[Above: the accounting of what's been paid to Eggers x 4 in the matter of the Boone ETJ lawsuit intervention]
Priorities? Yeah, both the Maymead decision and the ETJ lawsuit intervention reveal very clear priorities. If Boone loses its ETJ, there goes any zoning restrictions that would keep an asphalt plant, a cement facility, a race track from imposing their charms on a Boone ETJ residential neighborhood.
That's where commissioners Hodges, Yates, and Blust stand.
To be fair, the decision to intervene in the Boone ETJ lawsuit was initiated by then Commission Chair Nathan Miller (who's also represented both the fairgrounds race track and the cement plant in their efforts to subvert Boone's land-use regs). Both Yates and Blust went along with Miller. They share the blame. They must also now share the fall-out.
26 comments:
Please vote out Blust and Yates in November! Watauga County deserves leaders who work WITH and FOR the county - not against it. These are the people who want to industrialize the scenic gateway to the High Country too.
The joke here is that the NC Attorney General was already fighting the ETJ lawsuit, so county involvement was superfluous. Just a hand out to friends, really.
How much has the owner of Maymead contributed to the democratic party? His goals are simple...own all the asphalt plants in the region and keep other asphalt plants from coming in to Watauga County. You fight his fight well, Jerry Williamson.
How much has the county paid the Raleigh firm for the one time representation in the maymead case?
Right! Just a shill for the paving lobby. You've found me out.
The county, thanks to the many issues not addressed in its HILU ordinance, is paying out very good money to establish an asphalt plant on the 421 Scenic Byway.
If Commissioners Blust, Yates and Hodges truly believe that the 2011 permit issued to Johnny Hampton gives Maymead a vested interest in that site, then they should have stopped the county planner from revoking the permit. But that's not how common law vested rights work, despite what the Republican commissioners think.
The county planner acting in accordance to the law, however, and the BOA decided, with no discussion, to ignore the law and hand the Doc and Merle Watson Highway to Maymead. That's a GOP thing all the way... though I'm sure it makes sense in GOP world to blame Democrats for that terrible decision.
Four Eggers is making out like a bandit... gets paid no matter what side the county's on.
It makes sense for citizens unhappy with a decision by the County to appeal to the courts. If the County appealed, it would be taking issue with its own authorities.The County followed the proper legal procedures. The ball is now in the hands of the disgruntled citizens and an impartial court will adjudicate the dispute.
How much has the town of Boone spent trying to assert its ETJ authority during the three year period that the bill above covers?
It makes no sense for Watauga Commissioners to spend lots of dollars (at Eggers law firm) to join the state's suit against the county. What a waste of tax dollars! Sure wish Soucek had asked the ETJ residents what they thought and not just developers.
To anonymous at 5:31 - I find it so interesting that families that don't want an asphalt plant in their backyard must assume the burden of the lawsuit. The BOA screwed up big time. And now a local family has to take the case. Pretty messed up when the BOA and elected officials side with the toxic polluting industry, not the county. Because remember, the county was the other party in the appeal...
To anonymous at 12:24, Roy Cooper's office doesn't defend laws with which it disagrees, or don't you read the news. Secondly, after following the news about the Boone town council and it's dealings, lack of ability to negotiate, lack of ability to manage, the legacy left by the Town is one of giant apartment buildings with no parking. That type of legacy needs to be contained to the borders of the city limits, not broadened out into the ETJ where they can poorly manage more territory whose residents have no vote.
Anon 2:33 AM ... (couldn't sleep, huh, because you were so mad?) -- You're just so wrong about Roy Cooper's office. He's defended every law passed by the Republicans, including Amendment One until the 4th Circuit's decision made it pointless to defend any more. His office even defended the state board of elections when the Democrats sued over Early Voting on the ASU campus. Who do you think was arguing in that Winston-Salem courtroom to uphold the Republicans' voter suppression law? It was Roy Cooper's office, my friend. As far as his refusal to defend HB2 because it's blatantly discriminatory, it's the first time he's made that sort of principled decision, and good on him!
Anon9:11; the BOA did not side with the "toxic polluting industry", they sided with established legal procedures. The BOA supported the County's denial of the permit before the BOA and lost. To appeal further would mean the County rejects the decisions reached by its own established legal procedures.
And it's not the role of the BOA to determine if a proposed facility is "toxic polluting." The state must still permit the proposed asphalt plant. If an Air Quality permit is granted, that will refute the claim that toxic pollution from the plant is a public health hazard. If the Air Quality permit is denied, the BOA's decision not to challenge the BOA's finding will prove to be well-advised.
To Anon at 8:43...
Actually you are wrong. The BOA voted against a very, very strong case made by Watauga County. The common law vested rights process is pretty clear - you have to show significant progress in a reasonable amount of time and significant investment in the land use defined by the permit. The case Maymead put on showed that Watauga County thinks "significant progress" is the acquisition of the permit, which apparently can be sold years later to the highest bidder.
The only thing Maymead may have going for it in the appeal - do they own the judges too? We'll see...
To Anon at 8:43... please read DAQ's website. DAQ will issue the permit regardless. Their job is to uphold EPA regs, not to determine the site of a plant or the legality of a permit transfer. Those are local land use issues - determined by Watauga County leaders - and we saw which way they went - for an out-of-state toxic polluter, not the county's own planner and the county's own attorney who made a very strong case to support the county's decision to revoke the permit for lack of progress.
In Watauga, Maymead "bought" themselves a permit - their words... it's really a very dubious way to industrialize the 421 Scenic Gateway to a multimillion tourism industry. The Republican commissioners handed over the scenic byway to an out-of-state company furnishing asphalt for an Ashe County DOT project. Watauga loses big time.
To Anon 5:31 PM and 8:43 PM
Your framing and logic are both very fuzzy. The BOA ruled against its own county. This is highly unusual. They ruled against the overwhelming evidence put forth by the county's hired attorney, Pokela and the county planner, Furman's decision to revoke the 2011 permit after four years of inactivity.
Again, the BOA's ruling was highly unusual for ruling against the county and the evidence put forth. None of those five members have any background in law. However, they did have dinners with the plaintiffs (Hamptons and Maymead). Again, highly unusual and far from being characterized as a "established legal procedure." Eggers allowed bias and prejudice into this "quasi-judicial" hearing. This was a rigged game and many people in this county are not drinking your Koolaid.
Four Eggers seems to have a long standing problem with identifying conflict of interest — the original point of this blog post. His blindness turns out to be quite profitable for his law firm and family.
To the two Anons referenced above, you both make no sense in your rendition of what happened during the BOA hearing. The BOA never "supported the county's denial of the permit before the BOA and lost." You are confused about how this works. They do not present before themselves.
Pokela, the county's hired attorney defended the county's right to revoke the permit before the BOA. The BOA is comprised of five county citizens, appointed by the Republican commissioners to sit on cases like this. Yates himself disavowed this BOA process as dangerous and flawed because its "members are not elected." The BOA is wrought with cronyism. Despite his public back-pedaling, Yates then refused to appeal this in a court of law. "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark."
We are not drinking the asphalt flavored Koolaid.
Wiley Roark, owner of Maymead in several counties, has contributed to the Democratic party. Make sure not to use that sugar in your toxic blog koolaid.
Anon 6:45: Wiley Roark has contributed to the Democratic Party? So what? He buys politicians of both parties. So did/does Donald Trump, and you'll be voting for him in November.
To anon at 6:45 - Funny how it was the Republican commissioners who handed the gateway over to Maymead, instead of protect the county. Wondering how Roark "bought" that permit, since there was no record of that particular sale.
Anon 8;05; It's not the role of the The Board of Adjustment to rubber stamp everything the County wants do do. They are an independent arbitrator of County permit decisions. If they rubber stamped every permit the County approved or denied, why would a Board of Adjustment be needed?
Anon 3:23: I miswrote when I posted that the BOA did not side with toxic polluting industry. I should have typed the BOC. Also meant to write the "BOC supported the County's denial of the permit before the BOA." Just got my acronyms confused.
Anon3;30: The claim of Maymead opponents is that the plant will impair air quality with toxic pollutants. This determination is the responsibility of the Division of Air Quality administering EPS air quality regulations.
The land use issues have been decided locally. Opponents don't like the decision to grant a local permit and have every right to take the issue to the courts. But the County and the County Commissioners have followed the appropriate legal procedures. It's now up to those who disagree with the permit to appeal the decision to the courts.
Both parties are corrupt. Republicans respond to their rich developer friends, but the Boone town council is no better, giving their buddies Jimmy Deal and Johnny Winkler every new and horrible apartment building they want to build. Can't wait til they have their new water intake. That will be the end of Boone.
To anon at 6:49
The BOA failed to look at all the evidence, as Four Eggers instructed them to do. Instead, they rapidly went down Maymead's proposed order - and in 15 minutes - following the "longest BOA hearing in the history of NC" overturned the county. The BOA unfortunately acted as a rubber stamp for Maymead. It was appalling.
The county's attorney hired by the county to defend the county asked the BOA to consider the fact that Maymead's witnesses provided testimony that differed significantly from written documentation. The BOA ignored this very serious allegation that Maymead's witnesses lied under oath - a charge made by the county they live in - and and a charge supported by the evidence. That's really a huge problem. The commissioners should have sent this to Superior Court, where the contradictory evidence could be heard in a court of law. The Republicans refusal to do so is very, very wrong - and if they want to claim the high road - that they followed the law - they are wrong.
Maymead said they would prove significant investment and progress in the development an asphalt plant - they proved no such thing. Joe Furman was right to revoke the permit for lack of progress - and he had case law to support him. And the BOA was wrong to ignore all the county's evidence.
The industrialization of the 421 Scenic Byway has been decided in very sketchy ways by Republicans who decided to uphold an extremely flawed permit process ("I bought a HILU permit for $1.6 million, said Wiley Roark) to industrialize the scenic gateway to the High Country. It smells of corruption and of a county that is willing to sell out to the highest bidder. We'll see how voters respond in November.
what's really sad is that "following the law" in watauga county has led to zoning the 421 scenic byway for high impact.
what's worse - homeowners are viewed by the republican commissioners as just so much fodder in the way of "development."
vote 'em out...
and if you don't like the democrats in power in boone, vote 'em out too. we need people far more responsive to families in power.
To Anon 6:49 PM,
I appreciate your thoughtful and calm approach to this conversation. However, it is a matter of opinion as to whether "appropriate legal procedures" were followed during the "quasi-judicial" BOA hearings. The three Republican county commissioners should have sent this to the Superior Court for appeal as a matter of ethics and proper representation of the citizens they represent. There were too many complex questions raised that need to be heard in an impartial court of law. The BOA committee was highly biased during these proceedings and Eggers allowed this.
The county commissioners and its attorney of record, Mr. Eggers are also involved in a highly questionable actions involving the county tax payers' money in superfluous litigation over the ETJ intervention. It is not necessary for the county to intervene in this state case and it is highly inappropriate for the Eggers law firm to be representing the county in this. It is obviously a conflict of interest to anyone outside this county Republican inner circle and the Eggers Firm is profiting handsomely. Even if it were necessary for the county to intervene, another law firm should have been contracted for this work.
The county commissioners and its attorney are not acting ethically or on behalf of the county's citizens and their well-being. They can hide behind "its the law" all they want but as more information such as this unethical $47,000 in law fees comes to light, I hope the Watauga county voters wake up and clean house this November. If it is truly "the law." The the laws need to change. The present people running the show at the county level have a very dangerous vision for how this county should be industrialized and handed over to a few monied-interests.
Yes, private citizens who disagree with the BOA hearing have been forced to pony-up in order to appeal. It is not right but the three commissioners have forced this outcome. We will hopefully vote these folks out of office come November. It is a pretty simple game plan for what is necessary for the financial well-being and health of the majority of the county's citizens.
Vote Blust and Yates out in November!
These old Watauga families that have controlled this county for a hundred years or more are probably terrified or at least disdainful of the alien invasion of "outsiders" that are increasing the county population at a fairly rapid rate. They have adopted a "by any means necessary" to maintain control and insure the county subsidizes their businesses. Hopefully this can be rectified in November with voter education and awareness of their misconduct.
As we approach the November elections, Blust, Hodges and Yates need to be clearly identified with throwing the county citizens under the bus in regard to the horrible attempt to put an asphalt plant on our scenic byway. Did they not read the county's own Gateway Plan or listen to their own hired attorney for the BOA hearing? Handing Eggers $47,000 in unnecessary litigation fees on the county's behalf also sends a clear message to the voters. Sure, its all been done through "appropriate legal procedures."
Wink, wink, ;-)
These neighbors all who complain about everything around here speak for a very SMALL MINORITY in the county.And they sure as heck shouldn't have any say so outside the town.ETJ is a joke and needs to be revoked.You want to be protected by town laws?Then move there!
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