Overview of City Council functions

So what exactly does the City Council do? What do they talk about for hours and hours on two Tuesdays each month?

In talking and taking notes from city employees and officials over the last year, I’ve learned quite a bit about all the different departments, boards and commissions that the Salisbury City Council oversees. Take for instance the Planning Services Division, overseen by Hannah Jacobson. Hannah oversees the long-range growth and development of our city. There are various departments In the Planning Services Division, such as:

Development Services. These folks work on special projects, rezoning permits. Did you know that any construction whatsoever in the city is under the jurisdiction of this department? The employees in code enforcement report that development within our city is picking up! For example, permits for single family homes have increased dramatically.

Did you think that “extra-terrestrial had to do with outer space? Extra-terrestrial jurisdiction “ETJ” has to do with the municipal regulation of areas outside of the city limits. The state has to authorize ETJ, giving the city the authority to work beyond the city limits for the health, safety and welfare of residents within the city and just beyond the city limits.

Annexations and rare “de-annexations” are within the purview of the Planning Services Division. A de-annexation happened most recently at the Rowan County airport.

Code services – this department has code officers that patrol the city and spend a lot of time travelling throughout the city, responding to complaints from city residents. They often respond to what is termed a “nuisance violation”.

Housing and the appearance of our downtown has a lot to do with the city’s Planning Services Division. Maybe you’ve guessed that downtown homes and establishments have different standards from homes and establishments other neighborhoods. There’s a term “minimum housing fitness”. Officers inspect complaints and enforce codes and standards.

There’s quite a fine line between a condemned unsafe house and a home that is dirty and dilapidated, yet not considered unsafe enough for people to live in. There is assistance money for repairing these homes, but according to our city employees, more money is needed for these repairs. Believe it or not, there is a demolition list, and there is enough money to do about four or five demolitions a year. This is called “blight removal”. What’s a complaint that code services deals with a lot in the summer months? Yes, tall grass!

Planning services also works on special projects. Alyssa Nelson is our city’s urban designer. She works closely on community development program with HUD entitlement programs. With HUD projects, the city’s Planning Services Division does the planning and administration of the project, with HUD carrying out the actual work. Recently, the CARES act money brought in dollars for things such as bloc grants. Candace Edwards works specifically on housing planning. The housing advocacy committee is a volunteer board. The Community Appearance division works with citizens through opportunities such as block work. Did you know there is a “landscape of the month” award? There is another committee called the Public Art committee which puts on the sculpture show each year!

The HPC Historic preservation committee oversees the five local historic districts, for which extra permitting is needed. Emily Voneg is the person who works directly with the HPC. If you’re wondering about the Historic Salisbury Foundation, that is a non-profit foundation is a non-profit, which is not regulatory like the HPC is.

Grants flow into the city to clean up, maintain and create new projects that will keep our city attractive and thriving.

Finally, there is a great plan in place to keep Salisbury moving in the right direction. Maybe you’ve heard of the Forward 2040 plan? This is the comprehensive plan for future land use, growth and development. A committee was selected to work on this plan; the positions are voluntary but are selected by the council.

I encourage every one of you to check out this webpage :

www.salisburync.gov/forward2040