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Sylva leaders discuss areas for extra-territorial jurisdiction
By Justin Goble
Citing resident complaints, Sylva officials directed the planning board to make the areas along Allen Branch and Yellow Bird Branch roads primary candidates for extra-territorial jurisdiction.
The unanimous decision came during the town board’s regular meeting last Thursday (June 1).
According to board member Maurice Moody, the planning board had heard concerns from residents in the areas that commercial developers could build in residential neighborhoods due to the lack of zoning codes. Though planning board members were looking to create an ETJ along N.C. 107 first, Moody said the need to protect neighborhoods outweighed that of expanding towards Cullowhee.
“There’s a feeling that N.C. 107 is commercial and it’s going to stay commercial,” Moody said. “The feeling of the planning board was that we need to protect some of residential areas around the border (of town).”
Should Sylva leaders go ahead with the ETJ, they would have zoning authority over areas that fall within it.
Town board member Harold Hensley agreed with Moody’s thoughts, saying the ETJ would allow for uniform zoning guidelines along the town’s borders.
“Some ETJ would be great,” Hensley said. “If you’re on the border of town, you get told what you can’t do. But then you turn around and see your neighbor doing it. We need to go forward with the people who want to be included.”
Planning board members will now have to devise proposed borders for an ETJ of those areas and present them to town officials.
In other business June 1:
– Town leaders heard from representatives of the Downtown Sylva Association (formerly SPIR)
DSA member Rick Kirkpatrick, manager of the local branch of Macon Bank, read a letter from Waynesville city Manager Lee Galloway on how his city had been able to fund its downtown renovation.
Much of Galloway’s letter dealt with the municipal taxation district Waynesville officials created. Businesses in the district are charged 26 cents per $100 valuation on top of the city and county taxes they pay. These extra funds are used to pay for various downtown projects and allow Waynesville’s downtown association to be self-sustaining.
Mayor Brenda Oliver asked if the DSA had talked with local business owners to see if they would be in favor of a municipal district. While Kirkpatrick said many were not, it was because they did not know the benefits.
“Less than 50 percent of the businesses we’ve talked to would be in favor of it,” Kirkpatrick said. “There’s an education process that needs to take place. We need to get the businesses to see the long-term benefits.”
While they work on an educational campaign, Kirkpatrick said the DSA would need town funds to continue with downtown revitalization projects.
“If we lose money from town government, our projects will eventually stop,” he said. “If Sylva looked like it did 10 years ago, without SPIR’s revitalization efforts, the entire community would not be in as good of situation as it is today.”
– Officials unanimously approved the volunteer fire department’s officers for this year.
Officers are: Fire Chief, Mike Beck; Assistant Fire Chief, Brian Wellmon; Second Assistant Chief, Chris Green; Captain, Mike Bryson; Captain, Joel Guffey; Safety Officer, Trent Dillard; Purchasing, Craig Farmer; Chaplain, the Rev. Mike Farmer; and Secretary, Shane Melton.
Officers will be installed at the department’s officer installation dinner on Monday, June 12.
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