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A friend once said that the act of voting earned you a license to kvetch. That is, if you wanted to complain about politics and politicians, you could do so only if you had voted. More to the point, if you didn’t vote, the logic went, you had no right to complain.

Something like that is coming up this Tuesday. There’s a public hearing (October 3, 7p, Town Hall) about reducing density in Oriental, and allowing fewer condos and town homes to be crammed in. (See the accompanying report for more details.) Condos are something you hear more and more complaints about for the simple reason that Oriental, like other coastal towns, is seeing more and more of them.

Over 210 condo or town home units have been built or approved to be built in Oriental in the past year. Just this past week, three developers went before the Planning Board and put another 25 units in to the pipeline. And paperwork is in to the town for three more condos near the harbor.

Individually, condos are not bad. Really. But by definition, condos don’t come individually. They come in blocks. And it’s the sheer numbers that have a lot of folks in our riverside village concerned that, like some giant erasers, these condos will wipe away large parts of Oriental’s soul. While the biggest condo project, the 144 units planned for Pierce Creek Landing on White Farm Road, is away from the center of town, there is also concern that lax regulations could permit more condos in the Old Village.

But Oriental’s lax rules aren’t etched in stone. They can change, if enough people say, “Enough, that’s not how our town should grow.” That’s Democracy 101. But that can only happen if those who want the change make that clear. That’s where Tuesday’s public hearing.. and the days leading up to it.. come in.

We gather that the Town Board may need to see a show of support if it is to change the regulations. So, instead of just complaining among ourselves about condos, it’s important to show up Tuesday night and urge our Town Board to reduce density so that any unit built in the R2, R3, MU and MU1 neighborhoods has to have at least 5,000 square feet of land. (See accompanying article for more on this.)

A “5,000-square-feet for every unit” rule is the most straightfoward — and most equitable — way to reduce density. The Town Board needs to hear that. The Town Board is operating with the view that a new state law requires them to show what public need was served when they change a law. Give them that fodder.

Some on the Town Board have suggested they may not take a vote on the issue Tuesday night. That would be misquided. Given the spate of condo proposals, time is of the essence. Oriental can’t run the risk of another 25 condo units being proposed at the next Planning Board meeting. 25 here, 25 there. It all adds up and subtracts from our town’s character.

So please, if you think 5,000-square-feet-per-unit would at least give us some breathing space, don’t keep that opinion to yourself. Speak up now — this weekend, Monday and Tuesday. Contact your Town Board members, and go to the hearing.

If you don’t go to the hearing and if you don’t email or phone your Town Board members and let them know, then please, forever hold your peace when a block of condos goes up in your neighborhood or favorite part of town.

Here are the numbers to share with your commissioners:

213 — number of condo/townhome units built or proposed in Oriental in the past year
25 — number of condos okayed by the Planning Board at its September 26 meeting
5,000 — number of square feet that should be required per unit for any residential construction in the R2, R3 and MU and MU1 neighborhoods.

And here is the contact information for them:

Warren Johnson
5633 Styron Drive
PO Box 724
Oriental, NC 28571
252 249 1667 – Home
252 249 3187 – Fax
252 675 2362 – Cell
kwjohnson@pamlico.net

Candy Bohmert
311 Midyette Street
P O Box 562
Oriental, NC 28571
252 745 5781 – Fax (Work)
252 675 1411 – Cell
candy@pinelink.org

Alan Herlands
2115 White Farm Road
P O Box 466
Oriental NC 28571
252 249 0856 – Home
252 670 4203 – Cell
alherlands@pinelink.org

Nancy Inger
1107 Neuse Drive
Oriental, NC 28571
252 249 7291 – Home
252 249 7291 – Fax
252 671 3012 – Cell
nancying@earthlink.net

Barbara Venturi
1406 Tosto Circle
Oriental NC 28571
252 249 1141 – Home
venturi@coastalnet.com

Posted Saturday September 30, 2006 by Melinda Penkava

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