By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer
The Orange County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously on Tuesday to take steps toward adopting an addressing ordinance that would require thousands of county residents to change their addresses to reflect a grid-based system.
The county began efforts to change rural addresses to a logical, grid-based system in 1987, but the changes were resisted by the public. County officials said residents were likely to continue to oppose the changes, but that an ordinance was necessary to ensure that homes could be located by emergency workers and other service people.
“There will be an issue with a lot of people not wanting to change their addresses,†County Manager Frank Clifton said. “If you don’t have an enforcement procedure, you’re never going to have an addressing procedure that will make sure that people get the services they want when they need them.â€
According to Steve Averett, GIS manager with the county’s technology department, Orange County has more than 2,000 addresses that are out of sequence, not addressed to the proper road, addressed to the wrong side of the road or that don’t display house numbers correctly and appropriately.
The county also has more than 100 streets with improper ranges or names that are duplicates or phonetically similar to others, that do not have street signs posted or that are private drives without names and address ranges.
The county also has more than 100 streets with improper ranges or names that are duplicates or phonetically similar to others, that do not have street signs posted or that are private drives without names and address ranges.
Averett said address issues cause a number of problems, the most serious of which is a delayed response from emergency services. Non-conforming addresses can also cause issues with property tax assessments, and assessments for waste reduction, reuse and recycling (3R) fees. Other potential problems include inefficient mail and package deliveries and difficulties identifying proper voter precincts.
“There’s nothing more frustrating for a fire department member than trying to find a home at three in the morning that has a fire that’s not obvious or somebody that’s had an accident or heart attack,†Commissioner Earl McKee said. “I would urge that we move forward with this as fast as possible.â€
Clifton said that the necessary address changes will require people to take a number of steps, including changing their mailing addresses.
“It’s going to have an impact, and you’re going to hear from people,†he added. “That’s probably the biggest hurdle that you’re going to have to overcome.â€
Commissioners said that despite the likely resistance, they wanted to move forward with the ordinance.
“I can assure you that a lot of people that have objected to changing their addresses would look at it entirely differently at three in the morning if they were waiting on an ambulance that could not find them,†McKee said.
Commissioner Alice Gordon agreed.
“I think it’s very important for emergency services of all kinds that we move forward with this,†she said.
Averett said he hopes to present a draft ordinance to the board in June, and hold public hearings in the late summer or fall. He added that if the ordinance is approved in the fall, enforcement would begin in March 2012.