All of these sound like good ideas.  But something else good, some other good ideas, came with the approval of the White Oak equestrian development.   The new board of commissioners has finally found a situation in which they not only agreed with, but also promoted, sensible regulation.

After voting down noise controls perhaps eight years ago, and after heavily criticizing and voting down noise controls, lighting controls and vegetative buffers (screening) when they were proposed in the Unified Development Ordinance, our current board of commissioners actually requested all those things regarding the equestrian development.

They required noise limitations during the day and stronger limitations overnight. They required controlled lighting that shines down on what is to be lighted and does not stray offsite to neighboring properties or up into the sky. And they required a 100’ setback between the proposed RV park and neighboring properties, as well as a berm with vegetation on top or a higher vegetative buffer if no berm is used.

These can now be great precedents that our new board of commissioners, themselves, unanimously required.

Let’s hope that our commissioners’ new understanding and acceptance of reasonable, neighborly protections for our community becomes the great step forward that they can be.

And Mr. Bellissimo, if mean, stuffy ‘ol Mr. Jacobs doesn’t want that beautiful carousel in Wellington, please bring it up here to Polk County. We sure could have a lot of fun with it here.

– Renée McDermott, Tryon