Residents speak put against annexation, new development

Chuck Thompson, The Sanford Herald, N.C.
3 min read
0

Feb. 23—Some Carolina Trace residents are speaking out against a proposed housing development that would be adjacent to the new Lee County sports complex, Carolina Trace and positioned near the merger of U.S. 421 and N.C. 87.

During Tuesday's Sanford City Council meeting, a public hearing was held on a petition for voluntary annexation and rezoning by AGA Corporation, Groce Development LLC. Those against the development said they are concerned about the traffic and storm water runoff.

The consideration of the application by Brin Richards of urban Design Partners to rezone three tracts of land compromising over 52 acres of land, with frontage on N.C. 87, from residential restricted (RR), office & institutional (O&I), and general commercial (C-2) to the NC HWY 87 Mixed Use Conditional Zoning District to develop a mixed-use community consisting of multi-family, townhomes, and commercial development.

Carolina Trace resident David Smoak spoke out against the annexation and the rezoning request. He expressed concern that continuous annexation would eventually turn all of Lee County into only the City of Sanford and cautioned the council to consider this when constantly approving annexation requests. Smoak also expressed concern for the safety of new residents when fire and EMS would be needed, stretching the Carolina Trace Fire Department beyond its ability to protect the citizens already in its district.

Michael Locke spoke about the potential stormwater run-off issue; how it could possibly be a major issue down the road with this new development, expressing his concern, in all due respect, that due-diligence into this matter had possibly not been examined in detail by city council.

Kurt Bradley, of Chapel Hill, spoke in favor of the development, noting that he might be a future investor into this project, and asked to board to approve the rezoning.

Vice-President of Carolina Trace Association, Burton Witaschek asked Sanford City Council if they had received a letter with their concerns, to which it was understood they did receive said letter from the CT Association, and nothing more was elaborated on the letter.

Council also honored Lee County Manager Dr. John Crumpton, who is retiring.

In other business, council:

—Approved an amendment to a a contract between the City of Sanford and The Haskell Company for construction management for Triangle Innovation Point (TIP) water and sewer improvements was approved.

—Also approved, were the operating budget of the City of Sanford for fiscal year 2022-2023, Washington Avenue, a grant for community development revitalization grant CDBG# 21-C-4022, and rural economic development block program approval and grant agreement for the mayor to execute grant related documents were all approved.

—Several resolutions for street closures for upcoming festivals and events were approved. These resolutions included the temporary closing of Bracken Street for Toss for a Cause fundraiser, Saturday April 1, the temporary closure of the parking lot at the corner of Cole Street and Steele Street for the Blues, Brews, and BBQ Event, hosted by Hugger Mugger, Friday April 12 to Saturday April 22, 2023, until 9 p.m., and the temporary closure of selected uptown streets for the Sanford Block Party.

—Discussed a text amendment to the United Development Ordinance was discussed, to amend the matrix so that "Mini-warehousing / self-service storage leasing" is permitted with development regulations.

—Discussed of a text amendment to the Unified Development ordinance to add the land use category "Food Truck Park" under "General Sales or Service" of the permitted use matrix and make the proposed use permitted within the neighborhood commercial (NC), highway commercial (HC), light commercial & office (C-1), general commercial (C-2), office and institutional (O&I), central business district (CBD), light industrial (LI), and heavy industrial (HI) zoning districts.

The next regular Sanford City Council meeting will be held at 5 p.m. on March 7.

Advertisement

Recommended Stories

  • Sam Bankman-Fried Traded In His $35 Million Mansion In The Bahamas For A Prison Cell With 35 Inmates But Claims "He Did Not Do Anything Wrong"

    Formerly disgraced FTX CEO and Co-Founder Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted in November of wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy, and sentenced to 25 years in prison. His high-profile trial marked a significant chapter in the unraveling of FTX, which collapsed under suspicious financial practices, leading to intense scrutiny and legal action. For the first time since his incarceration, Bankman-Fried described his daily life in a detailed interview with journalist William D. Cohan of Puck. Do

  • Charles Schwab website ‘is a mess’: Hundreds of TD Ameritrade users complain about their new online home.

    “It wouldn’t surprise me if they see an outflow of clients over the next six months,” one user told MarketWatch.

  • Homes are overvalued in much of the U.S. — with these 5 states leading the list

    Home prices are overvalued nationally, according to a new report by Fitch Ratings, led by Southern states.

  • Nvidia Recently Bought 5 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks, and 1 Is Absolutely Soaring

    Nvidia is spreading some of its recently amassed wealth by investing in smaller AI companies.

  • Exclusive-Bank of America banker who died had sought to leave, citing long hours, recruiter says

    The 35-year-old Bank of America investment banker who died from a blood clot earlier this month wanted to leave the U.S. bank because he was working more than 100 hours a week, according to an executive recruiter who spoke with him about seeking a new job. Junior banker Leo Lukenas III died of an acute coronary artery thrombus, a type of blood clot, the New York Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said last week. Lukenas said in mid-March that he wanted to leave Bank of America because of the grueling hours, Douglas Walters, a managing partner at GrayFox Recruitment, told Reuters in an interview.

  • Seeking 12% Dividend Yield? Analysts Suggest 2 Dividend Stocks to Buy

    Now that we’ve had time to digest the April jobs numbers, some strategists are getting worried about the economy’s mid-term outlook. The jobs report showed 175,000 new jobs added in the month – but that was the lowest gain in the past six months, and was accompanied by an uptick in unemployment, from 3.8% to 3.9%. Along with these topline numbers, the report showed declines in job openings and hires. For Roukaya Ibrahim, watching the US economy from BCA, this job report may indicate a shift towa

  • The 3M Dividend Cut Is Here. It’s Big.

    Materials company 3M declared a dividend of 70 cents per share on Tuesday evening. The cut means 3M will lose its status as a Dividend Aristocrat—companies that have raised payouts for at least 25 consecutive years. 3M had already told investors a “reset” was coming.

  • Walmart lays off hundreds of employees and requires others to relocate

    Walmart on Tuesday announced layoffs affecting several hundred jobs at the retail giant’s campus offices. It also said it will require most remote workers and personnel in its Dallas, Atlanta and Toronto offices to relocate to its primary offices in Bentonville, Arkansas; Hoboken, New Jersey; and the San Francisco Bay Area. The news, conveyed via a Walmart staff memo provided to The Associated Press, said the relocations will serve the goal of “bringing more of us together more often.”

  • What is a high-net-worth individual?

    High-net-worth individuals, those with net worths of $1 million or more and liquid assets, take different approaches to finance than others.

  • 4 Top Stocks to Tap Nasdaq's New All-Time High

    Stocks like Netflix, Inc. (NFLX), Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL), NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) and Super Micro Computer, Inc. (SMCI) are expected to benefit from the ongoing Nasdaq rally.