Newspapers / The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, … / Dec. 28, 2016, edition 1 / Page 2
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2 THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28,2016 CHOWAN Continued from 1 The appeal cites reports that were presented to Coastal Management officials but not provided to county of ficials. Those reports in cluded a bird and bat study and other studies related to wildlife and human health. “The type of damage this project is going to have on the citizen health and safety and Chowan wildlife is un known, but Apex submitted that information to CAMA officials,” the appeal states. In a letter to Chowan County officials in 2015, John Morrison indicated in addition to the county permitting process “there are multiple layers of pro tection from multiple agen cies.” Morrison, an attorney with the Twiford Law Firm, provides legal counsel to Chowan County. Morrison’s description of that protection includes a reference to the review by the state’s Department of Environment and Natu ral Resources, a review he characterizes as beyond the county’s resources and ex pertise. “Before any proposed wind energy project gets to you, it must have approval from DENR,” Morrison said in the April 6, 2015, letter to county officials. The couple’s petition cites Morrison’s letter in support of their contention that state permits should have been obtained before the county permit application was heard by the county commissioners. Morrison said Thursday that his April 2015 letter was expressing an opinion of legal counsel and does not have the force of law. He also said that he indicated within the letter itself that he was acting at the time in the absence of a county planner and that once a planner was in place the county planner would guide the commissioners through the application process. Morrison said he doesn’t remember exactly what he intended in his statement about the DENR review, and that he understands that it would be reasonable to interpret it as meaning that DENR would review the project before the coun ty commissioners reviewed the application for the proj ect. To the extent that the letter is understood in that way it would be incorrect, he said. But to the extent that the statement is understood to mean that DENR would review the project before it could be constructed — which he said was likely what he had intended the statement to mean — it would be correct, Morrison said. Morrison emphasized that his advice to the county commissioners in the April 2015 letter does not have the force of law. Morrison also explained that the Superior Court will not retry the case but will review the CUP hearing re cords to determine whether the county commissioners erred in the way the hearing process was conducted. Don Giecek, Apex’s se nior manager of project development, said the com pany hopes the Perquimans decision will be overturned and plans in the meantime to pursue the project in Chowan. “We remain hopeful that the Superior Court will re verse the Perquimans Coun ty denial of Timbennill’s permit,” Giecek said. “This would allow the project to meet its full potential. In the meantime, we will also con tinue developing the proj ect in Chowan County and pursuing the other state and federal permits required for the project. “We remain committed to bringing the economic development, community investment, and job cre ation associated with Tim bermill Wind to northeast ern North Carolina,” Giecek continued. “We appreciate the strong support we have received from communi ties in both Perquimans and Chowan counties. We will continue to provide regular updates to the public on our progress, and the doors to our office in Hertford re main open to residents from both counties.” The Hertford Apex office is at 109 W. Market St. Apex spokesman Kevin Chandler said Wednesday he was aware of the Flynn’s’ petition but had not yet had an opportunity to review its content or formulate any kind of response to it. Chan dler also indicated that his understanding is that the Flynn’s petition is really a matter between them and county officials and that Apex would not be directly involved in that case. LAWSUIT Continued from 1 Apex to deposit $50,000 into an account to cover county expenses related to the ap plication. Perquimans County Man ager Frank Heath said the county used about $5,000 of the $50,000 to pay for an independent review of the Apex application. The remaining $45,000 was used to pay for an out side attorney, Douglas Han na, to sit in on all seven of the quasi-judicial hearings the county held from Au gust through October. Some of the hearings lasted six hours. The Apex argument is that all five of the voting commissioners agreed that Apex compiled with the county’s zoning ordinance. One commissioner, Matt Peeler, was recused from voting because a majority of the board felt he could not render an impartial deci sion. All five remaining com missioners also agreed that the project presented would not materially endanger the public health or safety. But two commissioners - Fondella Leigh and Wal lace Nelson - said Apex had not shown that the project would not substantially in jure the value of adjoining or abutting property. On the fourth vote, Commissioner Kyle Jones voted that Apex had not shown that the proj ect was in harmony with the surrounding land uses. Even though the votes were 5-0, 5-0, 3-2 and 4-1 in favor of the project, the commissioners determined because a majority of com missioners had some con cerns the board as a whole could not approve the proj ect. Henry Campen, the attor ney for Apex, said that was wrong in his appeal. “Under North Carolina law, the board only has power to make decisions and act as a body,” Campen wrote. “Individual commis sioners themselves have no power or authority. Con sequently, North Carolina law recognizes only actions taken by the board. The votes of dissenting commis sioners have no effect. The dissenting votes from sepa rate decisions by the board cannot be ‘aggregated’ to deny an application when the board, as a body, found that the application satisfies all requirements of the ordi nance.” Heath said the county has 45 days to submit the transcripts and other docu ments related to the case to the court. Heath said he wasn’t sure what would happen after that. Perquimans has grappled with the issue since the summer of 2015 when the project was first proposed. Starting in August 2015 residents started packing commission meetings to object. That prompted a 45-day moratorium on con sideration of any new wind projects. The moratorium ended in early 2016 and the board tweaked the existing ordinance. Supporters of wind pow er say the project will allow fanning and timber opera tions to continue operat ing. The Timbermill project spans more than 20,000 acres but the actual land use is much smaller. The footprint of each turbine is only about an acre. Supporters also point to the lease revenue property owners would get for allow ing Apex to use the land. For taxpayers, the conser vative estimate is Timber- mill would generate at least $250,000 in annual property taxes to Perquimans County each year and a like amount for Chowan. That’s based on; agreement the county made; several years ago when Iberdrola was developing- what is known now as Ama zon Wind Farms East. Some; officials say it’s not likely Apex will get the same deal.: PETITION Continued from 1 son Winslow, Paul and Kristi Copeland, Derek and Dabney Scaff, Dennis and Sheena Hunter and William Elliott DI. The Winslow’s, Copeland’s, the Hunter’s and Elliott own property that directly ad joins or abuts land leased for the Timbermill project. The Scalfs own property in close proximity. In the Winslow case, an Apex tower is less than 900 feet from their property line and the area is subject to Introducing PaAudi^^Pel^etGAl: A luxury boarding experience Visit our website or come by for a tour of our new state-of-the-art facility S^aradis^ PET RESORT premier pet boarding for dogs paradisepetresortnc.com *&# ftau^fo^ AMewaliofu, 252.482.4113 * * Town o£ Winfall Offices will be Closed: Monday, January 2, 2017 $ For observation of New Year’s Day * In case o£ an Emergency * call 426*5751 * PUBLIC NOTICE © PERQUIMANS COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS The Perquimans County Planning Board will hold a public meeting on Tuesday, January 10, 2017 at 7:00 PM in the Commissioners' Meeting Room on the 1st floor of the Perquimans County Courthouse Annex Building located at 110 North Church Street, Hertford, NC, next door to the Historic County Courthouse, to consider the following: (1) Conditional Use Permit No. CUP-16-05, requested by Beth Trahos (for Alpha Value Solar, LLC) for a Large Scale, ground- mounted Solar Power Energy System Facility in the 700-block of Ocean Highway South (US Hwy. 17) to include Tax Parcel No. 3-0049-00010A; and (2) Parent-to-Child Deed of Gift No. NZV-16-02, requested by Wanda L. White for Brenda Johnson, for a one-acre lot (portion of Tax Parcel No. 4-0036- 0130, located on Opal's Trail, south of Swayne's Lane). Property owners, residents and other interested parties may review these items during normal business hours before the public meeting at the Perquimans County Planning & Zoning Office, at 104 Dobbs Street, Hertford, NC, or call 252-426- 2027 or email dgodfrey@perquimanscountync.gov for more information. You may make comments at the meeting and/ or provide written comments. If you are unable to attend the meeting but wish to make comments for the Board's consideration, please do so in writing by 4:00 PM the day before the meeting. up to 660 hours per year of shadow flicker, according to the petition. Flicker is the term used to describe a strobe-light effect during certain times of the year as the turbine blades pass between the sun and a person or object on the ground. The Copeland’s property is surrounded on all sides by the project and about 2,100 feet from the nearest turbine. They expect a 40-percent de crease in property value if the wind project is built. Paul Copeland and his wife built their two-bedroom home on four acres of the 75 acres his family owns. “My grandmother bought the land 50 years ago, they were fanners by trade.” The home was completed in May 2015 and he said he and his wife didn’t hear about plans for the wind project un til August of that year. With one brief exception, Cope land said he’s lived all of his 38 years in the Bear Swamp area He said worries about shadow flicker are real for both he and his wife. “We just finished a brand new home and we may not be able to stay there because of shadow flicker and the noise. This is something we’ve want ed to do for 15 years and now as soon as we get finished we hear about the windmills.” Copeland owns a used car dealership in Hertford. “Now we got almost $300,000 invested in a house and we’ve got windmills. What happens if the value of the house goes down 40 per cent?” Copeland said he went to a family Christmas Eve party in Belvidere and the 104-turbine Amazon Wind Farms East project. “At night you could see the red lights flashing. It was sickening. AD this has broke our hearts. We’ve lost sleep over it. Finally we get a house PERQUIMANS COUNTY PUBLIC NOTICE Except for the Sheriff's Department, Dispatch Office and Emergency Medical Services, all County Offices in the Perquimans County Courthouse, Courthouse Annex, Social Services, Agricultural Extension Service, Perquimans County Library and the Perquimans County Recreation Department will be closed on Monday, January 2, 2017, for New Year’s Day. The Library will close at regular hours on Saturday, December 31, 2016, and be closed on Monday, January 2, 2017, for New Year’s Day. The Water Department will be closed but emergencies may be reported to the Dispatch Office by calling 426-5751. The Board of Commissioners Meeting scheduled for Monday, January 2, 2017, has been changed to Tuesday, January 3, 2017, at 7:00 p.m. due to the holiday. we’ve dreamed about and we don’t know what’s going to happen.” The petition said from the Scalfs front porch they’d be able to see almost two dozen turbines, the closest about three quarters of a mile away. They expect a loss in prop erty value. Elliott’s property is sur rounded by the project on three sides and the nearest turbine is more than a half- mile away. That area has been singled out as one of the top 10 percent of homes that will be subject to shadow flicker, about 660 hours a year. Also the petition says Elliott wor ries about his adult stepson, who lives there. The stepson suffered a serious brain in jury in a motorcycle accident, can’t take care of himself and is uniquely sensitive to flick ering light, according to the appeal. The Hunter’s property is about a half mile from the nearest turbine. Their home is expected to get the most number of hours of shadow flicker, The petition says they’ll be able to see 40 tur bines from their property and they expect property values will decrease 25 percent. Court Report: Judge Edgar L. Barnes Dec. 7 JUDGMENTS ■ Debra Lynn Beat tie, simple possession : Schedule VI controlled substance, pay $100 fine ; and cost of court. ■ Alvin Trendalle Burke,; carrying a concealed weapon and disorderly conduct, 60 days sus- 1 pended, 12 months super-; vised probation, pay $300- fine and cost of court. 1 ■ Erskin Glenn, com- - municating threats, three days active time. ■ Michael Lee Vol- berding, second-degree trespass, 10 days active time. DISMISSALS ■ Debra Lynn Beattie, possession of marijuana - paraphernalia. ■ Karl Brammer, two counts communicating - threats. ■ Clinton Brothers, ; simple assault. ■ Steven Cox, assault ; on a female and injury to personal property. ■ Alton Xavier Hardy, . assault and battery and • injury to personal prop erty. PUBLIC NOTICE PERQUIMANS COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS Due to the retirement of our current sheriff prior to the next election, the Perquimans County Board of Commissioners is seeking to fill the position. If you are interested In filling this vacancy, please contact the County Manager's Office at 426-8484 for an application. You must be a resident of Perquimans County and should have the qualifications to serve as sheriff in Perquimans County. Applications will be taken until December 30,2016 at 5:00 p.m. Frank Heath County Manager Perquimans • WEEKLY (USPS428-080) Vol. 84 No. 52 Published each Wednesday. A publication of Cooke Communications North Carolina, LLC Established 1934 111 W. Market St., Hertford, NC 27944 In case of an emergency please call 426-5751 Monday, January 2, 2017 for the observance of New Year’s Day Mike Goodman Publisher Peter Williams News Editor Bev Alexander Advertising Representative Phone 252-426-5728 • Fax 252-426-4625 Email: perquimansweekly@ncweeklies.com Subscription Rates In Daily Advance home delivery area $25.25* All other continental U.S $31.50* - ♦Plus applicable sales tax. Activation fee of $1.99 will be collected with all new subscriptions. Deactivation fees may apply for early cancellation. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Perquimans Weekly, Hertford, NC 27944
The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, N.C.)
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Dec. 28, 2016, edition 1
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