THURSDAY
Experts to Rally Public Against County-Wide Rezoning

Shorekeeper Jay Ford will moderate Thursday’s forum.

CAPE CHARLES WAVE

November 3, 2014

Prominent planning experts and local environmentalists will address a public forum 7 p.m. Thursday, November 6, at the Eastville Fire Department Bingo Hall. Sponsored by Virginia Eastern Shorekeeper and Citizens for a Better Eastern Shore, the forum is meant to educate the public on the proposed Northampton County zoning overhaul.

Panelists include former chair of Northampton County Planning Commission Martina Coker and former commissioners and planning officials Roberta Kellam and Mary Miller. They will be joined by David Kabler, a real estate broker with 41 years of experience, and Art Schwarzschild, a marine scientist who directs the UVA research center in Oyster and who is also chairman of the Willis Wharf Village Steering Committee.

Other panelists include retired hydro-geologist Gene Hampton who served on the Eastern Shore’s bi-county groundwater committee for many years, and Ken Dufty, a longtime community organizer.

The forum will be moderated by Virginia Eastern Shorekeeper Jay Ford, who will also offer a presentation on the timeline of the rezoning process by the County Board of Supervisors and Planning staff.

Panelists will explain how the proposed zoning could affect residents throughout the county, including those in the five incorporated towns, the 29 hamlets, and the nine villages.

The presentation will also include suggestions on how residents and interested citizens can be more effective in having their concerns voiced and considered by the County Board of Supervisors before they vote on the final ordinance. Organizers say the forum will be “the most comprehensive and informative presentation on this critical issue to date,” and urge county residents to attend.

Organizers are circulating a handout entitled “Proposed Changes to Our Community You May Not Know About.” (CLICK to view.)

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Virginia Eastern Shorekeeper Jay Ford said in a statement that VES “has always held that public education and input is the most effective tool to protect our waters. An informed citizenry knows how vital our waters are to the economy of our region and our quality of life. Since the March public hearing on this matter we have continually called for environmental impact assessments on this sweeping overhaul and the county has yet to respond.

“VES had hoped that a Water Quality Stakeholder group in conjunction with the county would conduct the research absent from the proposed overhaul and that, more importantly, this committee would answer citizen questions,” Ford said. “Unfortunately, the county elected to go another route. This community forum is designed to address a critical gap in the public discourse, namely a place for citizens to have their questions meaningfully answered.

“While VES has been clear that we are concerned about threats to Water Quality within the proposed code we have an equal, if not greater, concern over the lack of opportunity for meaningful public discourse. Open and substantive conversations on matters of public policy should be a top priority for governments so that residents can formulate informed positions. We encourage all Northampton residents to attend, and to ask hard questions because this overhaul will have long-lasting consequences for our region, our economy, and our natural resources,” Ford said.