See You In Court

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On November 23, 2010, someone left me a comment regarding the planning and zoning committee. Part of the comment was as follows: Jonathan, As you already know the planning and zoning committee only follow what law the city's zoning ordinances were. Therefore, the laws are still in place...It's someone has to enforce them. Zoning laws are still governed by ordinance. You cannot place a mobile home that is not zoned for mobile homes or you cannot place a business that is not zoned for commercial business. It has nothing to do with the planning commission! They are there to do the research and make sure that the request follows the laws/ordinances of the city and to make a recommendation to the board. The ordinances for zoning stand. The board has ultimate control over them. They are what they are unless the board changes them by ordinance.
I was told to check with the city attorney for verification, but I sought a more reliable source. After researching the information, I found that the statement was indeed true. As a result, the members of the disbanded planning and zoning committee have met with the prosecuting attorney to move forward with the citations that were filed against Ben Winston, District 2 Supervisor. Since the laws and guidelines of the ordinance are still in existence, the case will be judged on the same ordinance that was being enforced before the board voted to disband the planning and zoning committee. Apparently, the board thought that voting to disband the planning and zoning committee would void the case against Ben Winston, but that is not true. There was a meeting scheduled with Ben Winston and his lawyer, but days before this meeting, the planning and zoning committee was disbanded. So, the committee can not make a recommendation for a variance. The only thing that would change the parameters of the case of Ben Winston would be the granting of a variance, which can not be done since there is no longer a planning and zoning committee in place, or if the board vote to re-zone the property from commercial to industrial. Otherwise, the case against Ben Winston stands, and steps have been taken to place the item on the court docket for a hearing December 13, 2010. It's more than likely, that Ben Winston and his attorney will ask for another continuance on the case, but I don't think it's wise for him to keep asking for the postponement of this case, especially since we are less than a year away from the Board of Supervisor's election. If Ben is not willing to address the citations that were filed against him in court, he will certainly have to address them if he intends to run for re-election.

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