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Town Council Workshop Meeting

Town of Holly Springs · Town Council
Tuesday, June 9, 2026 at 6:00 pm

Work session Housing and affordabilitySubdivision and site plansZoning text amendment

What's on this agenda

Holly Springs' Mayor and Council workshop agenda for June 9 covers community engagement strategy, housing policy implementation options building on guidance from the 2026 Annual Retreat, and a staff proposal to change how the town reviews subdivisions and development plans. On that last point, staff say Holly Springs is one of the few peer jurisdictions still using a quasi-judicial approval process for those reviews, and ask Council whether to develop a policy moving them to an administrative-level process instead -- a change that would speed up routine approvals but remove the public hearing element from them.

The agenda also includes quarterly updates from the Town Clerk and Town Attorney, with a possible closed session, and a preview of policy topics planned for fall and early-winter workshops.

Summarized from the published agenda. Read the agenda itself before acting on it.

Meeting recap

What happened, drawn from the records published after the meeting. Minutes

Holly Springs Town Council reached consensus at its June 9 workshop to move subdivision and development-plan approvals from a quasi-judicial process to an administrative one. Staff said the change would cut review time from six-to-12 months to three-to-six months. Mayor Pro Tem Annie Drees said she worried the change would cost residents input opportunities, but Council directed staff to draft the amendment anyway. On housing, staff presented a three-year action plan built on priorities set at the spring retreat. It covers incentive zoning, expedited approvals, land-use changes, and a longer-term homeowner repair program. Council debated how to define affordable housing, generally framed as 80 to 120% of area median income.

Town Clerk Linda McKinney said public records requests have climbed sharply. The town received under 300 a year before 2025, then 422 in 2025. It logged 337 more in just the first five months of 2026, an increase she linked partly to bot-generated requests posing as a media outlet. Mayor Mike Kondratick asked Council members to submit comments opposing a proposed state rule on monitoring 1,4-dioxane in wastewater. Mayor Pro Tem Drees raised revisiting the town's panhandling ordinance. Council then voted unanimously to enter closed session to discuss possible litigation with Fred Smith Company and NCDOT, and adjourned at 9:20 p.m.

How the votes went

Council voted three times, all unanimously: to enter closed session under N.C.G.S. 143-318.11(a)(3) to consult with the Town Attorney on possible litigation with Fred Smith Company and NCDOT (moved by Mayor Pro Tem Annie Drees, seconded by Council member Danielle Hewetson); to leave closed session (moved by Council member Chris Deshazor, seconded by Hewetson); and to adjourn at 9:20 p.m. (moved by Deshazor, seconded by Hewetson).

From the published minutes.

Speaking at this meeting

Town of Holly Springs's own rules for public comment — check them before you rely on anything here.

Agenda items (11)

Discussion item · 5Procedural · 3Staff or committee report · 2Closed session · 1
  1. Welcome / Call Meeting to Order
    Procedural
  2. Workshop Overview
    Procedural
  3. Community Engagement
    Discussion item
  4. Housing Policy
    Discussion item Housing and affordability
    Staff leads a conversation on housing policy implementation options for the next 6 months to 2+ years, building on guidance from the 2026 Annual Retreat.
  5. UDO Proposed Updates
    Staff proposes moving Subdivision and Development Plan approvals from a quasi-judicial process to an administrative-level process, consistent with other North Carolina jurisdictions; seeks Council guidance on further policy development.
  6. 6.a Legal/Clerk Quarterly Updates - Town Clerk
    Staff or committee report
  7. 6.b Legal/Clerk Quarterly Updates - Town Attorney
    Staff or committee report
  8. Fall/Early Winter Potential Council Workshop Topic Planning
    Discussion item
  9. Open Discussion
    Discussion item
  10. Closed Session
    Closed session
  11. Adjourn
    Procedural

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