SPRUCE PINE – The town of Spruce Pine’s community appearance commission is closer to becoming a reality.
The Spruce Pine Town Council, at its regular meeting Tuesday, Feb. 11, discussed its progress in establishing a local appearance commission. The council started the process of creating such a commission after discussing appearance-related ordinances with town attorney Lloyd Hise during a regular December meeting.
Hise explained before any ordinance is established, the town should establish an appearance commission consisting of at least seven but no more than 15 members. The members of the commission would be appointed by the Town Council but not members of a governing body.
The members of the commission, Hise continued, should have specialized training in design and architecture or a related field and must live within town limits.
Spruce Pine Mayor Darla Harding said since those initial discussions, she and the council have been hard at work searching for members, and five people are qualified to serve on the commission and have said they are willing to join. The five confirmed members include a lawyer and a contractor.
Harding said she also hopes to see a Realtor added to the group.
“We’re kind of interested in a Realtor’s take,” Harding said. “The ones we’ve thought of don’t live in the town limits.”
The council initially hoped to have the commission roster finalized by January. Now, the council hopes to present its finalized commission during its first regular March meeting. After the commission roster is finalized, Hise will be called on to meet with the members and help establish the group’s guidelines and goals.
“We hope to have two more people in place and appoint the committee in March,” Harding said. “We’re trying to make sure we have a diverse enough group.”