BY TRACY LEE TATE
Special to the Times
The Union County Board of County Commissioners, acting as the Planning and Zoning Board on April 16 has begun the process of extending the moratorium on the acceptance of applications and the processing of special exception applications for travel trailer parks and campgrounds for another year.
The reason for extending the moratorium is the concern of the board that such businesses would create an undue strain on county services, such as law enforcement, fire protection and EMS, as well as becoming havens for a wealth of other problems as the board’s research has shown in other counties.
There are also concerns about taxation on such properties, increased traffic and the current lack of code enforcement in the county.
The planning and zoning board passed a resolution to recommend to the board that the moratorium be extended unanimously, on a motion by Commissioner Jimmy Tallman, with Commissioner Willie Croft seconding. It is the eventual intent of the board to establish Land Development Regulations, with the assistance of the planning council, to regulate such businesses and to determine procedures and methods to continue to preserve the health, safety, and welfare of the county’s citizens.
It is planned to develop LDRs, and other ordinances, regulations and other actions designed to implement provisions in the county’s Comprehensive Plan to eventually make such establishments able to locate in the county.
Later the same evening the board of county commissioners, at their regular meeting, passed on first reading an ordinance to extend the moratorium, with the second reading scheduled to take place at a special meeting on April 29.
