Date: Fri 01-May-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

council-scenic-road-ordinance

Full Text:

Scenic Road Controversy Brings New Scrutiny To Ordinance Process

BY STEVE BIGHAM

Residents of both Washbrook and New Lebbon roads are still upset nearly a

month after the Legislative Council turned down their application for

scenic-road status.

They are unhappy with the reasons the council gave for rejecting the

proposals. However, the problem may go deeper than that, town officials say.

The hard feelings may have been caused by a flawed scenic-road ordinance.

Both roads fit the criteria for a scenic road even though, according to the

council, they were not fit for scenic-road status. The ordinance, as written,

may have been too open-ended, say town officials. The scenic-road ordinance

has had many critics since it was first approved last June.

Planning & Zoning Commission Chairman Stephen Koch questions why it was ever

approved in the first place, wondering if it was considered a means to control

development.

There have also been complaints from residents over the recently approved

alarm ordinance, which charges residents $15 just for owning a security

system.

"We only did two ordinances in the past year, and they're both screwed up,"

said Ordinance Committee Chairman Will Rodgers back in February.

There may be other flawed ordinances, council members say, including some that

are still in the drafting phase. It has been several years since the council

first began work on an underground oil tank ordinance, which, according to

Fire Marshal George Lockwood, is drastically needed so that the town can begin

pulling up all the "leakers." Due to miscommunication, the ordinance still

remains on the drawing board.

Mr Lockwood wanted an ordinance mandating that all tanks 20 years old or more

be dug up. However, the law was almost passed simply prohibiting any further

tanks from being buried. This frustrated Mr Lockwood, who said a requirement

to dig up certain tanks was the most important part of the ordinance. He felt

he was not properly consulted during the drafting of the ordinance.

The cost to remove an oil tank is more than $2,000, a fact that prompted

previous ordinance committees to leave that provision out.

According to Mr Rodgers, the root of the problem may lie in the way the

council goes about writing these laws. So, before the first ordinance ever

gets passed on his watch, he plans to revise the way they are drafted. In

fact, last month he called for a short-term moratorium on all ordinances until

his committee can come up with a better process for writing these laws. For

one thing, Mr Rodgers wants to make sure that all the appropriate town

agencies are consulted with before any laws are passed. The committee begins

its work next Wednesday night.

Once the Ordinance Committee re-writes its own rules it is expected to take up

a proposed anti-litter ordinance, an adult-oriented establishment ordinance,

and an ordinance to assist the town's land-use department in going after

business owners using illegal signs.