Showing posts tagged “Steve Medlin”
Samiha Khanna ·
3 Mar 2010, 4:43 PM ·
1 Comment
After a meeting of city and county elected officials, it doesn’t appear that the City Council or County Commissioners will be reconsidering the Durham’s 26-page ordinance on signage any time soon. When asked by Durham’s planning department whether it’s time to revisit the ordinance, Durham leaders vehemently answered, “No.”
“I personally am not in favor of opening the sign ordinance,” said City Councilwoman Diane Catotti, at Wednesday’s meeting of Durham’s Joint City-County Planning Committee, for which she is chairwoman. “I think it’s a lot cleaner in terms of litigation to support the sign ordinance in place. I do fear litigation. It’s a lengthy and costly process and I don’t think I have to remind any of you that the city has significant litigation still pending. I’ll just say ‘lacrosse.’”
Catotti commented that sign litigation is a prominent form of action taken against governments, and that Durham itself went through a nearly 10-year battle over a signage lawsuit from the 1980s and 1990s that cost the city nearly $1.5 million. Continue reading »
Durham, Durham County, North Carolina, news, politics campaign contributions, City of Durham, Diane Catotti, Durham City Council, Durham County Commissioners, Durham JCCPC, Durham Planning Commission, Durham planning department, Durham politics, electronic billboards, Ellen Reckhow, Fairway, litigation, Patrick Byker, Steve Medlin, Unified Development Ordinance
Samiha Khanna ·
20 Nov 2009, 1:16 PM ·
4 Comments
UPDATE, 2:43 p.m. Planning Director Steve Medlin explained the meaning of the UDO section Lowell Siler referred to yesterday. There have been no significant changes in the facts or circumstances of the area to be rezoned, Medlin said. Changes to the validity of the Jordan Lake protest petition have nothing to do with the area to be rezoned, he said, therefore, commissioners may not apply to rezone the Jordan Lake watershed until 12 months have passed.
ORIGINAL POST: A comment posted to Triangulator this morning raises the issue - do Durham County Commissioners have any option other than to brace themselves for a lawsuit regarding the Jordan Lake protest petition?
We summarized yesterday that County Attorney Lowell Siler appeared to tell County Commissioners repeatedly that only a superior court action could amend the 3-2 vote they took in October to redraw the watershed around Jordan Lake.
But today, re-reading the Unified Development Ordinance that Siler cited, it appears there could be another option—at least in a very general, non-legal lay interpretation (i.e. - we are raising the question and looking for answers). We at the Indy are waiting for an official interpretation.
But yesterday, when Commissioner Ellen Reckhow asked Siler to reiterate what had been discussed at the commissioners’ closed session Thursday morning, he stated he informed commissioners of section 3.5.15 of the UDO.
“When the body has taken action, no action can be taken again until 12 months have passed,” Siler said.
He left out the second part, which is quoted here:
3.5.15 Subsequent Amendments
When the governing body has taken action on a zoning map change, no new application may be filed for a similar zoning map change until at least 12 months have elapsed since the date of the previous action. The Planning Director, or designee, may waive this requirement if the application has been significantly modified or there has been a significant change in the facts or circumstances since the previous request.
Continue reading »
Durham, Durham County, environment, news 751 Assemblage, Durham County Commissioners, Ellen Reckhow, haw river assembly, jordan lake, Lowell Siler, Michael Page, Mike Ruffin, protest petition, Southern Environmental Law Center, Steve Medlin
Samiha Khanna ·
19 Nov 2009, 12:34 PM ·
8 Comments
Durham County Commissioners met in closed session this morning to discuss next steps in the controversy around a debated petition that could have affected commercial and residential development around Jordan Lake.
County Attorney Lowell Siler told commissioners, essentially, that their hands are tied. If anyone wants to question a vote commissioners took last month to move the Jordan Lake watershed, it’s going to have to be an outside party in a lawsuit, he said. Commissioners cannot go back and revisit the vote they now believe they took, even though they have since learned they took the vote under now questionable circumstances.
“The central issue is, a vote has been taken and the only way to amend that is to go to superior court,” Siler told commissioners Thursday morning. “And we’ll defend that action.”
When Siler says the issue is to be resolved in court, he fails to fully explain, said Elaine Chiosso, director of the Haw River Assembly, which filed the petition. It means a small nonprofit group has to sue the county government and city-county planning department, which have broader resources and deeper pockets.
“We’re hoping to meet that challenge, but it’s a big challenge,” Chiosso said. Continue reading »
Durham, Durham County, news 751 Assemblage, Becky Heron, Durham County Commissioners, Elaine Chiosso, haw river assembly, jordan lake, Lowell Siler, Mike Ruffin, protest petition, Southern Durham Development, Southern Environmental Law Center, Steve Medlin
Samiha Khanna ·
18 Nov 2009, 8:44 PM ·
4 Comments
A memo sent from Durham planning Director Steve Medlin to County Manager Mike Ruffin last Friday shows that Medlin changed his initial ruling and has found a debated protest petition regarding Jordan Lake is valid.
The memo (PDF) was requested by the Indy and other media outlets and released Wednesday evening with personnel and other information redacted. It shows that petitioners actually did include the required percentage of signatures, although Medlin initially said the petition did not include enough.
It’s unclear what the next step for either the petitioners or the county is, but the findings will be the hot topic at a special county commissioners meeting tomorrow at 10 a.m. All or most of the discussion will likely occur behind closed doors. A meeting notice by the clerk to the Commissioners cited personnel privacy and a pending lawsuit against the county filed by Southern Durham Development as reasons the session is closed. Continue reading »
Durham, Durham County, news 751 Assemblage, Durham County Commissioners, Durham planning department, haw river assembly, jordan lake, Lowel Siler, Mike Ruffin, protest petition, public records, Southern Durham Development, Southern Environmental Law Center, Steve Medlin
Samiha Khanna ·
17 Nov 2009, 4:58 PM ·
2 Comments
Durham County Attorney Lowell Siler cited four laws today protecting a memo sent Friday from planning Director Steve Medlin to County Manager Mike Ruffin that details the status of a debated protest petition.
Siler responded to a request from the Indy for the document this afternoon, stating that four statutes related to confidential communications by legal counsel to a public board or agency, pending litigation and personnel privacy (specific citations listed on the jump) preclude the memo from being released to the public.
“We want to be open,” Siler said by phone. “We have no desire to withhold any information that can be released, but we have a mandatory responsibility to exercise some privileges by law as it relates to the disclosure of information.”
Siler said his department has been going through the “analysis” presented to Ruffin Friday and that he doesn’t know if any portion of it can be released. He did say that commissioners could vote to release some of the information (see citation on jump).
“It looks like the whole thing is privileged,” Siler said.
County commissioners are scheduled to meet in closed session at 10 a.m. Thursday, and it’s unclear whether they could take any action in open session regarding the memo, or the debated protest petition.
Continue reading »
Durham, Durham County, news 751 Assemblage, Durham County Commissioners, jordan lake, Lowell Siler, Mike Ruffin, protest petition, public records, Southern Durham Development, Steve Medlin
Samiha Khanna ·
16 Nov 2009, 2:02 PM ·
6 Comments
Durham County Commissioner Becky Heron said today that commissioners are scheduled to meet with the planning department and county attorney at 10 a.m. Thursday to hear a report on the status of the Jordan Lake rezoning protest petition.
Heron said the board will discuss the issue in closed session. The Acting Clerk to the Board of Commssioners wasn’t available this afternoon to confirm the meeting, but her assistant did confirm a meeting has been scheduled. Heron said commissioners communicated over the weekend to schedule it.
It’s unclear whether the planning department or county attorney have anything new to add to a Nov. 5 announcement by County Attorney Lowell Siler that the petition was invalid. The Indy has several calls out to public officials, and will update accordingly.
UPDATE, 3:15 p.m. - County Manager Mike Ruffin received a memo late Friday from planning Director Steve Medlin regarding the Jordan Lake protest petition, Ruffin said, but Siler has advised the county that the memo isn’t public because it contains confidential information protected by state law. It’s unclear whether this is relative to a pending lawsuit against the county.
Ruffin also said the County Attorney has advised members of the planning department not to speak about the protest petition, and that he knows of no plans on the part of any county department to publicly outline the county’s findings on the protest petition, but that county commissioners have the power to order the county to make the protest petition findings public after consulting with Siler on any legal ramifications.
Ruffin also said he couldn’t confirm why commissioners are meeting Thursday, just that they’re meeting in a closed session.
Read more about the Jordan Lake protest petition >>
Durham, Durham County, news 751 Assemblage, Becky Heron, Durham County Commissioners, haw river assembly, jordan lake, Lowell Siler, Mike Ruffin, protest petition, Southern Environmental Law Center, Steve Medlin
Samiha Khanna ·
5 Nov 2009, 5:27 PM ·
3 Comments
From a news release from the county, sent at 5:24 p.m. today:
Durham City-County Planning Director’s Protest Petition Ruling will be defended
County Attorney Lowell L. Siler stated today that upon receipt of an appeal, his office will defend the Durham City-County Planning Director’s determination that the Jordan Lake protest petition is invalid based on factors that include, but are not limited to the standing and authority of certain parties signing the petition submitted by the Haw River Assembly.
Siler informed the Board of County Commissioners that any legal challenge will be defended in Superior Court.
See previous post for more information.
Durham, Durham County, news 751 Assemblage, Durham County Commissioners, haw river assembly, jordan lake, Lowell Siler, protest petition, Southern Environmental Law Center, Steve Medlin
Samiha Khanna ·
5 Nov 2009, 4:01 PM ·
Comment
The People’s Alliance this morning released a letter it sent (pasted below) to Durham County Commissioners, Durham’s county manager, planning director and county attorney supporting the validity of a protest petition filed earlier this year by two environmental groups looking to preserve development restrictions around Jordan Lake.
The petition, filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center and Haw River Assembly, was ruled invalid one business day before Durham’s County Commissioners voted 3-2 to move the protected area around the water reservoir, which will allow commercial and residential development closer to the lake. Last week, petitioners challenged the Durham planning department and its director, Steve Medlin, to take another look at the petition.
The groups who filed the petition say the county missed two parcels of land that could have affected the outcome of the petition. Medlin said this week that the planning department hadn’t yet ruled on whether those parcels were mistakenly left out, but did say there was a question about the validity of the signatures.
Continue reading »
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