 | | This month's featured "grant" is the fictional assassin "Donovan (Don) Grant" played here by actor Robert Shaw. |
January 2013 Grants Update
This month's "grant" is an assassin dreamed up by Ian Fleming to (unsuccessfully, of course) rid the world of James Bond. One of the most interesting things about Don Grant is that his fictional employers change depending on whether he is featured in the novel, film or video game. In that order is he said to work for organizations named SMERSH (an acronym from Russian Cyrllic meaning "Death To Spies"), SPECTRE ( Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion) and OCTOPUS (apparently this just an organizational name and not an acronym.) Given the volume of acronyms encountered by community development Mr. Don Grant and his multiple organizations with multiple acronyms is a perfect "Grant of the Month." Community development staff worked on multiple grants with multiple acronyms this month. One of staff's most pressing concerns was the work involved in checking credentials and preparing contracts, loan agreements and deeds of trust for bids received on four homes at the beginning of January. The preconstruction meetings and Notices to Proceed for these homes will occur early in February. The county Finance Department can answer other questions regarding the bid awards. Among the staff's activities related to the county's ERP CDBG were a visit to a home for the purposes of finalizing the work writeup on that home. Staff also confirmed that a number of beneficiaries originally scheduled to be served under this grant are no longer eligible. The county's Housing Selection Committee was convened on January 16th for the purpose of selecting additional potential beneficiaries. Committee members debated criteria and looked at individual applications and information on each home to arrive at a ranked-and-rated short list of additional homes to serve. It is now staff's responsibility to work with the Division of Community Assistance (DCA) to ensure each home is qualified and has passed a full environmental and historical review. One beneficiary under the county's ERP CDBG passed away in December, this after the original contractor passed away in November. Staff was instructed by DCA to generate a letter with the details of the situation and outlining what the county wants to do next. This letter was prepared, approved by the Board of Commissioners at their January 15th meeting, and sent to DCA the following day. It is the county's hope that work can continue on the home despite the passing of the primary beneficiary. Also in front of the Board on January 15th was a request to submit an application for funding under the FY2013 Urgent Repair Program grant. The request was approved and application submitted the next day. If the county's application is successful it will serve at least 15 persons under that grant. The FY2012 Urgent Repair Program is still being implemented by staff. Work writeups are almost complete on five homes under that grant, this means we will soon be contacting other beneficiaries and arranging visits to their homes for work writeups. Community development staff is also verifying incomes of all primary beneficiaries and alternates -- this work paves the way for a quick work writeup and bid/contract process. Finally, there are no updates regarding the Individual Development Account program at the Northern Moore Family Resource Center. The Center continues to implement the program and conduct outreach in the community. Any first time home buyers interested in owning a home in the northern part of Moore County should contact Marsae Stone at the Center directly at 948-4324. |
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Board of Commissioners
(02.05.2013) @ 5:00PM
(02.19.2013) @ 6:00PM
Location:
Moore County Historical
Courthouse
Planning Board
(02.07.2013) @ 6:00PM
Location:
Moore County Historical
Courthouse
Land Use Plan
Steering Committee
(02.25.2013) @ 6:00PM
Location:
Moore County Senior
Enrichment Center
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Greetings!
We survived a frigid January with a dusting of that white stuff people call snow. As we roll into February, we are here to provide more information to our readers. In this issue of the Moore County Planning and Community Development newsletter, we provide a new section called 'Inspector's Corner'. Our department encompasses the building inspections division and think you will be excited to hear from our inspectors. If you are thinking of putting an addition on your home or simply getting a new heating/cooling unit, our inspectors can help you make informed and safety-oriented decisions. As a department, we traditionally receive an abundance of permit applications for manufactured homes. Manufactured homes are an affordable housing option for many in Moore County. Many people are moving manufactured homes onto property for family or friends in need of a home. In the article below, staff provides insight into our permitting and set-up procedures for this manner of housing. I wanted to let our readers know we have posted all Department newsletters on our website (click here to access past issues). Please feel free to visit the Moore County Planning and Community Development webpage for more information. We hope you continue to enjoy! Regards, |
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Meet the Staff
In this month's 'Meet the Staff', we would like to introduce another Planning & Community Development Department staff member, Lydia Cleveland.
Lydia started with the Moore County Plannin g and Community Development department in May of 2012 and works as an Administrative Officer II. Her duties include monitoring financials and payroll, serving as Secretary to the Planning Board, and coordinating other efforts to help the Department provide outstanding customer service.
Lydia is originally from Raleigh, NC but currently resides in Sanford, NC with her husband, two dogs and one cat. Lydia is a graduate of North Carolina State University with a Bachelor's degree in Public and Interpersonal Communication and is currently working on her Master's degree in Public Administration from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. |
Inspector's Corner
Welcome to the Inspector's Corner! In this series, the Moore County building inspectors will provide input on items that are encountered on the job site and have the opportunity offer other valuable information to our readers.
Fire-Blocking in Single-Family Homes
Improper or missing fire-blocking is a reoccurring item that Building Code Inspectors encounter during the construction of new single family dwellings. The purpose of fire-blocking is to resist the free passage of flames to other areas of a structure through concealed spaces, such as enclosed areas under interior stairs and between stories. Fire-blocking measures are installed during the framing process and are considered a life safety component of construction. The current (2012) North Carolina State Building Code, Residential edition provides the requirements for fire-blocking in chapter 3 §R302.11 through §R302.11.2.
Fire-blocking is achieved by placing and securing approved materials such as 2" nominal lumber or ½" gypsum board between framing members, cutting off all concealed draft openings (both vertical and horizontal) in wall and ceiling assemblies.
Inspectors find that chases for plumbing and heating/air components, drop ceilings, stairs, fireplace chases and rooms using roof trusses for walls pose the biggest challenge for the proper installation of fire-blocking. When looking for areas needing fire-blocking, inspectors suggest visually following the wall ceiling/floor framing including chase areas from lower and higher vantage points to determine if blocks are in place, making individual compartments for each story.
For more information concerning fire-blocking or other building code matters please contact the Moore County Building Inspection staff at (910) 947-2221. |
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Manufactured Homes: Permitting
By Jeremy Sparrow
Affordable housing is a major, yet sometimes divisive issue. According to the 1999 Land Use Plan, there was a consensus that manufactured housing fills a very real need, yet there is also an impression that it has a dampening effect on property values. Construction or set-up of manufactured homes is fairly common within Moore County. Since 2008, manufactured homes have accounted for at lease 1/3 of the total residential permits issued by Moore County Planning and Community Development. In 2011, there were 91 manufactured home permits issued compared to 167 site built homes. This does not include permits issued within Aberdeen, Pinehurst, Pinebluff or Southern Pines.
 There are certain requirements that have to be met before a manufactured home can obtain a building/zoning permit for legal set-up. Manufactured homes are permitted by-right, as primary residences on individual lots in all residentially zoned districts. However, manufactured homes would be considered a conditional use if it was an accessory dwelling to the main residence. This would require approval from the planning board. An accessory dwelling unit is a residential dwelling unit with a separate entrance, kitchen, sleeping area, and full bathroom facilities, located on the same lot as the single-family dwelling unit, whether within the same building as the single-family dwelling unit or in a detached building. The heated floor area of an accessory dwelling unit shall not be less than 300 square feet. A manufactured home can be permitted by-right, as an additional dwelling unit, as long as the land which the manufactured home is to be constructed is a minimum of ten (10) acres in size. This exception is only allowed within the Residential and Agricultural (RA) and Rural Equestrian (RE) zoning districts.
A manufactured home permit is required to ensure that manufactured homes are setup safely and properly. The permit must be issued for the setup of the manufactured home. If the manufactured home is being moved into Moore County, the home has to have been built after July 1, 1976. If the manufactured home is already located within the county, the age restriction does not apply. This is based on June 15, 1976 when the HUD (Housing and Urban Development) code went into effect. This ensures that the manufactured home is constructed to the Manufactured Home Construction and  Safety Standards (HUD Code) and displays a red certification label on the exterior of each transportable section. If the home is coming from outside the Moore County, a moving permit from the tax department from the county where the home is being transported from is required, which would include the VIN (vehicle identification number) and year the home was constructed.
As part of the building permit application, a licensed mechanical contractor is required to provide heating to the manufactured home. An electrical and plumbing contractor can be listed, but not required, as some manufactured home owners do this work themselves. Of course, a water supply (public or private) and proper sewer disposal is required with the application. The applicant must receive approval from Environmental Health prior to submitting the building permit application to Building Inspections. A site plan depicting the location of the manufactured home must be completed as part of the process. This helps staff ensure that the home will be setup on the property out of the building setbacks, which vary throughout each zoning district. Our permitting staff can help in assisting customers with that information.
At times customers may want to setup a manufactured home on another person's property. In that case, our permitting staff will require a notarized letter from the landowner stating that the manufactured home can be properly setup. Upon completion of the application process, permits are issued. Inspections are required throughout the setup process. Upon final inspection of the manufactured home, underpinning is required to be installed. Underpinning is the process of strengthening and stabilizing the foundation. If the underpinning is not installed at the time of final inspection, it must be completed with 90 days of that inspection date.
If you would like to receive more information regarding the manufactured home permitting process, please contact our permitting staff at (910) 947-5010. |
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Dealing with Scrap Tires
By Jeremy Rust
As the cool, sunny days of February and spring time approach Moore County, you may be thinking about getting outside and tackling some of those spring cleaning, organizing, or yard clean-up projects. In this effort you might find yourself working to clean out a garage, other out buildings, or just cleaning up around the yard. If that's the case, and you should come across old tires that you would like to get rid of, don't fret because getting rid of them might be free!
Have you ever noticed that when you purchase new tires your bill has a 2% tax added to the cost of your new tires? This tax is called a "scrap tire disposal fee". The tax money goes to the North Carolina Department of Environment Natural Resources (DENR) who administers the North Carolina Scrap Tires Program (click here). According to DENR's website the program aims to "prevent the illegal dumping of tires by providing an infrastructure to safely collect, store, and recycle scrap tires". The proceeds are then distributed to each county based on the County's population to pay for the collection and recycling of scrap tires. So if your scrap tires came from North Carolina, getting rid of them might only cost you some time to haul them to the landfill!
Moore County participates in the DENR program to provide this free tire disposal program to its citizens at the Moore County Landfill ( click here for more information). Citizens can bring their old tires that originated in North Carolina to the landfill during their normal hours of operation, typically Monday through Friday 8:00am-4:00pm or Saturday 7:00am-12:00pm. When you bring the old tires to the landfill for disposal, you will be asked to unload and stack them onto a tractor trailer. Also, if you bring tires to the landfill be sure to bring a completed copy of the North Carolina Scrap Tire Certification form, found here at the Moore County Solid Waste website. However, the Moore County Landfill only allows an individual to bring six (6) tires per day for proper disposal.
If you should have a large load, Moore County Solid Waste division ecnourages disposing the loads directly to a company called Liberty Tire Recycling. At Liberty, they will unload them for you, which cuts out the hard labor of stacking for an individual. Once the tractor trailers at the landfill are full, Liberty Tire Recycling comes to pick them up. Liberty Tire Recycling then takes the tires to their tire recycling facility, located just north of Woodlake in neighboring Harnett County. Liberty's process removes all the metal in the tires and shreds and/or chops them up into small pieces. Shredded tires are either sold as landscape mulch, or used as a safe play surface for playgrounds than asphalt or another hard surface. Represe ntatives from Liberty shared in a phone interview with us that their playground mulch has a twelve year guarantee and can be dyed in several different colors. Additionally, their shredded tire mulch even makes a great dressage (click here) or other similar horse show arena surface.
At Liberty, tires not shredded for playground mulch are chopped to create a "crum rubber feedstock" to make into new solid tires for such equipment as forklifts, carpeting ingredients and even matting underlayment for artificial turf at sports fields. Also, Liberty representatives shared that their feedstock can also be mixed with coal and woodchips in co-generating power production plants since rubber burns at a higher British Thermal Unit (or BTU) and cleaner than coal. However, they reminded us that in North Carolina it is against the law for individuals to burn tires and that the North Carolina Department of Air Quality can fine someone up to $125 per tire that is being burned! For more information on outdoor burning do's and don'ts refer to our September 2012 newsletter article entitled "Outdoor Burning". Lastly, if you have more tires on hand than you can handle yourself, please contact the Moore County Solid Waste for other disposal options.
So avoid the fines and don't burn your unneeded tires. Load them up and bring them down to the Moore County landfill to send them on their way to being re-purposed in an environmentally sensitive way! |
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