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Greenbrier County Commission asks state for clarification on agricultural building-code exemptions
Summary
The Greenbrier County Commission voted to send a letter to the West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture asking whether an agricultural exemption to the state building code applies to a planned slaughterhouse and also requested an opinion from the state attorney general on whether local land-use ordinances apply to uses the commissioner exempts. Both actions passed by voice vote.
The Greenbrier County Commission voted to ask the West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture and the state attorney general for formal guidance after commissioners said county staff need clearer direction on how agricultural exemptions to the building code should be applied.
At a meeting that followed an executive session, Speaker 3 moved to "approve the issuance of correspondence to the Commissioner" of Agriculture seeking clarification that an agricultural exemption from the building code applies to a planned slaughterhouse. The motion was put on the table, discussion was allowed, and the board approved the correspondence by voice vote.
Commissioner (S2) told the commission the principal reason for the item was to give the county’s planning and permitting department concrete direction. "I would just like to make one point," the commissioner said, arguing that recent broadly worded legislation has left local staff "very unclear" about how to proceed and that a formal clarification would help staff know "what direction they can and cannot go into." Speaker 1, presiding as chair, said the commission would allow representatives from both sides five minutes each to address the board if they wished: "we'll allow you to come up for 5 minutes or less."
Separately, under agenda Item 17 the commission approved a motion to request an opinion from the West Virginia attorney general on whether land-use planning ordinances apply to land uses that the Commissioner of Agriculture has determined are exempt from the building code. Speaker 3 said the attorney general’s opinion would give county building-code officials a clearer standard to follow should a similar project arise again.
Both motions were approved by voice vote; the transcript records members answering "Aye," but individual roll-call votes were not recorded in the transcript. The commission also announced an open request for proposals for after-hours janitorial services at the county courthouse (annex and original courthouse) — the RFP was to be posted on the county website that day — and set the next regular meeting for July 29. The meeting adjourned following a motion to adjourn.
Next steps: staff will prepare and send the correspondence to the Commissioner of Agriculture and file the request for an attorney general opinion, and the commission will reconvene at its next regular meeting on July 29.
