Commissioners reject Woodlief's rezoning before a packed house

The Franklin County commissioners' meeting room was standing room only Monday night as people waited to speak both for and against Charles Woodlief's rezoning request, which was denied.

Woodlief owns 54 acres on Tarboro Road and was requesting that 13 acres be rezoned from R-40 residential to light industrial. The owner of Woodlief Grading Inc. wanted to expand his business to include recycling boiler fuel for mulch. He maintained there would be no contaminated soil or building materials allowed and that it would be all natural wood products.

Planning Director Matt Livingston said Woodlief has been operating the business for about a year without the appropriate permits. Two years ago, Livingston said, Woodlief requested rezoning for the same reason and later withdrew the request and went ahead with the business anyway.

Livingston also said rezoning Woodlief's property would "clearly be a case of spot zoning" and would be detrimental to the Neuse River Basin. The planning board also felt it would be spot zoning and recommended denial.

Commissioner Harry Foy asked if rezoning the entire 54 acres would still be considered spot zoning. Livingston said it is not the size of the tract that matters as much as the surrounding zoning; in this case, it is all residential.

County Attorney Darnell Batton said size is a factor, but 54 acres does not mean it would not be considered spot zoning.

"Courts take these cases on a case-by-case basis," Batton said. The board's burden would be to show a "reasonable basis for treating Mr. Woodlief's property differently."

Bob Hornik, an attorney representing many citizens against Woodlief's request, agreed completely with Livingston's comments.

"I think this is a classic case of spot zoning," Hornik said, " ... to the benefit primarily if not solely to the property owner ... and to the detriment of the neighbors."

Hornik also pointed out that there are 79 different uses for areas zoned light industrial. "You must determine that this property is suitable for each of these 79 uses."

Most citizens against the request agreed they were not against Woodlief himself or his right to earn a living, but felt his property was not a suitable place for the business.

Terri Rogers, a Tarboro Road resident, was more concerned that the only reason for his request was that it was costing him $150,000 a year in dumping fees and felt he should be allowed to use his own property.

The only advantage, Rogers said, "is to increase the profitability of Woodlief Grading."

Gregg Adelman of Youngsville warned the board that voting for the rezoning would adversely affect the entire county and they would be "setting one hell of a bad precedent."

Mary Jane Jennings argued that there is a reason the county has zoning and regulations. "Mr. Woodlief is out of compliance both on the state and county level," she said. "You cannot betray all of us for ... one person."

People for Woodlief's request said they had no problems with Woodlief's business and that he had the right to earn a living just like everyone else. They argued that the county needs this kind of operation.

Woodlief claimed he told all of his neighbors before he bought the property that he wanted to run this operation, and said he would not have bought it if he thought they would later protest him. He said if they were against it then he would have put up a subdivision or a trailer park. But neighbors said they did not want that.

He also said he would not be practicing any of the 79 uses other than the recycling operation.

Woodlief was first cut off by the board as his three minutes was up. But he was later granted an additional three minutes by Chairman John Ball.

Woodlief admitted that he had been running the operation illegally but that he had been lied to by his neighbors.

"I told the people what I wanted to do ... and they just backstabbed me," he said.

Hornik was also granted additional time to speak. He said if the board granted Woodlief's request, "you say, if you break the laws long enough, eventually the county commissioners will give in," he said. "He can't do this and get away with it."

Foy moved that the board approve Woodlief's request and Commissioner Robert Lee Swanson seconded. But Ball and Commissioners Ed Strickland and George "Tommy" Wynne voted against it and the motion failed.

In other business, the board

approved Milltrene B. Newell's request to rezone 4 acres on State Road 1600 in Louisburg Township from agricultural-residential to R-15. They also approved her request for a special use permit to build a group care facility on the property,

approved The Doyle Company's request to rezone 9 acres on Tant Road in Dunn Township from agricultural-residential to highway business,

approved Evelyne Horton's request to rezone 13 acres on the east side of N.C. 39 in Dunn Township from R-40 to highway business,

approved the Work First county block grant plan and appointed Swanson as the board's representative on the planning committee,

approved the River's Edge subdivision preliminary plat, which includes almost 20 acres to be dedicated for the purpose of public recreation/open space. The land was donated by developer Dennis Cyrus and will be part of the countywide greenway system, eventually uniting with other counties' systems and

appointed Nikki Griffin to the KARTS board as the human services representative for a two-year term.