Town hall searches for the voices of the people

Vacancies arise on Black Mountain advisory boards and commissions

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
October 20, 2021

Jillian Ballard, left, and Kathy Phillips, who serve on the Black Mountain Zoning Board of Adjustment and Planning Board, respectively, are among the many citizen volunteers who make up the town’s six citizen advisory boards and commissions. The boards review and discuss a wide variety of issues that directly impact residents of the town. Photo by Fred McCormick

Every two years, many Black Mountain citizens head to their local precinct to elect the candidates they believe will best represent their interests on the town’s governing body. Some of them dutifully monitor the Town Council as it enacts policies that govern the municipal services residents fund and consume. 

There is another critical element to the process that offers an opportunity for the voice of the people to be heard by elected leaders, as they consider legislative actions that directly impact the lives of local citizens. However, fewer people are getting involved in the process. 

Before they are listed as items in a Town Council agenda, many of the topics considered by local leaders are discussed by the advisory boards and commissions composed of citizen volunteers. The Town’s Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board, Historic Preservation Commission, Greenways Commission, Recreation Commission, Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment fill key roles in local government, according to Black Mountain Town Clerk Savannah Parrish. 

“These boards meet regularly, and discuss a variety of important issues,” she said. “They make recommendations directly to the town council, so they are truly voices who represent the people to our elected officials.”

Five of the advisory boards meet on a regular monthly schedule, while the quasi-judicial ZBA convenes when determinations by administrative officials enforcing land use regulations are appealed. The topics these boards and commissions discuss range from rezoning requests from landowners within town limits to sign ordinances within the historic district, and their recommendations are submitted to the Town Council for review and advice. Each seat on the boards is appointed by the council, and members may serve two consecutive three-year terms. 

Applications for advisory board seats are submitted to Parrish, who reviews them to determine eligibility, specifically that the applicant is a resident of the town. Eligible applicants are reviewed by the board to which they are applying, and members vote on a recommendation that is passed on to the Town Council. 

In recent months, however, town hall has not received enough applications to fill the boards. Seats remain vacant on the Greenways Commission, the Historic Preservation Commission, the Recreation Commission and two alternate positions on the Zoning Board of Adjustment.

“It’s not good to have this many vacancies, because if a board doesn’t have a quorum, or a voting majority, they can’t meet,” Parrish said. “Obviously, not having enough members on any one of these boards can seriously hamper their ability to conduct business.”  

The Town is encouraging local citizens to fill the seats, Parrish said. 

“These boards don’t require any particular area of expertise,” she said. “You don’t need a deep understanding of any local issues to join, and the town will teach them everything they need to know. And, they do important work.”

Learning how things are done

Kathy Phillps was not active in local government in Charlotte, where she was living when she and her husband bought a second home in Black Mountain in 2012. Her 30-year career in management didn’t offer her much free time, but as she began scaling back her professional responsibilities, Phillips wanted to be more involved in her new community when the couple made their permanent residence in the town they had been visiting for decades. 

Their frequent trips to Black Mountain offered a reprieve from the densely populated metropolis they called home, and when Phillips finally moved to the mountains, she wanted to find a way to promote responsible growth.

“Charlotte grew so much while I was there, and it often felt like I watched it grow in a kind of haphazard way,” she said. “So, when I get to this small community, which is such a wonderful place, I see all of the growth we’re experiencing here. I don’t want it to lose the flavor that brought us here.

“Obviously, we’re going to grow, one way or another,” she continued. “So, we need to properly manage that growth.”

Phillips began dedicating her free time to following local government meetings, and she was surprised by the how little she understood about the process.  

“I used to wonder about how certain decisions were made,” she said. “But, to really understand how everything works, I felt like I needed to apply and serve on one of these boards.”

Phillips applied to fill a vacancy on the planning board in December of 2020, and was appointed by the Town Council to serve the remainder of a term that expired, June 30, 2021. She reapplied when the term expired and was appointed to fulfill a three-year term the following July. 

The seven-person board advises the town council on land use and community development matters, and considers ordinances as potential recommendations. Members also hear proposals for minor and major subdivisions and other planned developments to determine their compliance with the town’s Land Use Code. The board meets on the fourth Monday of each month, and its recommendations are submitted to the town council before it makes a binding decision on matters under the purview of the planning board.

“I spent the first few months getting a feel for how things work,” she said. “I’ve learned a lot since then. There is a lot more that goes into the town council making decisions than meets the eye. Before we make recommendations, the planning board learns about the background of a specific issue, does research and asks questions; we put a lot of thought into this.”

The experience has also helped Phillips learn a lot more about the town. 

“It’s a constant learning process,” she said. “We review issues related to things like right-of-way closures, and for me to really understand what’s going on, I have to go see these places with my own eyes. Each lot is different, and once you start looking at these distinct neighborhoods in town, you start to see the community through a new perspective.”

An advocate for the outdoors 

Lee Reading and his wife moved to a quiet neighborhood in Black Mountain in 1985, when his career with Outward Bound brought him to the area. Following his retirement in 2013, he turned his attention to local government. 

“The town offered a citizens academy a few years ago, and I signed up because I wanted to learn more about the various government departments, and how they all work,” he said. “It was a good experience for me, and after I graduated from the class, I thought that my professional experience could be useful on the recreation commission.”

Reading initially applied to fill a seat on the five-member board three years ago, but he was not among those appointed by the council. Several months later, he noticed a vacancy on the recreation commission.

“I just wanted to do something to serve the community, so I applied,” he said. 

Now in his second term on the commission, Reading is advocating for the protection of town parks and green spaces. 

“I think we need to find a way to permanently protect our parks, and find ways to expand our park system and green spaces in town,” he said. “The south side of Veterans Park is something I see as particularly vulnerable, with the future interchange and development along Blue Ridge Road. It could be great, providing improved pedestrian and cycling access into our park, but it could also be attractive to developers if it’s not protected in some way.”

The commission, which meets at the Public Works & Recreation Facility on the fourth Wednesday of each month, has discussed ways to restrict development within existing parks. 

“The template I currently plan to follow would involve drafting a resolution, which would be presented to the town council, urging elected officials and town staff to protect our current parks,” Reading said. “It is a work in progress, but I think it’s important to recognize what a vital role these green spaces play in our community.”

While Reading remains passionate about the work of the recreation commission, its progress has been hindered by a vacancy on the board. 

“Without a citizen volunteer in that seat, we have four people on our commission,” he said. “That means we don’t have a tie-breaking vote, in the event we want to make a recommendation to the council.” 

The recreation commission was unable to meet in September, according to Reading, due to its inability to field a quorum.

“These boards and commissions really do provide a platform for citizens to have a voice in local government,” he said. “For the people who want to get involved in the decision-making process of our town, this is the most direct way to do that. They also provide valuable insight into how local government works. I encourage anyone who can to get involved.”

An important service to the community

Jillian Ballard had been practicing real estate law for a few years when she moved to Black Mountain around eight years ago.   

“I wanted to find a way to become involved in the community in a way that was helpful,” she said. “I’ve always been interested in local government, in fact, I think it’s fascinating. One day, a few years ago, I was looking at the town’s website and there was a vacancy for an alternate position on the Zoning Board of Adjustment, so I felt like I should apply.”

The ZBA is unique among the town’s boards and commissions, as it is required under state law and operates as a quasi-judicial body on a level between Black Mountain officials and the courts. The board hears appeals on decisions regarding land use regulations made by town officials, and is responsible for the issuance of special use permits. 

The five-member board includes three alternate members, who are required to attend meetings. 

“That alternate role is an important one on this board,” Ballard said. “I started as the third alternate, and moved up over time. As an alternate, I attended the meetings because you can be called to substitute for a member who is absent or has recused themselves due to a potential conflict of interest.”

Two of the three alternate seats on the ZBA, however, are currently vacant, and those empty positions can directly impact the function of the board, according to Ballard.

“We meet only for requests for variances, special use permits and other special cases, so we’re not necessarily on a fixed schedule,” she said. “We’re a relatively small board, and people go on vacation, or get sick, and our ability to meet may depend on one or two of those alternates.” 

The positions, Ballard added, also provide a deeper understanding of how local government functions.  

“Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t know what our board is, or does,” she said. “So, the more people we have at any given meeting, watching an important part of the process play out, the better it is for the community, as a whole.”

Ballard’s experience on the ZBA has been both educational, and fulfilling, she continued. 

“The other board members ,when I first came on, were warm and welcoming, so I’ve tried to be that way with the members who have come on since,” she said. “There are no stupid questions, and we always focus on hearing from every person on the board, so it’s not controlled by one personality. There are times we disagree, but we are always respectful.”

That approach, according to Ballard, amplifies the diverse voices on the ZBA. 

“Despite the fact that I have a background in real estate law, and I’m sitting on a board that relates to that experience, it’s important that we have people representing other backgrounds,” she said. “In a lot of ways, I’m trained to think about things in a certain from a certain angle, and having someone looking at something from a whole different perspective helps me consider things from an alternative point of view.”

One of the best thing you can do 

The work of advisory boards and commissions isn’t easy, but it is a significant resource for elected leaders and staff, according to the town clerk.

“They really are the most direct way for citizens to have a voice in their local government,” Parrish said. “But, while we have a number of people in town who follow what’s happening at the municipal level here, we’re just not getting enough applications to fill all of the positions.”

The downward trend in interest could create long-term issues for some of the advisory boards, she added. 

“If we were to continue to see the number of applications decline, that could result in some of them being decommissioned in the future, and that would be a huge loss to the town, and especially the citizens,” Parrish said.

While every seat on the planning board is occupied, the vacancies on other commissions represent a general concern for Phillips. 

“Citizen participation is key if we’re going to keep our wonderful small town feel,” she said. “If we care about our community, we have to be involved in it.”

A more widespread understanding of the governing process, according to Reading, increases the level of understanding among local residents of how many decisions that directly impact their daily lives are made. 

“This is how the system works, and serving on these boards is an opportunity for citizens to engage with it,” he said. “It’s our responsibility, as residents of the town, to fulfill our civic obligations.”

Participation in local government is “one of the best things you can do” as a citizen of the town, according to Ballard. 

“These boards are crucial, and serving on them allows citizens to be involved, and establish deeper roots in their community,” she said. “Not only is your voice heard by local leaders, but these positions represent a relatively small time commitment, and have a big impact on the town.”

For more information, including how to apply for advisory boards and commissions, visit the Town of Black Mountain’s citizen involvement web page. Applications should be submitted to the town clerk, Savannah Parrish.