As clear as mud
How utterly confusing was the City Council's vote on protest petitions last week?
Even city PR staffers were perplexed.
Here's the first account, in the city's e-mail newsletter, City Connections:
Greensboro residents' exemption from the right to file protest petitions over rezoning issues has caused much debate in our community. At its meeting on Wednesday, January 21, City Council discussed the issue in depth and agreed to consider adding that issue to the legislative agenda.
The protest petition provides that five percent of property owners in an area can protest a rezoning on nearby property. When that occurs, a supermajority of Council must vote in favor of the rezoning if it is to occur. Greensboro was exempted from the law in 1971.
The protest petition, which is granted under state law, says if five percent of property owners in an area sign a rezoning petition, a supermajority of Council must say yes to approve it. Greensboro was exempted from the law in 1971.
To get the ball rolling on restoring the petition, Council requested that the Greensboro Neighborhood Congress and real estate industry representatives develop a compromise version of the petition for consideration in February. If Council approves that version, it will be sent to the state legislature as part of the City's legislative agenda.
Here's a clarification, sent hours later:
At Wednesday night's City Council meeting, the Council voted to ask the State Legislature to reinstate the protest petition for residents of Greensboro. Separately, Council asked the Neighborhood Congress, the League of Women Voters, and TREBIC to try to reach an agreement on changes that could make both sides comfortable with the legislation, specifically in the percentage of nearby property owners required to trigger the supermajority vote. If that agreement is reached by February 3, it will be submitted as a local bill along with the request to reinstate the protest petition in Greensboro.
Even council members say they didn't fully understand what happened last week.
A simple yes or no vote was all that was needed, without asterisks. There is little evidence to support that the law needs to be changed.
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