VGMC won’t remove citizen standing

BEACON PHOTO/PAT HATFIELD
I’m from Earth; how about you? — Former Volusia Growth Management Commissioner Chris Elmer of Enterprise questioned what planet current commissioners were from, to consider making some of the proposed changes to the way the commission operates. Behind him, Commissioners Steve Katz of DeLand, left, and Danny Allen of DeBary listen.

BEACON PHOTO/PAT HATFIELD
New chairman — VGMC Vice Chair Gerald Brandon of Ormond Beach smiles after the Sept. 23 Volusia Growth Management Commission adjourned. Fellow commissioners elected him to succeed outgoing commission Chairwoman Joan Spinney. It will be a return engagement for Brandon.

BEACON PHOTO/PAT HATFIELD
Happy citizens — Susan Young, left, and Roy Walters of Southwest Volusia look over notes and agenda items from the Sept. 23 Volusia Growth Management Commission meeting, during a break. They were happy with decisions the commissioners were making.

BEACON PHOTO/PAT HATFIELD
A moment to smile — Staff planner Barry Wilcox, left, and Volusia Growth Management Commission Attorney Paul Chipok smile during a break at the commission meeting in Ormond Beach Sept. 23. Behind them, audience members talk happily about decisions the commission was making that night.

By Pat Hatfield
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Oct 6, 2009 - 9:38:18am

People were nearly dancing in the aisles. They shook hands, high-fived, hugged and even butt-bumped.

This joy came when Volusia Growth Management Commission (VGMC) Chairwoman Joan Spinney called for a short break about halfway through the Sept. 23 meeting.

The break gave members of the public a chance to express their feelings about decisions the VGMC was making that evening. It was going for the people, they told each other.

The VGMC reviews changes to cities’ and the county’s comprehensive land-use plans, to ensure the changes are consistent with neighboring land uses. Comprehensive plans dictate the big picture of how land will be used, and how much and where growth is allowed.

On the first change in VGMC rules up for consideration, attorney Paul Chipok set the tone for the rest of the evening.

Current rules allow substantially aggrieved parties, including individual citizens, to be part of the process. The citizens can call for a public hearing, and become a party to the case. It’s called “standing.” Under a proposed rule change, only governmental entities would have had standing.

Chipok, the VGMC’s attorney, told the commissioners, “We can create our own rules ... who we will give standing to.” However, he cautioned, “There really has been no abuse of the system.”

There have been no attempts by individuals to gum up the VGMC works with frivolous requests. There has been only one citizen-initiated public hearing in the past five years.

“It is my recommendation to the board to take the position of, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,’” Chipok advised.

Commissioner Steve Katz of DeLand made the motion to keep citizen standing, to applause from the audience. Commissioner Sandra Walters of Enterprise expressed her sentiments during the roll-call vote: “Heck, yes!”

Burden of proof

Another hot-button issue was “presumption of consistency.”

Under current rules, the applicant has the duty to demonstrate that a land-use change is consistent with an adjacent jurisdiction’s land use; that it will not create more traffic than a neighboring city’s roads can handle, for example.

Under language in a proposed rule change, an applicant’s request for a comprehensive-plan change would be presumed consistent, unless others demonstrate it is not consistent.

In practical terms, the new language would not affect the way VGMC technical staff processes applications, Chipok said.

Audience member Greg Gimbert of Daytona Beach asked, “Why change the wording, if you’re not changing the function?”

Audience member Roy Walters of Enterprise told commissioners that in a civil trial, the burden is on the person who wants the action.

“You need to have the burden of proof on an applicant,” Walters said.

He noted the VGMC hearings are quasi-judicial in nature.

Audience member Eric West of Daytona Beach said words have tremendous impact. If an application comes before the VGMC with the presumption of consistency, it is “pre-prejudiced,” West said. It’s already been stated the application is OK.

Audience member and Ponce Inlet Mayor Tony Goudie said the wording would cause commissions to “just presume it’s consistent.”

Former VGMC Commissioner Chris Elmer of Enterprise told current commissioners, “I’m from planet Earth.” He said he wasn’t sure where they were from.

Elmer said the proposed rule changes were driven by developers’ attorneys who were sore after they lost a hotly contested case known as “Lady Godiva.”

In that East Volusia development case, private citizens got involved in opposing a condominium project on the beach, due to environmental and traffic concerns. A judge ultimately denied permission for the project.

Elmer had a stern warning for the VGMC, if they OK’d the proposed rule changes.

“Don’t kid yourself. You’re going to change; you’re going to demonize this commission in the eyes of the public,” Elmer said.

Saralee Morrissey, a nonvoting member of the VGMC who represents the Volusia County School Board, said the School Board, unlike developers who plan big projects, certainly doesn’t have the money to hire all the engineers and technical staff needed to provide evidence of inconsistency, and neither do little towns like Pierson or Lake Helen.

“It should not be our burden to prove an amendment inconsistent,” she said, to audience applause.

The audience clapped again, when commissioners voted unanimously to nix the proposed rule change.

The County Council will also look at VGMC rules, after the final draft is completed.

Who’s to serve?

Commissioners also took up the matter of who can serve on the commission. Cities have sometimes chosen their employees — planners or engineers — to serve on the VGMC.

Commissioner Rachel Sieg noted there has been a lot of citizen input on the matter. The citizens don’t like the idea of government staffers voting on land-use changes.

“It taints the process,” she said.

Audience member Norman Lane noted, if an elected official is not allowed to serve on the VGMC, then neither should the official’s designee.

School Board representative Morrissey said having staff members vote puts “horrible pressure” on the employees.

Commissioner Roger Sonnenfeld of Lake Helen said it is a problem when employees must vote on matters that affect them in the workplace. Rules don’t allow a commissioner to abstain from voting.

Commissioner Walters made a motion to prohibit city or county employees from sitting on the commission. Her motion also grandfathered-in three current commissioners who work for their local governments: Terry Griffiths of Daytona Beach Shores, Richard Walton of Daytona Beach, and James Kerr of Orange City.

Chairwoman Spinney said the measure would create “a firestorm” of controversy.

Vice Chairman Gerald Brandon said, “I’m not sure that it will. We’re supposed to be independent, anyway.”

After a roll-call vote, VGMC coordinator Merry Chris Smith said, “The motion carries.” Once again, the audience burst out with applause.

In other business, commissioners elected current Vice Chairman Brandon of Ormond Beach to return as VGMC chairman in the new fiscal year. They elected Steve Katz of DeLand to serve as vice chairman, and Rachel Sieg of Volusia County as secretary.

As the meeting came to a close, audience members thanked the commissioners for their work this night.

— pat@beacononlinenews.com

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