Democracy isn’t a spectator sport. On December 9, 2025, I attended the final meeting of the current board majority for the Warren County Board of Supervisors. It was a long night covering everything from short-term rentals to industrial rezoning, but it reinforced my belief that one analytical voice can truly make a difference.
Pushing for a “Consistent Rubric”
My primary focus was on Short-Term Rentals (STRs). Currently, the process for Conditional Use Permits (CUPs) can feel unpredictable for both applicants and neighbors. I advocated for a transparent scoring rubric. Without a clear framework, the process risks being perceived as arbitrary. I also raised concerns about how the shift from “room-sharing” to full-time tourist lodging impacts our local housing affordability and rural road safety.
Later in the meeting, I was encouraged to hear Supervisor Jamieson acknowledge these points, even referencing a quantitative matrix approach to reduce subjectivity in these decisions.
Policy & Participation
I also addressed the board’s Public Comment Policy. Currently, the split between “Agenda Items” at the beginning and “General Comments” at the end can force citizens to choose between topics or stay until very late hours to be heard. I used the metaphor of “green grass”—a reference to how the policy was originally framed—to argue that we should be nurturing public participation, not limiting it.
“Don’t Disappoint Me, Lewis”
The most rewarding moment of the night was entirely unexpected. As the meeting drew to a close, Chairman Jay Butler invited me back to the podium. In a candid exchange, he commended my consistent participation and asked me to be an advocate for other citizens to get involved.
I shared with the Board that staying engaged isn’t always easy. It takes:
- Curiosity: To dig into the packets, proffers, and impact studies.
- An Analytical Mindset: To process the “firehose” of data that the board handles.
- Perseverance: To overcome the nerves of public speaking (even if we occasionally use “really weird words” at the podium!).
Final Reflection
I’ve spent the past few years learning through the Chamber of Commerce Leadership program, the BZA, and the Sheriff‘s Citizen Academy. These programs have taught me that government is at its best when citizens don’t just watch from the sidelines but show up to ask the hard questions.
As Chairman Butler noted, the real strength of our community lies in the interest and time we invest in understanding the “why” behind the policy. If my presence at these meetings encourages even one more person to attend and speak up, then every minute spent analyzing those agenda packets was worth it.
Watch the Testimony
You can watch the full meeting and my various comments at the timestamps below:
- 0:00 – STR Transparency & Rubrics
- 7:20 – Accessory Dwelling Units
- 9:25 – Public Comment Policy & 2A Language
- 12:29 – Final Dialogue with Chairman Jay Butler
Transcript (auto-generated)
Chapter 1: STR – 138 Wooded Lane
0:00Good evening. Uh my name is Lewis Mootton and I live in the North River District.
0:08
8 secondsI won’t say it, but anyway. Um over the past year, I’ve watched one short-term rental cup after another come before the board.
0:18
18 secondsSome are approved, some are denied, and from the outside, the reasons often aren’t clear. Each applicant spends money on plans, fees, inspections, engineering, and management proposals.
0:28
28 secondsand neighbors spend time preparing comments and attending hearings. Yet, no one really knows what the deciding factors will be. The lack of clarity
0:36
36 secondswastes everyone’s time and money, and it leaves the public guessing. Our ordinance lays out the standards.
0:42
42 secondsHarmony with comprehensive plan, compatibility with neighbors, traffic impact, utility, safety, and so on. But these are broad concepts that can be interpreted differently from one
0:50
50 secondsapplication to the next. Without a consistent and transparent rubric, the process can feel unpredictable. And when the decision is some unpredictable, it
0:58
58 secondsopens doors to concerns about favoritism or influence. And even if nothing improper is happening, I’m not accusing anyone. I’m pointing out that the
1:06
1 minute, 6 secondspersecution perception exists and perception matters. A clear rubric or scoring guide would help part applicants
1:14
1 minute, 14 secondsto understand what is expected, help neighbors understand what is considered, and help the board apply the standards consistently. It would also protect the
1:21
1 minute, 21 secondsfuture boards by giving them a steady framework to follow rather than relying on shifting interpretations. A simple transparent rubric would build public
1:29
1 minute, 29 secondstrust, reduce frustration, and make the entire cup process fairer, clearer, and more efficient for everyone involved.
1:35
1 minute, 35 secondsThank you. Good evening. My name is Lewis Motton and I live in North River District.
Chapter 2: STR – 565 Ridgeway Road
1:43
1 minute, 43 secondsWhen we look at the C CP for short-term rental and refrigerate road, I think it’s important to acknowledge how much the short-term rental industry has
1:50
1 minute, 50 secondschanged. The original spirit of Airbnb was closer to couch surfing, homeowners renting a separate room to make ends meet. It was about affordability,
1:59
1 minute, 59 secondscommunity, and using existing housing more efficiently. Uh, but that model has completely shifted. Today, most short-term rentals in Warren County are
2:06
2 minutes, 6 secondsentire homes being used as full-time tourist lodging. These rentals often charge far more than hotels, add multiple layers of fees, and come with a
2:16
2 minutes, 16 secondslong list of rules for guests while still operating inside residential neighborhoods. Unlike hotels, there’s no
2:23
2 minutes, 23 secondsroutine revenue verification, no occupancy tax, transparency, and no clear way for public to understand how much income these properties generate or how they impact county re resources.
2:35
2 minutes, 35 secondsMeanwhile, the rise of full home short-term rentals has contributed to higher housing prices. Homes that once would have been available for local
2:42
2 minutes, 42 secondsfamilies are being purchased specifically for tourism revenue that pushes residents out of the market, reshapes neighborhoods, and shifts our
2:51
2 minutes, 51 secondseconomy towards tourism at the expense of long-term stability. I’m not speaking against this application specifically.
2:59
2 minutes, 59 secondsI’m asking the board to consider whether the increasing number of full property STRs is still in harmony with our comprehensive plan, our housing needs, and the character of our rural roads.
3:08
3 minutes, 8 secondsThe cumulative impact matters, and we need clear vision for how many of these properties our community can absorb before we unintentionally make Warren
3:16
3 minutes, 16 secondsCounty less affordable for the very people who live and work here. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Moden.
Chapter 3: Supervisor Jamieson’s Response
3:25
3 minutes, 25 secondsCan I make a comment?
3:27
3 minutes, 27 secondsUm, this is this is I want to use this time to address what Mr. Motton just said about the seeming
3:36
3 minutes, 36 secondsarbitrariness of this at times or maybe always. Um, this is just to bring up a point and it is to make a note that we
3:45
3 minutes, 45 secondsshould revisit this, but this uh board got an accepting Mr. Henry on August 25th
3:53
3 minutes, 53 secondsuh a suggestion of a a quantitative approach to this. Uh Mr. Turner who recently ran for office
4:00
4 minutesgave a a suggestion and it’s it is quantitative. It’s much le it’s it’s well there’s no way that all the subjectivity is going to be taken out of
4:08
4 minutes, 8 secondsthis but um it’s a grid matrix type of approach and I think that uh what Mr.
4:14
4 minutes, 14 secondsMotton said has merit. Other people have brought this up countless times. We’ve had a work session when we’ve talked about this, but we it nothing seems to
4:22
4 minutes, 22 secondschange. Uh so I just want to revisit this and and and maybe have Mr. Gotcha put on the agenda to look for this email
4:29
4 minutes, 29 secondsuh from the 25th and have that maybe be a starting point for actually continuing this discussion to some kind of change in the way we do things.
Chapter 4: Supervisor Butler Commending Participation
4:40
4 minutes, 40 secondsMr. voting. I just want to say that I do admire your your you know wanting to uh
4:48
4 minutes, 48 secondsu participate and I I’m not saying this in gest or anything. I wish more people would do this. I truly do. Thank you.
Chapter 5: STR – 262 Woodcliff Lane
4:59
4 minutes, 59 secondsGood evening. My name is Lewis Button. I live in the North River District. Um, I’m going to go a little off because I
5:06
5 minutes, 6 secondsprepared everything, but I I will say I did meet one of the applicants uh about a year ago when I started speaking in
5:13
5 minutes, 13 secondsfront of you and I met them afterwards and they did show me a lot of photographs of before and after and I agree a lot of these people are coming
5:22
5 minutes, 22 secondsand improving Warren County, but they they are improving it for people coming in and going quite a bit. they’re not
5:30
5 minutes, 30 secondsimproving it for the people who want to come and stay here. Um, I’m just trying to think what I actually do want to speak about here because I I had each
5:39
5 minutes, 39 secondsone and going on a different um topic, but I I was just starting to humorize maybe I should start my own short-term rental in my house or something. Uh, but
5:48
5 minutes, 48 secondsI’m not going to go that route. But I know Zach’s often said he’s seen people complain about one thing and then couple months later they’re coming trying to do
5:56
5 minutes, 56 secondsit the same thing themselves. Um, I do appreciate the planning committee’s recommendation on the staff conditions on water testing, septic maintenance,
6:05
6 minutes, 5 secondsand whatnot. Um, I I just um I am trying to dig and I’m trying to understand
6:12
6 minutes, 12 secondseverything and it’s a fire hose and I can’t imagine what you guys are doing with because there is so much and I
6:19
6 minutes, 19 secondsdon’t think many people realize once you get into the data how much um there actually is. Uh, and it’s it’s
6:28
6 minutes, 28 secondsa lot of time. Um, I can’t see if I got time or not. Oh, I got it. Okay. Um, they can be
6:37
6 minutes, 37 secondssuccessful, but they do introduce a lot of moving parts, guests who don’t know the area, vehicles that aren’t used to roll road conditions, and increase
6:45
6 minutes, 45 secondsturnover that affects noise, parking, and safety. Um, so, so to your matter of it’s not going to increase traffic. It’s going to, it’s going to have traffic
6:53
6 minutes, 53 secondsthat is not familiar with the area is the main thing. So somebody might get caught on a snow bank and you’re going to have to go up the road and find a
7:00
7 minutesfarmer to to get his tractor and to lend a hand because that’s the neighbor thing neighborly thing to do. Whereas your regular people who are familiar with the
7:08
7 minutes, 8 secondsarea, they know if they shouldn’t drive or what conditions to expect. So there’s a lot of changes and a lot of conditions
7:16
7 minutes, 16 secondsthat we need to meet with these short-term rentals. Thank you. Surprise.
Chapter 6: ADU – 150 High Bluff Road
7:23
7 minutes, 23 secondsOkay.
7:25
7 minutes, 25 secondsHello. Good evening. My name is Lewis Motton and I live in the North River District still. Um, so if anybody’s not
7:34
7 minutes, 34 secondsfamiliar, these are like uh Granny Flats. I just spoke to the town about this last Monday or the Monday before last like two weeks ago before I got
7:43
7 minutes, 43 secondssick and then recovered. Um, this actually borders on a variance because it looks like they’re experiencing a a
7:49
7 minutes, 49 secondshardship with um some of the the people they they are actually um helping. Um my
7:57
7 minutes, 57 secondsonly concern really with ADUs is it it feels almost like a skirt around short-term rentals. In this case, it’s
8:06
8 minutes, 6 secondsmuch different. they they’ve got somebody living there permanently, but um there’s a concern like, you know, it’s it’s a 30-day minimum requirement,
8:14
8 minutes, 14 secondsbut it could be something like um maybe somebody does want to stay longer than 30 days and pay for it. Uh I don’t
8:22
8 minutes, 22 secondsreally have much more about that. So, I’m just talking off the top of my head right now with with uh
8:28
8 minutes, 28 secondsregarding what what my thoughts are and I will reserve the rest of my time for nothing.
Chapter 7: Rezone from Agricultural to Industrial & Commercial
8:37
8 minutes, 37 secondsShe vaped me to it. Um, hello. My name is Louisis Motton and I live in the North River District. Um, the main thing
8:45
8 minutes, 45 secondsI was looking at here, I know you guys keep bringing up water and data centers and they’ve come back many times with
8:53
8 minutes, 53 secondsthis proper update and the one thing they haven’t mentioned at all is anything regarding data centers. So, you know, they they can hear you loud and
9:02
9 minutes, 2 secondsclear, but they’re just not going to do anything about water or data centers. I did see something about water, but it wasn’t, you know, anything about wellwater or limitations and whatnot.
9:13
9 minutes, 13 secondsUm, I’m not for or against this. I’m just saying, hey, this is what I see.
9:17
9 minutes, 17 secondsSo, um, you know, I’m not you you can make your own decision. I’m not going to judge you for it. But, yeah. Thank you.
Chapter 8: Agenda Comment – Comment Structure and 2A Sanctuary
9:26
9 minutes, 26 secondsGood evening. My name is Louis Mootton. live in the North River District. I’m going to miss you, buddy.
9:35
9 minutes, 35 seconds[laughter]
9:36
9 minutes, 36 secondsUm, since this meeting is the last meeting of the current majority, I’d like to talk briefly about how green the grass is. Not literally, but as it
9:45
9 minutes, 45 secondsrelates to our public comment policy that was framed when it was first adopted on February 4th. So, I’m talking about agenda items E and S.
9:54
9 minutes, 54 secondsThat evening, the second comment period was described as a place for comments, like how green the grass is. While the first was limited strictly to agenda
10:01
10 minutes, 1 seconditems, citizens were told that they could only speak once, and the policy even allowed the chair to call for a show of hands, something never used
10:10
10 minutes, 10 secondsbefore or since. Combined with warnings of criminal penalties, the tone made the whole policy feel less like open
10:18
10 minutes, 18 secondsgovernment and more like the white walking on grass we weren’t supposed to step on.
10:24
10 minutes, 24 secondsWe’ve seen the confusion this causes. On April 1st, I spoke in detail on agenda items and also about a related concern not printed on the agenda, something not obvious without background knowledge.
10:35
10 minutes, 35 secondsAfterwards, I was reminded that only agenda topics could be addressed. It left me wondering, should I have waited until the end of the meeting just so I could speak to the whole field at once?
10:46
10 minutes, 46 secondsA policy of focus on citizens to choose between two patches of the same lawn does not nurture a healthy public participation. Robert’s rules cautions
10:55
10 minutes, 55 secondsagainst arbitrary limitations that chill minority voices. And the first amendment protects our rights to speak fully and
11:02
11 minutes, 2 secondsmeaningfully to our government. Tonight, any board member can move to revise the policy, allowing speakers to address both periods or moving general comments
11:10
11 minutes, 10 secondsto earlier so participation isn’t punished into the late hours. One simple motion could make the grass here greener for everyone. And briefly regarding the
11:19
11 minutes, 19 secondsSecond Amendment sanctuary reaffirmination, we saw in May that the Department of Homeland Security incorrectly labeled us as an immigration sanctuary
11:27
11 minutes, 27 secondsjurisdictionary and our sheriff politely and quickly corrected it. With the political climate today, the term sanctuary is far more associated with
11:36
11 minutes, 36 secondsimmigration than firearms. Clear modern language such as constitutional county or a simple definition would prevent confusion and strengthen public trust.
11:46
11 minutes, 46 secondsUm, thank you and goodbye buddy. I hope to see you around. Thank you.
Chapter 9: Supervisor Stanmeyer Response 2A
11:53
11 minutes, 53 secondsAs to um comments from Mr. Motton, uh the term sanctuary is a loaded term or or might be misleading um uh as it’s usually used in relation to immigration.
12:06
12 minutes, 6 secondsUh, I understand that concern and I do like the idea of a a constitutional county, but this is language that’s kind of been standardized
12:14
12 minutes, 14 secondsum across the the state and and uh um I I think the uh the unity that’s
12:23
12 minutes, 23 secondscontained in that um declaration amongst multiple counties carries a weight of its own that I I don’t want to change.
Chapter 10: General Comment – Dialog with Supervisor Jay
12:30
12 minutes, 30 secondsPublic comment period. And do we have anybody signed up? No, sir.
12:35
12 minutes, 35 secondsWould anybody in the audience like to speak?
12:39
12 minutes, 39 secondsWait a minute. Don’t Don’t disappoint me, Lewis.
12:46
12 minutes, 46 secondsIt can’t. He’s disqualified.
12:51
12 minutes, 51 secondsSince this is my last act, Lewis, did you want to speak?
12:58
12 minutes, 58 seconds[laughter]
13:06
13 minutes, 6 secondsI I don’t even know what to speak about. Um, but in case you go ahead.
13:13
13 minutes, 13 secondsWell, no, I I I’ll tell you. I I’m Louisis Motton from the North River District.
13:18
13 minutes, 18 secondsWell, I I’m just very serious. I wish that more citizens took the interest and the time like you do because the uh
13:26
13 minutes, 26 secondsthat’s what this that’s what our government is about. Well, I’ve I’ve had and people will get up and they’ll say things that that just irritate me to no
13:35
13 minutes, 35 secondsend. But you know what? It’s their right to say it.
13:37
13 minutes, 37 secondsI’ve had the opportunity with the Chamber of Commerce to take their leadership program and I learned quite a
13:43
13 minutes, 43 secondslot. Um and that kind of spawned me off into going into um public office and learning from the BCA about a few
13:52
13 minutes, 52 secondsthings. Um, and then I just completed the sheriff’s office had their citizen academy. Super.
13:59
13 minutes, 59 secondsAnd that’s an excellent program. I learned a lot compared to what you normally see on the internet because, you know, everybody believes everything
14:05
14 minutes, 5 secondson the internet. Um, and now I hear that you guys are going to form a similar program for the county. I’d be
14:12
14 minutes, 12 secondsinterested in that. But it’s like I’d like to be an information sponge. I’m all about data.
14:19
14 minutes, 19 secondsyou know, usually I’m the one responding to RFPs, not actually analyzing them and and just trying to figure out what’s
14:26
14 minutes, 26 secondsgoing on. So, um, and now I’m actually talking with Brad quite a bit and the finance admin trying to figure out what’s going on.
14:34
14 minutes, 34 secondsAnd they’ve actually made some corrections. So, it’s like I’m just trying to understand the fire hose of what you guys deal with because I can
14:43
14 minutes, 43 secondsunderstand it’s it’s very large. It’s very big.
14:47
14 minutes, 47 secondsUm, I don’t know how you did it. I mostly knew you from ribbon cutings before I start coming up here. So, it’s
14:54
14 minutes, 54 secondsit’s a different thing seeing you here [laughter] than out there.
15:02
15 minutes, 2 secondsWell, may maybe and this is just a suggestion, maybe you could be an advocate for other citizens to take as
15:08
15 minutes, 8 secondsmuch interest as you do because that’s that that is the real strength. It takes a lot of work and a lot of analytical mindset.
15:18
15 minutes, 18 secondsYeah.
15:18
15 minutes, 18 secondsUm to actually dig at the the real questions. And a few of you I I know especially Dr. Jameson really gets into the details into the why.
15:29
15 minutes, 29 secondsAnd I don’t think a lot of people have that drive. I definitely encourage it.
15:34
15 minutes, 34 secondsBut it takes a lot of time to wrap your mind around everything and have the um
15:41
15 minutes, 41 secondsthe opportunity or the freedom to say, “Okay, it’s okay to make mistakes. Let’s just figure it out.” And then the other part is public speaking.
15:49
15 minutes, 49 secondsAnd coming here, at first I wasn’t so great at it. I did some of the toast masters, but you know, over time, I’ve
15:57
15 minutes, 57 secondsimproved a little bit. Although I listen to myself and I say real really weird words sometimes, but I think my point gets across.
16:05
16 minutes, 5 secondsWell, thank you, Lewis. We we really appreciate times up. [laughter]
