Decision July 19, Pine Forest Development, Co. Comm. meeting

PINE FOREST

The decision on the Pine Forest rezoning has been lingering for several months. Numerous times meetings have been delayed because of illnesses of one or more of the Moore County Commissioners. At present, Planning Board Director Joey Raczkowski plans to present a report to the Commissioners on Tuesday July 19. At that time the Moore County Board of Commissioners may make a decision on the rezoning.

Let’s keep the character of Moore County from being destroyed.

PLEASE – Show your support by attending the July 19 meeting regarding the Pine Forest rezoning at the Moore County Board of Commissioners meeting, 6 PM at the historic Carthage Courthouse, 2nd floor.

Hearing on Tyler's Ridge, tonight, 7:00, Douglass Center, Sou. Pines

The Southern Pines Town Council will conduct a hearing on the Tyler's Ridge development proposal  tonight at 7:00PM at the Douglass Community Center on W. Pennsylvania Ave. 

The Unforeseen, Apr. 28, Civic Club, Sou. Pines

SAVE OUR SANDHILLS WILL SHOW GRIPPING DOCUMENTARY ON

REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT AND SPRAWL

On April 28, Save Our Sandhills will show the breathtaking documentary The Unforeseen, which was produced by Terrence Malick and Robert Redford. This film questions what we – as members of communities around the country – are willing to sacrifice in the name of growth.

This 90-minute film depicts the transformation of thousand of acres of pristine hill country in Austin, Texas, into suburban development by an ambitious real estate developer. In the process, a nearby natural spring is threatened, community conflict ensues, land is devastated, and lives are ruined. The Unforeseen, beautifully crafted, explores in-depth all sides of this politically-charged situation, showing the effects of development and sprawl on landowners, developers, and members of the community.

This same struggle is playing out in cities and towns across the United States and, at this moment, it is playing out in Moore County, particularly in Area A, which is the fastest growing area in the county. Moore County has had – and continues to have – controversy surrounding projects known as Stonehill Pines, Dormie Club, Pine Forest, Pine Needles, and Tyler’s Ridge. The question this film poses, “What are we willing to give up in the name of growth?” is not rhetorical. It is based in a reality that we must ponder. What do we envision Moore County to become in the future? Will it resemble “Everywhere USA?” or will it continue to have the charm and ambiance that has brought people to visit and settle here for years?
Join us for an informative and provocative evening; refreshments will be served. We will meet Thursday, April 28 at 7 PM in the Southern Pines Civic Club at the corner of Ashe Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. All are welcome.

Hearing, Jan. 18, Pine Forest PUD

PLEASE ATTEND THE PINE FOREST HEARING JANUARY 18, 6:00, County Courthouse, Carthage


After months of quiet, the Pine forest proposed PUD slid its rezoning application through the Planning Department quietly during the last days of December. In order for this rezoning to take place, a water agreement (whereby the developer would pay $3 million for water line work) was to have been worked out by the county and developer. Evidently the water agreement is in place, but details are not forthcoming until the hearing. Withholding information like this is unheard of, and its legality could be questioned.
What is Pine Forest
Pine Forest is a huge project. It is 1,799 acres, of which 1,623 are being requested to be rezoned. This includes Nicks Creek, ultimately part of Carthage’s’ water supply, which runs through the middle of the entire property from west to east, with small tributaries feeding it throughout the property. In all, a great deal of wetlands abound, all of which are crucial to the welfare of birds and other wildlife, as well as to rare and unusual native plants.
The two largest functioning longleaf pine forests in North Carolina – Fort Bragg and the Sandhills Gamelands preserve – are both public lands that will remain protected. However, Bruce Sorrie, a botanist with the NC Natural Heritage Program, advises that this 1,799-acre tract is one of the two largest privately-owned functioning natural longleaf pine forests remaining in the North Carolina Sandhills. This property is in Moore County and has the greater biodiversity of these two remaining large tracts. It has a Sandhills lily population, other rare plant and animal species, and is the foraging area for red-cockaded woodpeckers, according to Jay Carter Associates. This property has not only state significance, but also national significance.

What is Planned
Planned are two separate communities – a resort hotel and residential community with a neighborhood retail center, as well as a gated residential community. These communities will include:
· Up to 890 residential and/or hotel rooms (with up to a maximum of 300 hotel rooms)
· 2 championship golf courses
· A golf short course
· Golf clubhouses for each course
· A resort spa, conference center, and fitness center
· A retail and office center
· An on-site wastewater treatment plant for use by Pine Forest and the nearby Dormie Club

What Is at Stake
· Water Where is water to come from within a 15- to 20-year timetable for total buildout? Who is to pay for this development’s water? If water is to come from other counties, will it still flow during droughts?
· Herbicides and Pesticides How will herbicides and pesticides be kept from seeping into Nick’s Creek? This project is in Watershed 3, and the waterways, with their floodplains, are in jeopardy. The chemicals used for both lawns and golf courses will eventually also have disastrous consequences for humans and nature alike.
· Traffic How will traffic be handled on local roads? The cumulative effect of Pine Forest and other projects proposed for this area should be taken into account. Three development projects are currently planned: Stonehill Pines (1,050 homes), Dormie Club (250+ homes), and Pine Forest. At present, at least 2,100 homes would be built in these developments. The planning rule of thumb is 10 trips per day per home. This totals 21,000 more trips a day onto the local roads, including Route 211. The cumulative effect of these proposed developments and the additional school traffic of buses and cars from the new West Pine Middle School (whose entrance is only ½ mile east of Pine Forest on Route 211) will be staggering. Route 211 is scheduled to start construction on widening from 2 lanes to 4 lanes by 2012. The widening will be between Route 73 and the Pinehurst traffic circle. Nevertheless, with new schools, new developments, and new hospital facilities all either proposed or under construction, the planned road infrastructure does not appear adequate for future needs. In fact, traffic volume at the traffic circle in Pinehurst already often functions at a low level.
· Costly Infrastructure Problems Raise Taxes All these new homes may necessitate more schools and additional services. Traffic will back up farther at both ends of the widened Route 211 because of the cumulative effect of these projects. Increased accidents could jeopardize the safety of school children, parents, teachers, and school administrators along with residents of nearby communities; and jammed traffic lanes could prevent emergency vehicle access.
· The Wastewater Treatment Plant What are the real facts concerning the wastewater treatment plant – its safety, odor, maintenance? In Cumberland County, documented problems have occurred. Other counties have had such terrible experiences that they now prohibit their use. Moore County Public Works has only a draft of conditions and standards, and it has no experience with private systems which could be turned over to a homeowners’ organization to operate. Will this really provide enough water for all the golf courses, common areas, and lawns at Pine Forest and the Dormie Club? Could water contamination be an issue?
· Loss of Habitat for Flora and Fauna With so much area allotted for houses, businesses, roads, and golf courses, how will animals have corridors and native plants flourish?

What to Do
In the fall of 2009, Save Our Sandhills voted to resist this PUD. We have an attorney helping us challenge this, and have a list of supporting speakers. Attending the meeting is essential. Numbers are important. It is not necessary for you to speak. The Board of Commissioners needs to see that a large number of citizens are concerned with this project. A project of this size is a small city, and will catapult Moore County from a rural area into an urban area with all its inherent density problems.
County Courthouse, Jan. 18, 6:00, Carthage

Oct. 28, SOS hosts SALT's Candace Williams

SAVE OUR SANDHILLS SPEAKER DISCUSSES SALT’S WORK –

THE BEST KEPT SECRET IN THE SANDHILLS

On October 28, Save Our Sandhills will host Candace Williams, Executive Director of the Sandhills Area Land Trust (SALT) to discuss “The Best Kept Secrets in the Sandhills: The Work of the Sandhills Area Land Trust – Past, Present, and Future.” North Carolina’s 25 land trusts have protected over 309,000 acres of natural lands across the state. And SALT, our local land trust based in Fayetteville and Southern Pines, has recently been credited with protecting more than 10,000 acres of land in the Sandhills region. This is a tremendous accomplishment!

With burgeoning development in the Sandhills, slowed only by a faltering economy, SALT’s efforts are essential to preserving open space. Since 1991, it has been targeting prime pieces to preserve in Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke, Moore, Richmond, and Scotland counties. These pieces are primarily working forests, farmlands, riparian buffers, and significant natural areas. While its first few years of existence involved setting up a solid infrastructure, its past 10 years have brought in the majority of acreage under SALT’s stewardship. It has evolved from a volunteer-run organization to a professionally recognized organization which operates under the standards and practices of the Land Trust Alliance, the national support organization for land trusts nationwide. Its accomplishments have been wide-reaching: 1. Protecting water quality and drinking water supplies in the Drowning Creek, Little River, McLendons Creek, and Cape Fear River areas, 2. Preserving numerous working farms, 3. Preserving historic and cultural lands, including the Averasboro Civil War Battlefield, Pottery Road, and Rhodes Pond, 4. Preserving Horse Country land, and 5. Securing Military Training Lands; some sizeable projects are planned for the future.

Candace Williams, a native of the Sandhills, has worked for twenty-five years in New England. She is a conservation biologist and has a Master's Degree in that discipline from Antioch University in Keene, New Hampshire. She has worked and studied in many parts of the world such as the Arctic Circle, Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands, Trinidad, Tobago, Chile, and Baja. Most recently, she traveled to Cuba where she was part of a research team contributing to a long-term baseline study on the 24 endemic avian species in Cuba identifying their habitats for future protection efforts. The focus of her work has been endangered species and habitat protection.

Williams returned to North Carolina in 1999 to work as one of the state sea turtle biologists with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. Her work prior to returning to N.C. was with the Massachusetts Audubon Society's Coastal Waterbird Program in charge of all the coastal nesting bird colonies along the South Shore of Massachusetts, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket; the Manomet Center for Conservation Science as an avian researcher; and the Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program. She was also part of the working team that authored the U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan, a model for other countries around the world.

Since 2001, Williams has worked for the Sandhills Area Land Trust first as Associate Director of the organization in charge of Land Protection. In October 2009, she became the Executive Director. She has been instrumental in protecting over half of the 10,000 acres of land protected by the organization in the Sandhills.

Candace Williams' most recent honors are very impressive. She was the recipient of the 2006 Governor’s Conservation Achievement Award as the Land Conservationist of the Year -- the State’s highest natural resource honor; and she was the recipient of the National Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution – Woman in American History Award – for her contribution to conservation.
Join us; refreshments will be served. Thursday, October 28 at 7 PM in the Southern Pines Civic Club, corner of Ashe Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. All are welcome.

You're Invited, Oct. 22, Sou. PInes Election Campaign

"As a downtown Southern Pines business owner I am very interested in the up coming Southern Pines Town Council Election. I love the feel and activity of Southern Pines and am invested in its success. I know many of you feel the same way.
I would like you to have the opportunity to meet and talk to my friend Marsh Smith who is running for town council.
Marsh is long term Southern Pines resident and business owner himself. He is dedicated long term economic prosperity for our community. Attached please find a note inviting you to my Office on Thursday October 22nd at 5:30 pm for a chance to meet Marsh. We’ll be here for about an hour and I’ll even spring for some refreshments!
Hope to see many of you then, feel free to bring your friends.

Best Regards,
Sue

PS: if you do not live in SP… sorry to bother you but feel free to come and meet him anyway. Moore county towns are so connected we are all impacted by each other.

Sue Stovall PT DPT
Southern Pines Physical Therapy
210 S Bennett Street
Southern Pines, NC 28387
(910) 692-8269 V
(910) 692-8479 F

Repair Kit: Urban Sprawl

http://www.re-burbia.com/2009/08/04/sprawl-building-types-repair-toolkit/

It's Good Business

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/business/energy-environment/01farm.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=Organic%20Farms%20as%20Subdivision%20Amenities&st=cse

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.

Transfer Tax, Moore County

[source: Dan Besse, Conservation Council of NC]
Transfer tax referenda: Despite a full-court press lobbying effort by the realtor/developer lobby, the N.C. General Assembly this year voted to allow counties to choose whether to adopt an increase in the land transfer tax. On Tuesday, 16 counties (from Swain in the western mountains to Brunswick on the coast) will decide whether to take advantage of that opportunity. The development lobby has poured heavy cash (more than $400,000) into fighting those local referenda in counties around the state.

(According to Chris Fitzsimon of N.C. Policy Watch, supposedly "local" opposition groups are local fronts for the N.C. Homebuilders Association and the N.C. Association of Realtors, through hosting their nearly identical websites and financially underwriting the "local" committees.)

Supporters of the land transfer tax argue that it provides a fair way to require new development to pay its share of the costs of growth at the local government level.

The outcomes of these tax referenda will tell us something about both public attitudes toward booming development in fast-growth areas, and the effectiveness of development lobby rhetoric in swaying public perceptions in these debates.

Schedule for Moore Focus Symposium

Sept. 20, Sandhills Community College, $10 charge, public invited. The working public will likely not be able to attend, so, if you're able to go, please do! Thanks! And let the rest of know what's going on!


8:30-9:00 Roads and Transportation: Andrea Surrat, Moore County Planner

9:20-9:40 Water and Sewer: Dennis Borbst, Moore County Public Works

9:40-10:00 Schools: Dr Susan Purser

10:30-10:50 Rural Issues: Craven Hudson, Extension Director

10:50-11:15 Pine Needles Development/land use: Lane Gardner, Hines & Pine Needles

11:15-11:45 Real Estate Issues: Kay Beran, Prudential Gouger O'Neill Saunders

12:45-1:10 Effect of BRAC: Paul Dordal, BRAC RTF

1:10-1:35 Economic Growth in Moore County: Ray Ogden, Partners in Progress

1:35-2:00 Job Creation and Higher Education: Dr. John Dempsey

2:00-2:15 Closing Observations: Robert Hayter, The Hayter Firm

It's the Water

[Water is also a central issue in Moore County's zoning questions. Don't develop without it!]
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6666495.stm

IMPORTANT This Tuesday Evening, TODAY

Town Council Public Hearing on

the adoption of

a Planned Urban Development (PUD)

for Southern Pines

Douglass Community Center

Pennsylvania Ave

Tuesday 7:00 PM