Sen. Tom Mcinnis moves against local government overreach
This site is in an unfamiliar — and somewhat uncomfortable — position. We find ourselves on the same side of a debate as state senator Tom McInnis and the newsroom over at Pravda-on-Pennsylvania.
(*What’s next? Cats and dogs living together in harmony?*)
There are two pieces of legislation out there — both supported by Moore County’s senator McInnis — that go for the jugular in an effort to rein in local governments – like Pinehurst and Cary – on overreach in the areas of planning & zoning and property rights.
Many of us are familiar with the types of people who enjoy serving on HOA / POA boards and lording over their neighbors. Sometimes, those same terrible people end up in local government behaving just as tyrannical as they did at the HOA level.
One piece of legislation out there does away with extraterritorial jurisdictions (ETJs):
For the second time in the last year, the village of Pinehurst is looking to ward off legislative efforts to remove its extraterritorial jurisdiction.
Last year, it was a local bill explicitly aimed at Moore County, but this year, Senate Bill 314, a statewide measure, would outright eliminate ETJs in counties with pre-existing zoning regulations, to “prevent regulatory overlap.”
The village recently drafted a resolution opposing any new efforts to curb its ability to plan for the areas immediately surrounding Pinehurst, while also highlighting the value of ETJs and their residents.
Oversight for ETJs is an authority the state grants, allowing municipalities to control zoning and development up to 3 miles — depending on population — outside corporate limits. North Carolina municipalities have used ETJs since the early 20th century to maintain relative continuity between those corporate limits and their immediate buffering areas.
[…] Later, McInnis voiced his support for the legislation, citing ETJ residents’ need for representation and placing a premium on property rights.
“A lot of people in the ETJ basically have taxation without representation,” McInnis said. “Their property rights are affected by motivations of the city, but they don’t have the ability to vote in or against anyone on the city councils. So the city, whichever village or city, can do carte blanche with whatever they want on their property.”
[…] McInnis added that contemporary municipalities don’t need ETJs following the elimination of forced annexation in North Carolina. Now, annexation can only occur when a property owner requests it. He said he believed Moore County had the proper professional infrastructure to oversee the assumption of authority for ETJs.
“The county of Moore has an extensive land use plan and authority,” said McInnis. “It has a qualified and competent inspection department. They have everything that’s necessary, and it’s time that we give people back their property rights.”
Opposition from the county’s towns, though, was swift.
Pinehurst Mayor Patrick Pizzella was taken aback by the fact that the bill would single out Moore County. “I don’t think any of the residents in the ETJ have ever contacted me and said, ‘We would like to change. We no longer want to fall under the offices of the village of Pinehurst; we would rather be under the offices of the county.’ So it’s not something that has come to the residents of the ETJ, and those have been the rules for over 50 years,” he said. […]
Patrick Pizzella is “taken aback”, eh? Most people likely have no idea who he is or where he came from. How would they know to reach out to him?
Pizzella has been a resident of Moore County for four years and a month.
He is a Washington lobbyist who registered to vote in North Carolina in March 2021. He got elected to the Pinehurst Village Council in November 2021 — thanks primarily to some vote-splitting and other dirty tricks aided and encouraged by other local pols and local government employees. Pizzella was elected mayor of Pinehurst in November 2023. Again, thanks to some strategic vote-splitting.
Here’s an interesting take on this ETJ bill from a regular reader of this site who happens to have a VOTE on the floor of the state House chamber:
“People need to take a deep breath and just recognize ETJs are going out the door. It may not happen right now. But it’s coming real soon. They are concepts that has outlived their usefulness. If people want to live by the city’s rules, they’ll move into the city. An awful lot of county governments out there are well-equipped to handle just about everything city governments can offer.”
Another interesting piece of legislation out there involves local regulation of short-term rental properties. If you live in a vacation destination – such as Pinehurst – you’ve likely got more than a few of these entities scattered throughout your community.
The current majority on the Pinehurst council swept to power in 2023 thanks mostly to an exaggeration-riddled wave of hysteria regarding rental properties in town and the people who rent said properties. One news story about one out-of-control party at one rental property got blown up into an alleged epidemic in need of a government crackdown:
Several months and $40,000 later, the results are in for the number of properties that might be violating Pinehurst’s ordinance regulating short-term rentals: 20.
For the Pinehurst Village Council members for whom this has been a passion project, there is nothing but satisfaction. “A great start” is what Councilwoman Barb Ficklin, single-minded in her pursuit of enforcement, calls it.
Ficklin and Mayor Pat Pizzella can’t wait to get a map of STRs in the hands of the village’s Neighborhood Advisory Committee. Maybe out-of-town vacationers choosing to spend their thousands of dollars here will get treated to their very own Pinehurst picket? We can hear it now: “Hey Hey, Ho Ho, Your STR’s got to go!” […]
But wait — turns out most were compliant. But soon, it might not even matter.
Who’s Really Winning?
One Pinehurst resident who does not appreciate the council’s zeal is Tom McInnis, who also happens to be one of the senior leaders in the N.C. Senate. He has introduced a bill that ultimately would nullify Pinehurst’s existing regulation of STRs.
His legislation declares, “Short-term rentals are vital to the tourism and marketability of the State. Short-term rentals provide housing options for transitory workers, including nurses, tradespeople and executives.”
Assuming it passes this year, McInnis’ bill would effectively prevent municipalities from curbing the spread of STRs in residential neighborhoods except in cases of repeated fire and safety violations. The legislation instead would establish a permitting process and allow local governments to set certain rules, mostly around code enforcement.
For McInnis, it’s a little ol’ concept he favors called “private property rights.” It’s really big these days in Raleigh.
“This bill will bring clarity and certainty to an uncertain situation throughout North Carolina,” he said. “It will protect private property rights while protecting the neighborhoods where STRs exist. It will be a win for everyone.”
Pinehurst already thinks it has its win. It grandfathered in STRs that were already operating, provided they applied for a permit and met occupancy and safety regulations. Pizzella thinks what the village put in place is effective and fair, especially since only 4 percent of STRs are in violation.[…]
This guy and his cronies led us to believe – during the last election – there was an epidemic of illegality going on with these properties. *Four percent, eh?*
Lawsuits in other localities have already struck down crap like what Pizzella & co. are pushing.
MORE:
[…] “It’s not good for local communities to not be able to manage their own issues,” Pizzella said. “Our ordinance has been in place for two-and-a-half years now. The noise around the issue has subsided, and we have a good amount of cooperation between both homeowners and those who manage properties.” […]
If the $40,000 web crawl has succeeded at all, it has enumerated for the village how ludicrously small their “problem” really is.
Before getting the data, Ficklin was convinced that Pinehurst had “probably hundreds more STRs in residential-only neighborhoods than we had at the time of the adoption of this ordinance.” With accuracy like that, we’d suggest Ficklin not enter any ax-throwing contests.
But you know who wields an ax and has good aim? McInnis. This is not the first time he’s had the village in his sights when he’s perceived it to be overreaching and interfering with individual rights. He’s got the juice in Raleigh to make things happen.
On this matter, we said in December — and reiterate here — that the village should enforce the laws it has on its books — occupancy, noise and other matters of code enforcement — and tread lightly on any further crackdown. […]
And the congregation said: “Amen.”
Pizzella is your typical Washington Bureaucrat, and shrugs off wasting $40,000 of taxpayer money to pursue Barb “Mrs. Magoo” Ficklin’s boogie man, the evil unauthorized short term rental.