County’s code interpretation worked for decades

Dear Editor,

 As you have all probably heard by now, our new prosecuting attorney, True Pearce has decided that the County has been “interpreting” our land use codes wrong for the last 45 years. He says that if we apply the code as written we can split all A1 zoned land in the county, which is most of the county, into 20 acre lots with no restriction or input. He says his written opinion is “attorney-client privilege” and says only the Commissioners can release it, but he seems to have them too scared to release it. The Planning and Zoning Commission needs to see the opinion so they can understand what needs to be changed, either the code or how we apply it. He keeps saying apply it “as written,” we believe we have been.  

 Mr. Pearce also hired an outside legal firm to review his opinion. In response to me at a County Commission meeting, Commissioner Wilkerson stated Mr. Pearce shouldn’t have done that. The firm basically verified his opinion but reserved the right to change their opinion if they received other information. Again, we haven’t been allowed to see what he sent them.

 A few weeks ago, some of us that are concerned about how his “opinion” will affect the county, especially the agricultural land, had an Emergency Moratorium drawn up by a lawyer and we presented it to the County Commissioners along with supporting State code and reasoning for the need of it. The Commissioners voted to adopt it as written with a few clarifications and directed Mr. Pearce to write it up. As presented, the moratorium would only have affected the splits and development that were added by the prosecuting attorney’s opinion, and we would have continued to operate as we have for the last 45 years. Mr. Pearce changed the wording of the moratorium so that it stops all splits and development in the A1 zone. Now his “supporters?” are blaming those that proposed the moratorium and the P&Z for “shutting down the county” when it is directly attributable to the changes Mr. Pearce made to the proposed moratorium. 

 Soooo, if anyone tries to tell you it is the fault of P&Z you just tell them it was “True.”

Ron Jaeger

Chairman 

Washington County 

Planning and Zoning