Statement from Councilwoman Dowd, Tuesday, Feb. 12

I would like to make a statement for the record, because so much of what I say in these meeting reaches the public through the Pilot newspaper that often plays politics with the issues and lifts quotes out of context.

In August of 2006 I wrote a letter to the former council, which was reprinted in the Pilot, stating my opinion that before Southern Pines adopts a PUD ordinance or approves a development under such ordinance, that the town must first adopt a master plan for the future development of our town. That was my opinion then, and it has not changed.

This is not the right project at the right time for Southern Pines.

Our town is distinguished from surrounding towns by a resort atmosphere centered around our historic downtown. In order to maintain this character, and in turn our livelihood, we must look at Southern Pines as a whole and create a master plan to guide future development.

Good design depends on the overall, and no one piece no matter how well planned can take precedence over the whole.

Every good developer starts out with a pro forma to run the numbers, they know the projected revenues and expenses. But we have not done the same for our town. And while everyone is talking about the benefits of this project and the viability of this project for the developer, we do not know the costs of this project to Southern Pines. Study after study shows that residential development does not pay for itself and that many costs end up being absorbed by the taxpayers.

Not once during the entire review process of this application has the developer shown that the cost of this development will not be born by current residents. In fact, no one has provided a cost/benefit analysis of the impact of this project on the Town of Southern Pines. So, at this time we have no idea what the actual cost of Pine Needles Village will be to the citizens.

What we do know is that in 2007, our citizens absorbed significant tax increases:

~ the property tax revaluation hurt a lot of people and the County recently voted to make this 4-year accelerated revaluation schedule permanent.

~ the Moore County School Board adopted an ambitious $144 million capital improvements plan; but to make it palatable to voters, they only brought $54 million of that $144 million to the public in the form of a bond issue, which leaves $90 million left to be dealt with.

~ a $15.5 million bond was also approved for Sandhills Community College.

~ The Moore County Commissioners just voted to put the sales tax increase on this year's ballot, which will still not cover the $69.5 million bonds.

~ We have water problems and no drought prevention plan;

~ We have not yet received approval for a new reservoir and have not discussed how we are going to pay for it.

Now having said all that, in the past week, I've been swamped with e-mails from residents who are scared. And what they're scared of is that if we don't approve this project, the developer will retaliate by building something very inappropriate, like the corporate park, on that piece of land.

And I don't blame them for being scared. That land is zoned to allow exactly that.

And who zoned it?

A former Town Council.

And why?

To pave the way for the corporate park that people don't want there - and never did.

So, if the developer can build something totally inappropriate on that piece of land, it's because a previous council rezoned the property and then approved the corporate park without considering the future of Southern Pines as a whole, or the consequences that we are now faced with.

For years the Council, including the previous council, has continued to renew the corporate park conditional use permit on its consent agenda and would have done so in June of 2007 had the developer not pulled it, claiming vested rights.

It is time for the current Council to address this issue - not by voting for something in order to correct a mistake in the past, but by beginning a process for a master plan that will allow the citizens of Southern Pines, for the first time, to have a voice in the future of this town that we all take pride in.

I have always felt that we can do a better job of preserving and developing Southern Pines; therefore, I cannot, in good conscious, approve this project.

That is why I will vote to deny this application.