Rezoning Meeting Notices Mailed Late
Letters notifying owners of property adjacent to 6310 Rockfish Road—being considered for rezoning—were postmarked only five days before the meeting, not the 10-day minimum required by NC law.
North Carolina’s “§ 160D‑602. Notice of hearing on proposed zoning map amendments” law states notification of rezoning hearings must be sent by first-class mail and “deposited in the mail at least 10 but not more than 25 days prior to the date of the hearing.” The mandatory correspondence about a June 12 meeting to consider rezoning 6310 Rockfish Road to Residential Multifamily (aka, apartments)—signed by Jackie Lowery, Hoke County interim planner—was postmarked June 7.
That’s six days, not 10. Add the weekend delay due to a Saturday postmark, along with rezoning notifications now appearing in the legal classified section of the distant Fayetteville Observer newspaper, and complaints to this outlet have been numerous.
Ironically, the letter (below) from Lowery is dated June 2, which would be precisely the 10-day minimum. However, the North Carolina statute (link here direct to the state statute) mandates, “deposited in the mail,” not composed and waiting on a desk.
Citizens interested in voicing their concerns are encourage to attend the Planning Committee meeting, which takes place at 227 N. Main Street, Raeford, NC, June 12 at 7 p.m. The letter indicates written comments could be mailed to a post office box, but the chances of any arriving in time for consideration by the Commission-appointed board were minimal by the time the official correspondence arrived.
More than one reader pointed out the rezoning request seems to defy a moratorium the Commission recently placed on large developments. Two weeks ago James A. Leach admitted to the Fayetteville Observer that the reason for the halt was because Hoke County’s water pressure is so low in some areas that it is approaching North Carolina’s minimum fire-code level. Only last year, Leach denied those claims and even shouted, “You have no relationship with the truth at all” at a volunteer firefighter who warned him during a commission meeting that the chronically insufficient water pressure was now endangering lives and property.