Zoning Board of Appeals Upholds Putney Land Use Permit Denial

The Zoning Board of Appeals, minus recused members Reg Manville and Ken Holmes, voted unanimously to uphold zoning administrator Carl Noffsinger's initial denial of a land-use permit to Loy Putney, who back in December 2011 petitioned to use the former Bay Valley Inn property as worker housing.

The three-plus hour meeting was a follow up to two prior ZBA sessions in which the board weighed a range of legal exhibits provided by Putney's attorney, Brad Putney, along with public input in the form of written and oral comments. A brief public comment was held this evening but no new information or questions came of it.

TV 9&10 left within the first hour of the meeting, before the decision was rendered. About 45 people total attended this meeting, with the numbers down to 25 stalwart participants at the end, including the board and Putneys.

Asked what the next step was, Loy Putney commented, "That's up to him [referring to his attorney]. I don't know if it'll go to the court of appeals, possibly to federal court.... This is American citizens we're talking about. They were born here like you or me. This was not unexpected," he added, referring to the land use permit denial. "We saw this coming."