Town Council Business Meeting

Meeting recap

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

The council approved a 458-unit apartment rezoning for Meridian at Sunset Commons, 3-1, after a motion to deny died for lack of a second. Mayor Pro Tem Annie Drees cast the lone dissenting vote, saying the project offered no road improvements, only a sewer study. It held two more rezoning hearings without voting. One covered 255 homes at Daventry on Thrasher Road; the other, 53 homes with retail space at 2420 Avent Ferry Road. Both go to the Planning Board next. The council adopted a 1.53-acre voluntary annexation at 3705 Old Holly Springs Apex Road, unanimously. It brings the Carolina Springs Boulevard and Veridea Parkway intersection into town, for emergency response.

In new business, the council approved the Powell Place rezoning 3-1, with Drees again opposed. It also approved the project's utility allocation and development agreement 3-1, after the developer agreed to widen a shoulder on Rouse Road. It approved a rezoning letting New School Montessori expand to a 300-student cap, unanimously. It hired Dewberry for $1,161,247.82 to design the Camp Branch Greenway, also unanimously. On the consent agenda, the council approved budget amendments, two development plan extensions, and new wastewater treatment contracts. It also adopted an NCDOT supplemental agreement for Holly Springs Road and a larger janitorial contract, all in one unanimous vote. It then went into closed session to discuss an economic development incentive and pending litigation, Hudson v. Greenhawk, Ragan and the town.

How the votes went

Item 4, agenda adjustment: unanimous.
Items 5-12, consent agenda (minutes, budget amendments, two development plan extensions, the Holly Springs Rd. NCDOT agreement, the janitorial contract amendment, wastewater treatment contracts, and the water tank engineering contract): approved as one block, unanimous.
Item 13, Meridian at Sunset Commons rezoning: a motion to deny it failed for lack of a second; the motion to approve the rezoning ordinance passed 3-1 (Hewetson, Larson, Foster aye; Drees nay); the development agreement passed by the same 3-1 vote.
Item 14, Daventry rezoning: public hearing held, no vote taken; forwarded to the Planning Board for its July 28 meeting.
Item 15, 2420 Avent Ferry Road rezoning: public hearing held, no vote taken; forwarded to the Planning Board for its July 28 meeting.
Item 16, Veridea S. Village East annexation: motion to adopt the annexation ordinance passed unanimously.
Item 17, Powell Place: the rezoning ordinance passed 3-1 (Larson, Hewetson, Foster aye; Drees nay); the utility allocation passed 3-1, same split; the development agreement, taken up later in the meeting with the Parks and Recreation fee-in-lieu language removed and a speed-limit condition added, passed 3-1, same split.
Item 18, New School Montessori rezoning: passed unanimously.
Item 19, Camp Branch Greenway: the $1,161,247.82 contract with Dewberry passed unanimously; the follow-on authorization for the Town Manager to negotiate further agreements on the project passed unanimously.
Closed session: motion to enter passed unanimously; motion to leave passed unanimously.
Adjournment, 12:17 a.m. July 22: passed unanimously.

From the published minutes.

Who spoke

6 members of the public spoke.

1. Melissa Kelsey, 508 Arbor Creek Drive, raised concerns during public comment about the shortened UDO review timeline, then told the council at the Meridian at Sunset Commons hearing that she never received notice of it and asked the council to hold off.
2. Kristin Valus, 112 Talicud Trail, asked the council and its Camp Branch Greenway consultant to protect wetlands and wildlife near Talicud Trail as the design moves forward.
3. Fran Hudson, 5524 Rex Road, argued during public comment that rezoning hearings give residents, particularly those in the extraterritorial jurisdiction, no real voice in development decisions. She then opposed the Meridian at Sunset Commons rezoning, citing density and a lack of a tree study, and opposed the Daventry rezoning, citing a 14-foot-circumference tree with no tree inventory to protect i…
4. Dawn Cozzolino, 3632 Bosco Road, objected during public comment to approving more than $20 million in contracts on the consent agenda without discussion, then asked the council to pause the Daventry rezoning and send it back for further review.
5. George Jordan, whose family has owned the Meridian at Sunset Commons site since the 1940s, spoke in favor of the rezoning, saying the development partner has the experience and patience to work with the town.
6. Jeff Pittman, 111 N. Belhaven Street, whose property adjoins the Meridian at Sunset Commons site, asked for a bigger wildlife buffer and raised concerns about traffic and parking from the added apartments.

A public comment period was held; the speakers above addressed the council.

Read from the records the government published after the meeting. Members of the public are private residents and are not named or indexed.