The Buncombe County Commissioners met to approve stricter steep slopes/ridge top ordinances. (Read the twitter account, or Chapter 70 or Chapter 78 of the county’s Code of Ordinances.) About twenty people argued for strict or stricter codes. Buncombe County’s mountains were an “economic engine” and “the goose that laid the golden egg.”
A handful of conservative objectors made more sense. They argued that regulation drives up the cost of building. In spite of what news reports say, the local building community is experiencing a recession. Costs of materials are not going down. Mike Butrum of the Asheville Board of Realtors argued that people collecting government checks are getting more than 50% of the organization’s membership. One supporter of the ordinance countered it wasn’t regulation, but the global economy that was shutting down the housing market. One got the impression the economy was some vaprous aether wafting about with neither source nor cause.
Attorney Albert Sneed said he ran from office to office seeking permissions for a living, so he’d make a lot of money off the red tape the ordinance proposed, “But it’s not right!” said he. The cost of compliance, having state certified and licensed professionals sign off on various features of new construction, were estimated to run $5000 for an “affordable” $150,000 home, and $10,000 for more typical developments.
After the public hearing, Commissioner Holly Jones wanted to dispel the myth that property owners were opposed to the ordinance, because many who owned property were advocating for stricter guidelines. Chair David Gantt then said that God owns the land. People might think they own it just because they hold a certificate of title, but they don’t. The logical conclusion from the premises is that government knows more about good stewardship than landowners.
The most surreal element in the public hearing was Gantt’s recognition of all the luminaries in the room. Former mayors and state representatives had come share the historic moment and put their good housekeeping seal of approval on an arduous ordinance doomed to make the hobbling construction industry suffer more.
