Some commissioners want elevation removed from MRPO
Published 5:48 pm Thursday, March 8, 2012
Planning board to discuss using slope only
Polk County’s Mountainside and Ridgeline Protection Ordinance (MRPO) is currently based on both slope and elevation, but some commissioners are now asking that the ordinance be based strictly on slope after hearing numerous concerns over the elevation restrictions.
The Polk County Board of Commissioners met Monday, March 5 and agreed to ask the planning board to discuss taking elevation restrictions out of the ordinance.
The slope versus elevation issue has been discussed several times during the county’s Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) committee meetings, with particular concerns coming from Saluda residents.
The current MRPO ordinance restricts any commercial building at elevations 1,650 feet and above, which includes all of Saluda Township.
Polk County commissioners amended the MRPO ordinance on March 5 to allow mobile homes to be placed above 1,650 feet and to exempt from regulation minor excavation projects (less than 750 square feet of dirt being moved). The amendments brought out some concerns of commissioners and citizens regarding why the ordinance includes elevation restrictions.
Commissioner Tom Pack suggested Monday night that the county ask its planning board to rework the ordinance so that it is based strictly on slope.
“Way back when I was a commissioner in 2004 we talked about protecting the ridgetops,” Pack said. “What we had in mind is not what got passed.”
Pack said the ordinance should be based on slope only, not elevation. People who live in Saluda and other areas, Pack said, have a lot of flat areas to build on and the county shouldn’t restrict those.
During public comments Michael Gage also asked why the ordinance is based on elevation.
He said if you build something on a slope it will slide down, so he said it makes sense to regulate that, but he asked what the difference is between building something on a flat surface at low elevations versus higher elevations.
“I really think you guys need to consider this ordinance, send it back to the planning board and base it on something that makes sense,” said Gage. “Right now the elevation thing is a bunch of garbage.”
Commissioner Ted Owens also said he agreed with Pack that the current mountain and ridgeline restrictions are not what commissioners had in mind years ago.
“Years ago we didn’t want to see high-rise hotels on ridges,” said Owens.
Commissioner vice-chair Renée McDermott said the UDO committee has had many meetings listening to the Saluda mayor, council and business owners and is helping to determine where commercial development should be allowed there.
“So a great deal has been done in Saluda to take care of the concerns that they have,” McDermott said. “The group is listening and I feel sure that will be recommended to the planning board and commissioners.”
McDermott also reminded the board that when MRPO was adopted, the planning board approved it unanimously after spending many months working on it and the board of commissioners also approved it unanimously.
McDermott and commissioner chair Ray Gasperson also pointed out that the planning board will be looking at the whole document soon after getting a recommendation from the UDO committee.
When the planning board originally drafted the MRPO ordinance, the idea of basing restrictions on slope was discussed and the end result was the document includes both slope and elevation restrictions. The board of commissioners adopted the ordinance in June 2009.
The Polk County Planning Board canceled its March meeting and will meet again in April.