* I was unable to attend due to multiple baseball practices in multiple locations. My duties of assistant coach and dad come before my duties as Waxhaw blogger. The second practice began at 12pm at Waxhaw Elementary (location of the public hearing) and the parking lot was still full when we arrived and that was approximately 3 hours after the hearing began.
When we left two hours later (me with a new sunburn), it looked like the last of of the Waxhaw town employees were clearing out.
* The mayor was proud of Waxhaw per a Facebook update.
[Daune Gardner] is proud of Waxhaw today! Today's public hearing on the proposed historic district boundaries was well-attended, the speakers were numerous and respectful, the staff handled themselves with great aplomb and the board was attentive and thoughtful. This is how governance is supposed to happen!* A week later, there have been very few articles on the hearing. In fact, from what I can tell, there was nothing whatsoever in the Union County Weekly or the Enquirer-Journal, at least according to the search utility on their respective websites. There was an article in the Waxhaw Exchange last Sunday, but I was unable to turn it up online.
Being the enterprising town blogger with scanner who occasionally receives his copy of the Waxhaw Exchange, I scanned it up for those unlucky folks who might not have received this issue. Here's a snippet:
Waxhaw residents and landowners voiced their opinions either for or against the town's proposed historic district overlay Saturday at Waxhaw Elementary School.I can't complain much since at least the Waxhaw Exchange covered the hearing, a relatively big Waxhaw event, but I am real curious to know what percentage of those twelve in favor of the historic district actually reside within it.
Beginning at 9 a.m., town staff gave a presentation addressing the purpose of the meeting, aspects of the proposed historic district overlay and concerns some had about it.
"Waxhaw historic preservation has been going on in some fashion since the 1980s," Katie Ross, a planner for the town, said during a PowerPoint presentation.
After the presentation, a number of people took turns discussing why they were either for or against the proposed overlay. Those who wanted to speak, signed up before and during the public hearing on separate signup sheets depending on if they were for or against the proposal. About 44 people were signed up to speak at the start of the meeting. Twelve of the 44 were in favor of the overlay while 32 were against it.
* After emailing the commissioners and Mayor Gardner, I got a response from the latter regarding when the likely vote by the town commissioners would occur. Per Mayor Gardner, the board may have a discussion regarding the historic district on April 26th, but no vote. The issue will be on the agenda at the May 10th meeting for a possible vote on that date. So if you're looking to browbeat any of the commissioners to see things your way, you've got some time.
Once again, if anyone has some thoughts to share regarding the public hearing, drop me an email or leave a comment. It may be the only way to let the people of Waxhaw know how the hearing went since it doesn't appear to be a high priority for those media organizations covering Waxhaw.
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