Published 12:00 am Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Jessie Burchette
Salisbury Post
The Rowan County Planning Board is set to tackle the case of a Spencer couple caught in bureaucratic limbo at its meeting Tuesday night.
The board will also take another look at the county’s proposed water point source ordinance, which has been in the works for more than a year.
In the Spencer case, James and Mary Freedle own nearly 7 acres, which is currently split between the town of Spencer’s extra territorial zoning jurisdiction and the county.
The 4.4 acres in Spencer’s jurisdiction is zoned industrial. The remainder, in the county’s jurisdiction, is zoned rural agricultural.
The Freedles have asked the town of Spencer to change the zoning and/or relinquish its zoning authority.
The Freedle property contains a single-family dwelling and two manufactured homes that are in Spencer’s jurisdiction.
The second manufactured home was apparently placed on the property with the intent of renting it. And at the time, the Freedles thought it was in the county’s jurisdiction.
The county planning staff is recommending approval of the request.
The board will conduct a public hearing on the revisions to the subdivision ordinance that will require developers of major subdivisions to establish water points to provide water for rural fire departments.
The Planning Board and a committee of the board has conducted several meetings on the proposal during the past three months.
Some members of the planning board questioned potential liability for the developer or homeowners association.
Members of the planning board recently met with the county fire association, which supports the water points ordinance.
The Planning Board meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the J. Newton Cohen Sr. Meeting Room, County Administrative Offices Building, 130 W. Innes St.