Board seeks written legal guidance after mixed advice on site visits and ex parte rules

During deliberations on application 26-3001-SP-E, board members raised repeated questions about whether they could personally visit or drive past subject properties. Some members said they had previously driven by the lot; others said they had been told by the city attorney not to make site visits because of quasi‑judicial ex parte rules.

The council liaison said training material and UNC School of Government guidance had been cited as the rationale for restricting visits; other members said they had not seen a statute or ordinance that expressly forbids a drive‑by. "There is no ordinance that forbids it," one member said during the discussion; the board asked staff to secure written clarification from the city attorney and to report back.

Members said the uncertainty affected their willingness to vote without further direction. The board amended and approved a motion to continue the case and directed staff to obtain an official, written statement of the applicable city policy or state rule on site visits and ex parte communications before the next hearing.