Through The Grapevine TREBIC President Applies for Downtown Greensboro Job

As the saying goes "I heard it through the GRAPEVINE" that unofficial now official lobbyist for the Triad Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition aka "TREBIC CARTEL" Marlene Sanford has applied to become the next president of Downtown Greensboro Inc. (DGI) .

The DGI search committee is in the process of hiring a new president to replace Ed Wolverton who leaves post July 1st.  

It is interesting to note that Marlene Sanford is applying for this job. Does this mean that the TREBIC CARTEL has lost it's luster locally or that she wants a new career path for herself? If the search committee is smart they would not hire from a contingency of the usual suspects but hire a fresh face from outside the area.

The blog dang has a post titled "Action Greensboro's leaders make a run for it"  with a few more usual suspects in Cecelia Thompson and April Harris who are wanting to be president at DGI. One anonymous commentor had this to say,
"April Harris is about to get fired. Susan Schwartz of the Cemala foundation has been lobbying hard against her. Dabney Sanders is also lobbying Jim Melvin for her dismissal."

Looks like the committee will have a tough choice to either hire from within or get a new fresh face to Downtown Greensboro.

Let's not forget the African American Leadership of Greensboro and Guilford County that may have prevented: Thomasville apartment fire under investigation

"The fire department is investigating an afternoon apartment fire at 300 C James Ave.

Crews were called to the apartments around 2:30 p.m., Sunday, and left by 5:15 p.m.

There were no injuries, according to police and fire reports."

When will the African American political leadership

of Greensboro and Guilford County

acknowledge they betrayed their own people

for letting Robbie and friends at TREBIC kill RUCO?

What will the new City of Greensboro manager suggest?

Will that she was the lobbyist for the Greensboro Parnership,

which also means Downtown Greensboro Inc. do the right thing,

or shall we all wait untill some have the blood of dead renters on thier hands?

Regulating Our Local Real Estate Lobbyist Group TREBIC Not a Bad Idea.

Headline in Providence, Rhode Island article " Providence could become first RI City to Regulate Lobbyist".

CLICKHERE

Nice to see local politicians who actually are looking out for transparency in government here is a few quotes from article. 

At the state level, lobbyists are required to register with the Secretary of State. But no other city or town has similar requirements, according to the Providence City Clerk’s office.

The current draft of the Providence ordinance would require anyone who is lobbying council members, the mayor, and other city officials—and being paid for that lobbying—to register with the City Clerk. The lobbyists would have to pay a registration fee, likely hundreds of dollars, and file annual reports on their lobbying activities. They could also face hefty fines for not complying with the rules.

Supporters of a proposed ordinance on lobbyists—including Council President Michael Solomon and Finance Chairman John Igliozzi—say the reform would boost accountability and transparency in city government

.


Novel idea and later in article we see that major cities all over this United States already have this in place and it is time for major cities all over North Carolina to do the same.

We have one local lobbyist group by the name of Triad Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition (TREBIC) who are not regulated by anything. They have these annual pigs poultry and politics dinner where local elected officials get in free but should pay their way to a nice dinner with a meet and greet. TREBIC also has meetings or luncheons that they invite local elected politicians to hear what they have to say. To make matters even worse there is a local board in greensboro called the RUCO board which is regulated by the City of Greensboro with a post on July of 2010 titled TREBIC + RUCO = Fox Guarding Hen House CLICKHERE   ,  it was amazing to see the local lobbyist group have the meeting at their place , no such hint of influence there.

This idea for regulating local lobbyist groups might be a long way off but planting the seeds could make this come to reality because as we have seen in the past,  TREBIC wanted to deny the citizens of Greensboro the right to protest petitions CLICKHERE in the zoning process and fought long and hard to no avail. The state legislators were all in agreement that this was a good state law and made Greensboro be like every other municipality in this state and comply with protest petitions. Having the transparency of our local lobbyist groups be regulated on a quarterly basis will make for better government.

 

Local Real Estate Lobbyist Group Wants To Get Chummy With Greensboro Planning For Western Part of City

REALTORS,



The following is a message from Judy Stalder of TREBIC (jstalder@TREBIC.org), requesting volunteers for a project that is likely to affect all REALTORS. Please contact Stalder at the e-mail address listed above if you have any questions.


Best,





Communications Specialist
GRRA, Inc.
23 Oak Branch Drive
Greensboro, NC 27407
(336) 854-5868


Greensboro Planning, Water Resources and Transportation Departments are beginning the process of preparing a Western Area Plan. The planning staff has requested TREBIC members to join the team working on this plan. This request shows just how important your opinion as a coalition is to the City!


Please let me know if you are interested in participating in the creation of this plan. The Plan will require coordination with Kernersville, High Point and the Piedmont Triad International Airport and take into account the Heart of the Triad Study as well as the PTI Vision Plan, so members that work in the Kernersville and High Point areas may be particularly interested in this project.


PURPOSE/AREA:


The purpose of the Western Area Plan is to identify the best and highest use of properties west of NC 68 and the Piedmont Triad International Airport. The study will also determine how to prepare the study area for future development by identifying infrastructure needs, market trends, regulatory needs and any changes to the City of Greensboro Connections 2025 Comprehensive Plan and/or the Generalized Future Land Use Map (GFLUM).


TIME COMMITMENT:


A citizen information meeting is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, March 3. The group will meet once a month for 12 to 18 months.


This e-mail was sent from Greensboro Regional Realtors Association (info@grra.org)

________________________________________________________________________________

As you see from the above email from the local lobbyist outfit called the Triad Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition (TREBIC), this was stated:

The planning staff has requested TREBIC members to join the team working on this plan. This request shows just how important your opinion as a coalition is to the City!

This request shows how important the lobbyist are to the city over the citizens of Greensboro that has been pointed out plenty in the past for example:

Stacking The Deck With Developers on Boards and Commissions Greensboro City Council Style, Video Embedded  CLICKHERE


or

Marlene Sanford, Greensboro Partnership, TREBIC= Stacking the Deck on Boards and Commissions CLICKHERE


or

Here is what stack the deck with trebic developers looks like on cat team CLICKHERE

or

TREBIC + RUCO = Fox Guarding Hen House  CLICKHERE


Don't take me for my word on this because we can go back to January 6, 2005 to hear what David Wharton had to say in a post called Blogging TREBIC CLICKHERE

In this post David had this to say;

But this is what TREBIC does, and it's quite up-front about the fact. In a recent half-page ad placed in local builders’ trade publications, titled “What Has TREBIC Done For You Lately?”, the group boasted that it had weakened the RUCO ordinance, the sidewalk ordinance, and local environmental legislation. It claimed it was working hard to place TREBIC supporters in important positions on appointed boards. It also boasted that it had feted members of the City Council and other elected officials at a pig-pickin’ shindig in order to curry their favor.



Gosh, thanks TREBIC

To end this post we also have to remember that sitting  Greensboro Councilman Robbie Perkins and also sitting Greensboro Councilman Zack Matheny a few years back played the land speculation game in regards to this western area of Greensboro with a post on TRIADWATCH titled Highway 68 North + Anonymous Investors + Zack and Robbie = Ethical Problems CLICKHERE  .

Let's see who the players are going to be on this western area plan committee and how much this deck is going to get stacked from our local lobbyist group TREBIC.

Greensboro Taxpayers Could and Probably Will Pay The Bill on Industrial Park Developers Sidewalks if Ordinance is Passed

Ordinance amending Chapter 30, Section 30-9-10 of the Land Development Ordinance (LDO) related to the sidewalk installation regulations for Industrial Parks. (Council District: all) (roll call vote) (Attachment #11 to Councilmembers) THIS ITEM WAS CONTINUED FROM THE NOVEMBER 9TH MEETING OF COUNCIL WITHOUT FURTHER ADVERTISING

This agenda item above was postponed from November 9th Greensboro City Council meeting to come back up in front of council the next week to also be tabled till their briefing session on November 23, 2010 to probably be in front of council next week for their regular meeting.

Let's take a look at what this exemption is all about with a explanation from Greensboro City Manager Rashad Young talking with Greensboro City Council Member Danny Thompson  on this issue. Here is the embedded video below.





As you can see from the above video this ordinance was brought in front of council driven in part by the development community and  developer Richard Beard with him wanting to exempt his new tenant for his property out in Rock Creek Center in American Express. Now, does anyone believe that it is a undo burden for a multi billion dollar company to spend some extra dollars on sidewalks for your employees or tenants in your industrial park who would like to take a safe stroll on a sidewalk instead of a roadway. We also have Rock Creek Center web site with this to say:

Rock Creek Center was originally developed in 1982 by the City Pension Fund for Firefighters and Police Officers of Tampa Florida. In October 2005, Rock Creek was purchased by an investment group located in Greensboro, NC and underwent a revised comprehensive master plan to develop the remaining 680 acres in the park. The development will continue offering residential, retail, office and industrial/ warehouse opportunities as it has over its 20 year existence. Rock Creek Center is a high quality corporate community that has attracted high quality companies while maintaining an environment that compliments its natural surroundings

So they state on their web site that they would like to offer all sorts of opportunities for this land in eastern guilford county from residential to industrial parks but it isn't for them to offer a walkability area for people to live and work near their employer or to take a stroll while on their lunchbreak on a sidewalk in Rock Creek Center because we have RIchard Beard wanting to exempt companies from this.

But wait there is more. This exemption of sidewalks in industrial parks was aided in part from our local non regulated lobbyist group headed by Marlene Sanford in the Triad Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition(TREBIC). This exemption of sidewalks in industrial parks was only going to be a part of  Guilford County that got water and sewer from the City of Greensboro. But here comes  TREBIC who wants to argue that why don't we exempt all industrial parks both outside the city limits and also all over the City of Greensboro as well.As you can see from the above video all of this was brought to you from the development community as the city manager said but why is this a bad idea.

First and foremost is that in another exchange between Adam Fischer and Greensboro City Council Member Trudy Wade was this exchange on who will be responsible to provide sidewalks in future.




As you can see from this video that the local developers which is aided by TREBIC want to put the burden on the local taxpayers to pay for sidewalks in the future. Adam Fischer from Greensboro Department of Transportation was taking a question from Trudy Wade who asked about the responsibility on who in future will pay for sidewalks if they pass the exemption for industrial parks and in certain circumstances it would be the responsibility of the greensboro taxpayers instead of the developers to build sidewalks on their property.

We will see what happens next week in front of the Greensboro City Council but will they say to the development community and the lobbyist group TREBIC to build sidewalks on your property  or will you make the Greensboro taxpayers pay for sidewalks in the future under certain circumstances as Adam Fischer stated.

Stacking The Deck With Developers on Boards and Commissions Greensboro City Council Style, Video Embedded

UPDATE: ROCH101 has a new post titled "Too Cozy: Board Appointee's Company Lobbying City for Trash Business" CLICKHERE  on top of what is written in this post.



During the Greensboro City Council meeting on November 16, 2010 councilman Jim Kee at the end of the meeting when each council person gets to speak on matters important to them decided to reappoint local realtor Paul Gilmer to the zoning commission. Why is this appointment so significant ? Who knows but in the embedded video above we have fellow councilman Zack Matheny really taking to task this appointment from Jim Kee.

There has been a little history with Paul Gilmer on the Greensboro Zoning Commission with this post at TRIADWATCH back on September 20, 2008 with a title "Greensboro Zoning Commission is in a mess and needs fixing, memo from city attorney:, CLICKHERE .

Also we need to remember that Paul Gilmer is a part of the group called CICO where we have Jordan Green from Yes Weekly have this to say in a article on opening up the white street landfill,

"The politically connected enterprise has retained lawyer Cameron Cooke, also a former councilman, and Paul Gilmer, a realtor and area resident who formerly served on the zoning commission. Cico touts its private waste disposal project as a boon to economic development in the area and its plan as “the most important element for the revival of the area.”

 You can see from the embedded video at around the 1 minute and 40 seconds it seems like Zack Matheny said something that really ticked off fellow councilwomen TDB Small who was pointing her finger at Zack Matheny, then we see the mayor bang his gavel and sternly say that Zack Matheny has the floor and enough with the rest. Just another day in the life of a Greensboro City Council meeting.

Something that needs to get explained from the embedded video above and am sure is what is at the heart of this problem comes at the 2 minute mark of this embedded video. Zack Matheny had this to say

" When you tell me your gonna "

Then Zack Matheny catches himself mid sentence after this quote above then he mumbles

 "i just this is a tough one for me out of the blue"

It would be great to know what more Zack Matheny wanted to say about the appointment of Paul Gilmer back on the zoning commission where in the past week he had talked with Zack and was interested in the planning board not the zoning commission. There must have been something worked out between Zack and Jim on something and him appointing Paul Gilmer to the zoning commission was a total blindside to Zack.

There has been a lot of controversy over how the Greensboro City Council appoints it's members to certain boards and commissions. Back in around July of 2009 we had the Greensboro Neighborhood Congress address the Greensboro City Council on the need for a change in how the council appoints people to boards and commissions. Here is what was stated in the scuttlebutt section of the weekly paper called Yes Weekly!

"Call for more diversity on Greensboro boards made The Greensboro Neighborhood Congress presented a proposal to the Greensboro City Council on July 21 to reform the process of appointing citizens to city boards and commissions. The congress’ recommendations include making boards and commissions more representative by gender, district, ethnicity and profession, conducting an annual analysis of the demographic composition of the citizen boards and requiring that applicants provide relevant personal information. One oft-made criticism of city boards and commissions is that they’re stacked with real estate professionals. District 5 Councilwoman Trudy Wade suggested that the city consider moving meeting times later in the day that would accommodate more citizens’ schedules, and speculated that “people in real estate and development may have more flexible schedules that allow them to serve on boards.” — JG "

As we have seen with this appointment of Paul Gilmer a local realtor to return back to the zoning commission, this is just par for the course where we have plenty of instances in the past to show you how the local lobbyist group called TREBIC which stands for the Triad Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition likes to stack the deck on these boards and commissions. Here is a few post on TRIADWATCH from the past on this subject.

Marlene Sanford, Greensboro Partnership, TREBIC = Stacking The Deck on Boards and Commissions


CLICKHERE


Here Is What Stack The Deck with TREBIC Developers Looks Like in Greensboro N.C. on CAT Team
CLICKHERE

TREBIC + RUCO = Fox Guarding The Hen House
CLICKHERE

It is amazing how someone like realtor Paul Gilmer gets to jump all the people who are waiting in the databank line to serve on a board or commission and he has already served his time a few years ago but gets to be reappointed to the zoning commission. This appointment is just one instance of how certain council members want to stack the deck in the favor of TREBIC and we haven't even talked about mary skenes, betty smith, gary wolf, russ parmele, rick pinto, de sean alston, chuck truby might be on 2 boards, and  plenty of commissions who were completely tilted to the real estate lobbyist group called TREBIC. It is time for everyone to be aware of what is going on and there needs to be a complete analysis of just how many people are waiting in the databank to serve Greensboro city council on a board or commission but to see someone like Paul Gilmer jump everyone in line is not fair to the other people and the process. Time for a complete overhaul and a fair process for all the citizens not just the select few with connections.

Pigs, Poultry, and Politics + TREBIC + FREE MEAL = Ethical Issues for Local Elected Officials in Guilford County

Triad Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition(TREBIC) our local special interest lobbying group headed by Marlene Sanford has a annual gathering in it's 11th year called Pigs, Poultry, and Politics- Old Fashioned Political Rally. Click on the title above or CLICKHERE


If this is a old fashioned political rally it sure is composed of the most connected sponsors who give plenty of campaign contributions to the local politicians. Let's take a closer look at who is sponsoring this political rally.

2010 Sponsorship Congress members:


President: Signature Property Group

Governor: AT&T; Fairway Outdoor Advertising

Senator: BB&T; Brown Investment Properties; Davenport Transportation Consulting; D.R. Horton Homes; Isaacson Isaacson Sheridan & Fountain, LLP; Smith Moore Leatherwood LLP


Commissioner: K. Hovnanian Homes; Pest Management Inc

This old fashioned political rally is where TREBIC can tell all the local politicians who runs Guilford County and where do you get your campaign contributions from.This is where Marlene Sanford President of TREBIC can say to the local politicians just how many more TREBIC  members can we fit on these boards and commissions in Guilford County, especially in the City of Greensboro.

Governor Sponsor: Fairway Outdoor Advertising and it's main kingpin W.S. Morris III from Augusta Georgia, between the in kind contributions from Fairway Outdoor Advertising and the campaign contributions to local politicians he is one of the most generous campaign contributors in this county and he doesn't even live here.Lately there hasn't been much campaign giving from W.S. Morris but this company is very generous with their influence and sign placements all over Guilford County.


Senator Sponsor: Isaaacson, Isaacson & Sheridan. We like to call them King Zoning Stud Henry Isaacson and his son Little King Zoning Stud Marc Isaacson because if you want to get a zoning case passed in Greensboro or Guilford County these are the one's who give plenty of money to the local politicians campaign coffers and if you haven't seen their DOG AND PONY SHOW it is a masterpiece just go to a Greensboro City Zoning meeting to witness King Zoning Stud Henry Isaacson  in action.

We also have Brown Investment and Chester Brown who is connected to Greensboro City Council member Robbie Perkins with a new shopping center out off of church street and HWY. 150 with Guilford County Commissioner Billy Yow also the well driller on this project. Then we find out that one of Chester Brown's employees Russ Parmele VP of business development has moved right from Greensboro board of adjustment to the Greensboro Zoning Commission without any opposition . It must be nice to go from one commission right to another without any objections and to see if there has been any applications in the databank waiting to get on this board but the TREBIC connected Brown Investment goes right to the front of the line. Amazing

These are just a few of the usual suspects who will be at this Old fashioned political rally. The influence of TREBIC on the local politicians needs to come to an end. When you hear certain politicians come out and say TREBIC has been contacted and TREBIC has some interest, it only goes to show that the FOX is guarding the Hen House and each year they want everyone to know who the FOX actually is.

_________________________________________________________________________________


We also have a new ethical dilemma for any local politician who has received a e mail from TREBIC on this annual gathering . If you would like to go to this event check out the application CLICKHERE . If you see the link it states that this event will cost you $30.00. This poses a real problem and all you need to do is CLICKHERE. This is where TREBIC states this

"Welcome Elected Officials and Candidates!


We invite you to attend our Annual "Pig, Poultry & Politics" event on Thursday, October 14 from 4:30 to 7:00 pm. TREBIC and its member Trade Associations represent nearly 4000 real estate professionals in and around Guilford County, plus all their employees.
Provide your name and mailing address and we'll send you the tickets. See you there!

ELECTED OFFICIALS AND CANDIDATES FREE REGISTRATION"

TREBIC also sent out a email to all the local elected officials and here is what was in the e mail,

"Please plan to attend the 11th Annual Pig, Poultry & Politics Thursday, October 14th! You can reply to this email to RSVP. Your ticket is complimentary, but if you need tickets for guests, they can be purchased for $30 each, $35 day of the event. You can order tickets on our website, www.trebic.org, or you can use the order form attached. "

It states that the local elected official and candidates can get their ticket for free and complimentary.


We have seen plenty of problems on the state level with some DMV workers were given free meals just like the Greensboro ABC Manager Katie Alley who is in a little hot water for her lunch dates with vendors comping the meals for her. How is this different from the most influential lobbyist group in Guilford County TREBIC giving FREE MEALS to local elected officials and candidates right before the elections.

If you are a local elected official and do plan on going to this event it is in your best intertest to NOT take the free meal and buy a $30 ticket and run it through your campaign committee fund because to me this is accepting a free meal and should not be done. Ethics is a real issue and it is time for our local elected officials and candidates understand how this free meal is not right and if you want to attend then pony up the $30 or not go. Triadwatch looks forward to seeing your $30 contribution on your campaign returns from this special interest lobbying political rally event brought to you by the non registered lobbyist Marlene Sanford and the non registered lobbyist group TREBIC.      

News 2 Report on RUCO and Embedded Video That Proves Why It Is Needed in Greensboro,

News 2 had a report last night which talks about the RUCO inspection process that the City of Greensboro has in place and the local special interest lobbyist group TREBIC and their president Marlene Sanford want to eliminate this whole process . After seeing the embedded video above how can you not be for inspections on these rental propertiess all over Greensboro when you have landlords with rental properties like the one in the video. Here is a link to the online report titled "Landlords Oppose Required Inspection", CLICKHERE

Koury, TREBIC and RUCO: What could Regulatory Capture look like?

Regulatory capture occurs when a...regulatory agency

created to act in the public interest

instead acts in favor of the commercial or special interests

that dominate in the industry or sector it is charged with regulating.

.

"RUCO task force meeting rescheduled because of lack of public notice

Regulatory capture is a form of government failure,

as it can act as an encouragement for large firms to produce negative externalities.

.

[Lisa] Dellinger, [Residential Property Manager, Koury Corp., and Chair of the RUCO Taskforce]

...raised the issue of the meeting location, which is in the conference room

of the building the Triad Real Estate and Building Industries Coalition, or TREBIC,

shares with the Greensboro Builders Association.

...regulatory capture occurs because groups or individuals

with a high-stakes interest in the outcome of policy or regulatory decisions

can be expected to focus their resources and energies

in attempting to gain the policy outcomes they prefer,

while members of the public, each with only a tiny individual stake in the outcome,

will ignore it altogether.

.

...Some discussion was held about the fact that the RUCO task force

has always met at TREBIC's conference room,

and it's a location that's convenient for all the members.

Regulatory capture refers to when this imbalance of focused resources

devoted to a particular policy outcome is successful at "capturing" influence

with the staff or commission members of the regulatory agency,

so that the preferred policy outcomes of the special interest are implemented.

.
"The theory is that where you meet is where the power is," said Donna Newton,

advisor to the Greensboro Neighborhood Congress.

...A captured regulatory agency that serves the interests of its invested patrons

with the power of the government behind it

is often worse than no regulation whatsoever.

.
McKee-Huger and Dan Reynolds,

inspection manager for the Greensboro Engineering & Inspections Department,

said they also have no problem with meeting at TREBIC. "

.
Jordan Green

Yes

Regulatory Capture

Wikipedia

Notable Zach Matheny 2009 Contributors:

Andrew P. Vanore Koury Corp. Real estate-development/Management

Ashley Vanore Koury Corp. Real estate-development/Management

Eugene Tillman Koury Corp. Real estate-development/Management

Kelly Harrill Koury Corp. Real estate-development/Management

Lisa Johnson Koury Corp. Real estate-development/Management

Ronald Mack Koury Corp. Real estate-development/Management

Stephanie Craft Koury Corp. Real estate-development/Management

Notable Robbie Perkins 2009 Contributors:

Kelly K. Harrill Koury Corp. Real estate-development/Management

Lisa K. Johnson Koury Corp. Real estate-development/Management

Ashley K. Vanore Koury Corp. Real estate-development/Management

Stephanie K. Craft Koury Corp. Real estate-development/Management

Ronald W. Mack Koury Corp. Real estate-development/Management

Edmund W. Koury Koury Corp. Real estate-development/Management

Notable Mary Rakestraw 2009 Contributors:

Lisa K. Johnson Koury Corp. Real estate-development/Management

Kelly K. Harrill Koury Corp. Real estate-development/Management

Stephanie K. Craft Koury Corp. Real estate-development/Management

Ashley K. Vanore Koury Corp. Real estate-development/Management

Edmund W. Koury Koury Corp. Real estate-development/Management

Notable Nancy Vaughan 2009 Contributors:

Stephanie Koury Craft Koury Corp. Real estate-development/Management

Kelly Koury Harrill Koury Corp. Real estate-development/Management

Lisa Koury Johnson Koury Corp. Real estate-development/Management

Edmund W. Koury Koury Corp. Real estate-development/Management

Ronald W. Mack Koury Corp. Real estate-development/Management

Stephen D. Showfety Koury Corp. Real estate-development/Management

Ashley Koury Vanore Koury Corp. Real estate-development/Management

Notable Trudy Wade 2009 Contributors:

Stephanie K. Craft Koury Corp. Real estate-development/Management

Kelly K. Harrill Koury Corp. Real estate-development/Management

Lisa K. Johnson Koury Corp. Real estate-development/Management

Edmund W. Koury Koury Corp. Real estate-development/Management

Ronald W. Mack Koury Corp. Real estate-development/Management

Mo Milani Koury Corp. Real estate-development/Management

Stephen D. Showfety Koury Corp. Real estate-development/Management

Ashley K. Vanore Koury Corp. Real estate-development/Management

.

.

Who did Greensboro’s Landlords Association PAC donate campaign cash to in 2009,

and who do they want to castrate RUCO?

Sunday, July 11, 2010

TREBIC + RUCO = FOX GUARDING HEN HOUSE

The YES! Weekly Blog: Hairston apartments: a test case for RUCO

Jordan Green from Yes Weekly had a post yesterday which can be seen above. In the post you will see this was written,

"Meanwhile the RUCO task force will be meeting at 8 a.m. on Friday to evaluate whether the program should continue. Where is the location? Wait for it: The Greensboro offices of Triad Real Estate & Building Industries Coalition, or TREBIC, its better known acronym. "



Does anyone want to say who is running the City of Greensboro when you have a city appointed board meeting at the special interest lobbyist offices. There isn't a city municipal building to use for this meeting or maybe a public library to hold this meeting at . Then we have Jordan Green also say in the comments section after a comment from this blog this,

"If holding a task force meeting at the headquarters of the industry association for the industry subject to regulation doesn't exactly prove that the regulatory process is captive to said interests, then I guess it doesn't do anything to dispel that perception either."

Today we also have ed cone chiming in as well with this to say about the above comment from Jordan Green

"Why no, it doesn't."  CLICKHERE

There is a lot of history in regards to RUCO and the City of Greensboro but let's stick to the local special interest lobbyist group in TREBIC and their leader Marlene Sanford. When will this ever quit, how many more examples do we need to point out for all to see. The saying "Fox Guarding The Hen House " is a complete understatement in regards to TREBIC and their total influence on everything in Greensboro and Guilford County.

David Wharton had this to say back in January of 2009 from his blog A Little Urbanity,
"I made some comments at the meeting, too, in which I focused on the fact that the building and real estate industries hold majorities on key boards and commissions, specifically the Zoning Commission, the RUCO board, the Board of Adjustment, and the Land Development Ordinance Citizens Advisory Team (of which I was a member)."

The above comments were also related to when a group of well organized citizens from all over greensboro and a interloper from High Point waged a year long battle against TREBIC and bringing back Protest Petitions to Greensboro. If you want to read all about this then go to the birthplace of TRIADWATCH in Protest Petitions for Greensboro CLICKHERE .

This is not new news on the influence of TREBIC,  but it needs to stop and a complete overhaul of all boards and commissions needs to happen because a little trouble is also brewing on the local Greensboro ABC Commission as we speak .

Isn't it funny to hear that a Greensboro commissioned board RUCO is meeting at the local special interest group's office of TREBIC,     FOX MEET HEN HOUSE

If TREBIC’s Marlene Sanford registered as a lobbyist in 1999-2000, why didn’t she register after?

"Lobbyist Information...

Name: Marlene Sanford

Registered with these Principals...

Filings Term Status Firm Principal

1999-2000 Active Triad Real Estate & Building Industry Coalition Triad Real Estate & Building Industry Coalition

CLICKHERE

Here is What Stack The Deck With TREBIC Developers Looks Like in Greensboro N.C.on CAT TEAM

The City of Greensboro had a public meeting on 2-9-2010 where the citizens of Greensboro could get a overview of the new Land Development Ordinance rewrite and what it will look like with approval from the Greensboro City Council. Let's take a closer look at the video below to see just how the local special interest group known as TREBIC which stands for the triad real estate and building industry coalition stacks the deck in their favor.





If you want to get a history of just how the local developers or you can call them TREBIC stacked the deck as you can see from the above video with a ratio of 8 developers - 3 others Yes Weekly has a article with a title "Developers more assertive on panel to rewrite ordinance", CLICKHERE,

Then over the summer of 2009 Triadwatch went to a community public  meeting at Leonard Rec Center  on the LDO rewrite and also looked at the document in question . One glaring issue that came out of the meeting was a post on July 27, 2009 with a title "Greensboro neighborhoods will NOT get a fair shake in the zoning process , thanks to TREBIC", CLICKHERE

Then a few days ago we see that the Greensboro Neighborhood Congress has some of the same problems where TREBIC members on this LDO would not want to make it a requirement to meet with the neighborhoods here is that post CLICKHERE 

During the meeting we also find out that city staff was the ones who sent out the invites to this citizens advisory team. When will these elected officials or staff quit putting all these TREBIC members on these boards and commissions.

In a future post we will see how the City of Greensboro and the Guilford County Commissioners wanted to form a task force to come up with ways to save money and consolidate departments, High Point doesn't want any part of this consolidating. Wouldn't you know it that the president of TREBIC was the chairman of this committee in Marlene Sanford with plenty of other TREBIC members stacking the deck again in TREBIC's favor.

When will we ever see a time where TREBIC doesn't have it's hands in every board and commission and advisory council . It must be nice to have a luncheon right before this LDO meeting to get unfettered access to our local officials at Grandover, like TREBIC hosted last week.

Start looking out for the citizens not the special interest.