From the Caroline Rural Alliance: CAROLINE RURAL ALERT: Public hearing on barn and chicken coop ban postponed:
Dear Caroline Resident,
Well, attending the Planning Commission worksession yesterday evening was a waste of time. At the outset of the meeting, the audience (all three of us) were told that since this was a worksession and not a public hearing, there would be no open dialogue permitted between the audience and the Planning Commission.
The Planning Commission decided to continue the January 16th Public Hearing to a later date due to the size (81 pages) and complexity of the changes they are considering. I wish they had decided to cancel the public hearing BEFORE publishing a half-page announcement in the Caroline Progress.
The one thing I was glad to be present for was the short discussion about grandfathering and whether Caroline County has the right to limit grandfathering to a certain amount of time. Can you imagine a business owner being told that after 50 years of operation in Caroline, that they must cease operations within two years due to a zoning reclassification? Sounds crazy, but they’re talking about it!
We will continue to follow the progress of the barn and chicken coop ban and other changes that may affect the rural citizens of the County and let you know when the public hearing is rescheduled.
Thanks!
Sonny
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Copies of the new zoning text amendments (81 pages) are available at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Caroline_Rural_Alliance/files/
“I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.” – Thomas Jefferson, 1791