermott. She mentioned going to Avery County earlier in her life, which was the first time she’d heard of a mountain and ridgeline protection ordinance after a 10-story building was constructed on Sugar Mountain.
“This set off a public outcry,” La Rue said.
She expressed concern about 8,000-square-foot buildings being allowed on mountains.
“Could you imagine coming out of Polk County High School with now fabulous views covered with metal buildings?” La Rue asked. “I think if I’d gone to high school here I would have never left this area.”
She asked the planning board not to overturn the current MRPO regulations.
Patricia Gass said she feels for the planning board and the work ahead of them. She said she’s lived here almost 10 years and cannot count how many times she’s heard from people that they don’t want another Chocolate Drop Mountain.
Fred Baisden said he spent hours with the Henderson County Fire Marshal, who said no one has been killed in a landslide. Baisden said he was referring to a comment made by McDermott during a prior UDO meeting about issues such as people being killed in landslides, such as in Henderson County, is what Polk is trying to avoid.
Baisden also said Polk officials have mentioned similar regulations in Jackson County, and Jackson County is in the process of undoing regulations there because of the negative economic impact.
Krolak said the planning board will take all public comments into consideration.
The planning board’s subcommittee is scheduled to meet Thursday, June 7 at 5:30 p.m. The full planning board’s next regular meeting will be Thursday, June 14 at 5 p.m. Planning board meetings are held in the upstairs meeting room of the Womack building in Columbus.