BY FRANNY HANRAHAN

I recently read the article about the “circus atmosphere” of some Troutman Town Council meetings and take issue with some of the statements made by the town manager.

I’ve attended a number of these meetings — both civil and under the big top. I agree that there should never be disrespectful comments made, but I want to point out why these meetings may become combative.

The Town Council has approved project after project, development after development, adding thousands of people and vehicles to this area. This has overflowed our already-overfilled schools and crowded roads. A once beautiful mix of homes, farms, and small businesses is being turned into, well, an overcrowded traffic jam.

Here’s why the meetings go off the rails: Only residents within 500 feet need to be notified of rezoning requests. That’s a tiny area. That means only some residents on a single street need to be notified. The development can literally be taking place at the end of your street and yet you don’t need to be informed.

When people find out about proposed nearby rezoning by other means, they get mad and feel disrespected. Why didn’t they see the zoning sign? Maybe because the zoning signs weren’t put out, weren’t visible, blew away and weren’t replaced. I bear witness that all of those things have recently happened. This occurred recently on Clontz Hill Road, and when town staff was made aware that there were no signs visible on the massive piece of property potentially being rezoned, they didn’t go correct the problem. How are residents to know that their street or neighborhood has a rezoning request?

Why don’t they just check the town website? (So, how often? How are people supposed to know to check the website?) I did check the website — and there wasn’t anything posted about the Clontz Hill community meeting. I’ve been told that the website is being overhauled, and it isn’t up to date. That is a major problem, and no meetings should be held until that issue is resolved. It is not acceptae to conduct this type of business without giving the public information.

I went ahead and called Town Hall because I had heard the meeting was scheduled for that night (February 26). The person who answered checked the calendar and told me there was no meeting. I told her that I really thought there was, so she transferred me to another person who confirmed that there was no meeting scheduled that night. Hmm. For some reason, I persisted and left a message for the planning director, who promptly called me back, confirmed there was indeed a meeting, and provided any information that I asked for. The planning director is always knowledgeable and helpful. But why was I repeatedly told that there wasn’t a meeting? That experience certainly erodes confidence in the system.

At the community meeting, attendees were gathering around the site proposal map. One of the representatives tried to shoo people away, saying that they’d get to the map during the presentation. This is the first time that people living directly next to the property got to see a map, and they were being asked to sit down. We couldn’t see the map because it wasn’t posted on the Troutman website — so don’t tell us to sit down. This certainly did not build goodwill or start the meeting off on the right foot.

The meetings are scheduled for one hour. The developers present, the public then gets to ask their questions — which they couldn’t properly prepare for because they didn’t have any info about the proposal until moments prior. The developers mostly say they’ll look into that or that’s a good question or volley it back to someone else, saying “that’s up to the town” or “that’s up to DOT.” So many questions go unanswered. Again, not helping the civil discourse of the meeting. The presenter repeatedly tried to shut down comments and would say “Are there any questions.” They didn’t want residents to make statements or point out issues or concerns.

Most residents don’t really understand how rezoning requests work. But the developers certainly know, and they have lawyers that certainly know. And the Town of Troutman certainly knows. But the public doesn’t. We have jobs.

Here’s my brief explanation to the best of my understanding: The developers have to hold a meeting to inform the public of their intentions. (It’s mandatory, so everyone can stop thanking them for holding a meeting.) The public gets to ask a few questions. Then there is public hearing at a Town Council meeting where the public gets to make statements in front of the council members — the people who will actually vote yay or nay on the rezoning. This is the meeting you need to show up to if you want to be heard by the town council. The public makes their statements right before the council votes. I’m sure they keep an open mind going in, but the public only has one brief shot to make their case. It doesn’t leave much time for the council to reflect on what the public presents.

So the meetings may sometimes have a “circus atmosphere,” as Town Manager Ron Wyatt put it, but that’s because the town staff:

♦ Fails to inform the public;
♦ Gives (unintended) misinformation;
♦ Doesn’t explain how the voting process works; and
♦ Fails to keep the town website updated

Just as importantly, the Town Council Isn’t hearing the repeated concerns regarding overdevelopment, stretching of resources and traffic.

Mr. Wyatt also made the statement that some residents treat every project like an “enemy.” Well, to those of us who are concerned about the traffic problems and overwhelmed schools, every project that brings in hundreds more people is an enemy. The town manager shouldn’t disregard our opinions by comparing us to circus folk. Don’t point out the clowns until you check how you’re running your own show.

Franny Hanrahan lives in Troutman.