Southern Pines Council Approves Tyler's Ridge
Tyler's Ridge is located on land bordered by N.C. 22 (running to left) and Airport Road from the new roundabout near the Moore County Airport and Sandhills Community College, which is in the top right portion of the aerial photograph. Photo by Don McKenzie
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The Southern Pines Town Council voted 4-1 Monday night to approve the controversial Tyler's Ridge at Sandhills mixed-use development.
Council member Chris Smithson cast the lone dissenting vote, claiming that developer Jim O'Malley's application for a conditional use permit did not comply with the town's Unified Development Ordinance because the dimension, height and location for three single-family homes was not provided.
Smithson also cited a text amendment approved last fall by the council that he has called "de facto rezoning," saying that property owners adjoining the Tyler's Ride site may not have received proper legal notice.
Town Attorney Doug Gill said there was no precedent under North Carolina law for him to offer a legal opinion on the issue.
Plans for Tyler’s Ridge include a commercial development on the north side, featuring small shops and a restaurant. A multifamily development on the south side includes 216 one- and two-bedroom dwelling units. The 46.2-acre project is at the corner of N.C. 22 and Airport Road.
O'Malley hopes to begin construction in December, with the first apartments becoming available next fall.
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Comments
Sean 1 year, 10 months ago
Wow, When does the Wal-mart go in?
Arestorer 1 year, 10 months ago
Town Attorney Doug Gill said there was no precedent under North Carolina law for him to offer a legal opinion on the issue.
Well what in the #$() are they paying him for???
sarahbw22 1 year, 10 months ago
Congrats Jim!!! What great news!!!
TooHot 1 year, 10 months ago
Acclamation!
Arestorer 1 year, 10 months ago
Was'nt that area a Government funded gheto in the 70's???? How many subsidized dwellings are going to be in the apartment complex?? Who pays, if a plane crashes into the buildings, Airport, Developer,Taxpayer????
barbaraharrispara 1 year, 10 months ago
Well for some it is great news, but just wait and see the traffic jams, noise to Southern Pines after all the trees and hill are cut down not to mention the folks that will be cutting through the gardens on their way to the college. It is a shame that Southern Pines Council has gone out on a limb to put this development in Smithson was correct in stating that no square footage for the three single family homes have been submitted and other lose ends that needed consideration. In the town's own requirements restaurants and gathering places will not be under the flight path of the airport for public safety. So what will they be putting in the commerical area???? there is no telling at this time.
TooHot 1 year, 10 months ago
Crazy. Always some egghead citing some esoteric minutia that tries to get in the way of a real man investing his real money in his real estate.
I hear jealousy all over the anti-Tyler Ridge posts.
FightFireWithFire 1 year, 10 months ago
I am SO glad I am moving next month!
Mythreekids 1 year, 10 months ago
Soon they will rename this area altogether. Pinelesshurst, Southern Pineless, Pinelessbluff. Facetious!!! Sure. Reality is sinking in. Anyone driven west on 211 lately??? Awful. I guess if you have enough money, you can pretty much do what you want. Forget about the impact it has on the landscape. Bears in downtown Southern Pines! What else can we expect. Natural habitats are rapidly being destroyed. O my!
TooHot 1 year, 10 months ago
Yep. Now there will only be 2.8 billion pine trees in this area.
Sean 1 year, 10 months ago
Cosmo4slice 1 year, 10 months ago
Dang it's a little county airport. People are acting like it's going to be in the approch to JFK. People are so resistant to change. The "NIMBY" effect. It's not like it's in downtown Southern Pines. Let's rip up all the new houses & paved roads and go back to and log cabins & dirt roads.
TooHot 1 year, 10 months ago
Exactly........
Sean 1 year, 10 months ago
The people who bought houses near the area are the ones that are really going to get nailed, holy low-income housing. Talk about lowering property value!! Grocery store, commercial space, one and two bedroom apartments near the community college. Definitely a very poor use for that land. It is truly a shame the town council cannot see that. How about a little foresight council-members?
Have they planned the four lane road that will be needed? Anyone living on 22 and possibly Airport toward Pinehurst better enjoy your yard while you can!
sarahbw22 1 year, 10 months ago
I'm sure there are plenty of reasons residents have for not wanting to take away from the serenity of the community, but this is what I don't understand. Why decide to live near main roads? The way people are complaining about the noise and traffic, you all act like you live in the woods 50 miles from society. If you live near a main road, you would have to expect for the areas to grow. If you're looking for no noise, no traffic, no college kids, move to an area where none of that exisits. Like a back road far from main roads. Me personally, I'm looking forward to the county bringing in more jobs and revenue. And I really don't understand the big deal about the square footage. Seems like it would be a very easy thing to obtain. I'm sure the developer had a million requests to adhere to and that this will be taken care of. I was told the south had 'hospitality' and a welcoming attitude. Guess this Yankee heard wrong.
MonkeyJunction 1 year, 10 months ago
Well I know 4 council people I will be working hard to get defeated in November......and Sarahbw22, it's not a main road and you will see even more terrible traffic congestion in and around roads that were not developed for such flow. This is a terrible day for Southern Pines...or should I say Sellout Pines
CSmithson 1 year, 10 months ago
To add some clarity to the issue, I’ll try to summarize this issue as clearly as possible. Hopefully this will be useful to all, but especially to those who have never read our ordinances and/or only know about this case from a few hundred words in the Pilot as opposed to being there for the 15+ hours of testimony and deliberation on this project.
Regardless of what one thinks about the merits of a proposed development or our specific ordinances, the law is the law and it must be met before one’s personal opinion can come into play.
Southern Pines generally does not allow large apartment complexes like the one proposed here.
The special situation where they are allowed is as part of a larger Planned Residential Development (PRD), which also includes single family homes.
In most zoning classifications, at least 50% of the homes in a PRD must be single family.
For this particular property, there is no set minimum percentage.
This project failed this spring because the proposal contained NO single family homes.
The developer then came back with a slightly revised proposal that had three single family LOTS on the plan- essentially the bare minimum number to qualify if the homes are built.
Without at least two single family homes, the project COULD NOT BE LEGALLY APPROVED.
(continued below)
CSmithson 1 year, 10 months ago
(continued from above) The proposal contained no time frame for building the qualifying homes. The illustrated plans contained no single family homes as required by the ordinance. Testimony and evidence from the applicant ranged from admitting they might never be built to an e-mail that seemed to say they would definitely NOT be built.
Some have framed the previous problem with the development as a trivial “technicality” in the ordinance. If the law can be considered a “technicality” it would probably be fairer to say they the only reason the project was even before the Council Monday was because of a “technicality.”
Without having at least two single family homes, the project is not legal.
The applicant added three single family home LOTS in an attempt to achieve minimal compliance.
-No schedule as to when the necessary units will go in.
-No actual commitment to actually build them.
-Just three lots in the corner of the property to try and slide in on a “technicality.”
No single family homes=no approval. This project proposal contained no commitment to actually building those homes.
As elected officials, our oath is to uphold the the law. The oath says nothing about discretion to ignore the law when we like or dislike a proposal. Our own attorney told us we cannot pick and choose which ordinances we enforce and which ones we ignore. The law must be honored first or we have broken our sworn oaths. The law is the law and the law comes before anything else.
One can love or hate on the Tyler’s Ridge project all they want. One can love or hate on our ordinances all they want. I voted based on the law. At least one other Councilmember admitted that the proposal did not meet the letter of the law, but he chose to vote to approve it anyway.
Of course, the people of Southern Pines have ultimate choice to elect Councilmembers who either follow the law or set it aside at their whim.
Of course, the courts have ultimate choice as to how to deal with Council actions not grounded in law.
Chris Smithson
truthmatterstome2 1 year, 10 months ago
Let's be real, Chris. The only reason Southern Pines extended their limits to include this area was an effort to raise revenue and gain influence. Apartments near a college campus? Who would have thunk it? What a novel thought! If Southern Pines was really interested in prohibiting this type of building, it would have zoned the area differently. Don't get me wrong, I usually oppose large apartment complexes, too. However, in this economy, they are about the only residential options that most people have. Even Southern Pines has their share of residents who cannot afford individual housing, and until Southern Pines tries to stop growth like Pinehurst, apartment construction will continue. My only concern is that the Sandhills Horticulture Gardens are not negatively affected. That concern was minimalized by Dr. Dempsey, when he stated that he did not see a negative impact on the campus. Then, the tactic stating that there will be too much traffic or that it could cause problems for the airport are laughable. If the airport was in jeapardy, the Feds would have had a fit. Traffic, unfortunately, is a way of life, that 250 more vehicles will make little, if any, difference.
CSmithson 1 year, 10 months ago
All interesting points and up for discussion, although I don't believe the property in question is in Southern Pines limits at this time. If not, it will be when water and sewer hookups are made.
That said, my point was that my vote was based on existing law, which is what we are required to base our votes on. We can agree or disagree on policy issues like more apartments- less apartments, traffic- no traffic, more people- no more people, etc. We can agree or disagree on whether or not the ordinances are good or lousy from a policy standpoint. All that is part of the process and part of how we move forward. If the Council doesn't like the Town's ordinances, it can change them to the extent legally allowed. Still, until we change the law, we must abide by the law no matter what we think of it.
brflechs 1 year, 10 months ago
But the councils do decide how to zone certain tracts of land do they not? Doesn't it get down to certain corridors how we want them zoned based on future planning regarding traffic congestion, etc?
It seems in many situations the responses end up being reactive instead of proactive - when the dealership battled for the land by US 1 - someone should have seen coming what was coming? Did people really want to start allowing this type of development in that area?
No one will ever be happy - but I would hate to see 22 become 15-501 with nothing but trashy commercial development. Developers over build and have visions beyond what reality supports . Someone has to protect the residents from over aggressive development and poor planning.
CSmithson 1 year, 10 months ago
"It seems in many situations the responses end up being reactive instead of proactive - when the dealership battled for the land by US 1 - someone should have seen coming what was coming? "
Actually, I did ask the Council to rezone the "Leith" property before I knew Leith owned it and before they ever came forward with a proposal(2005). Back in July 2003, when I told my father(a former Councilmember himself (1975-1985)) I was going to run for office, I asked him if there was anything in the town that really needed immediate attention. He mentioned this specific property and expressed his concern for the zoning and what could possibly go there. He said he had tried to get it changed when he served. I looked into it and agreed. In November 2003, when I was going through a staff orientation before being seated on the Council, I asked the Town's Planning Director, Bart Nuckols, if he had any concerns about any zoning on any property in town. The only property he mentioned was the property in question.
So, two Councilmembers from two different eras and at least one Town Planning Director had deep concerns about the property and its zoning well before any applications for a car dealership came in. We all spoke up. Unfortunately, Council majority apathy and lack of vision ruled and at least two different Councils failed to act on stated concerns until AFTER someone put in a development proposal. The courts have ruled that the town made a LEGAL decision on the Leith property, but sitting around waiting to act until a proposal in in your lap is clearly not the way to PLAN for the Town's future.
landopines 1 year, 10 months ago
I applaud the councils vote on Tyler's Ridge and feel that most of the opposition is based on merely on the need to oppose everything. This development will result in higher density housing closer to the town core. Hopefully it will catch on and promote additional high density projects for single family projects as well. I really thought that both political persuasions would find common ground on this one as it inherently stems sprawl, utilizes a lot of infrastructure already in place, and promotes a closeness most towns have lost because of their appetite to continue to develop farther away from town centers. Bravo SP Council!
dr3 1 year, 10 months ago
Close to the town core? Are we looking at the same map? I live in Blue Farm and I don't consider the "town core" of Southern Pines to be all that close. This area is also not pedestrian friendly. There are no sidewalks to speak of and traffic on both 22 and Airport Road goes zipping along at 45mph (even faster most of the time). I cringe to think of people trying to get to the Harris Teeter by crossing Highway 22 in or even near the traffic circle. This is a rural area and not the right place for a development like this.
landopines 1 year, 10 months ago
Relevant to available land for projects such as this.
dr3 1 year, 10 months ago
So are you saying that really, suitable land just couldn't be found anywhere else? I'm guessing you mean for the right price. You said it's close to the town core but it's not. You said it stems sprawl but it's far removed from the actual town center so doesn't that create sprawl? As for "closeness", it's closer to Whispering Pines than Southern Pines. And for the infrastructure thing, maybe there are already some services in place but as I said before, it's not a pedestrian friendly area. Who is going to pay fix that problem, or can it even be fixed? Are the residents just going to walk down the shoulder of 22 to go to Food Lion and Subway? Cross the traffic circle to go to Harris Teeter? You can't tell me that in this apartment complex right next to a community college that every single resident is going to have a car. I doubt that whatever commercial development is going in across from the apartments is going to meet the everyday needs of all of those residents. Of course, that's assuming the complex even fills up and the businesses actually go in. Right down 22 are 8 empty shops next to Food Lion, which has been open almost a year.
landopines 1 year, 10 months ago
I'm not sure what point you are making as it relates to my comment. Is it safety? My main point is that high density projects, close to existing infrastructure and the hub of the community makes sense. I guess we could debate closeness, but this project is only 4 miles to the downtown area and around 6 miles to the 501 retail area. Walking distance maybe not, but a 5 to 10 min drive and no more. It is also very close to community amenities such as reservoir park. I really like that the community is taking a second look at these types of projects instead of the gated community approach of the previous two decades.
Sean 1 year, 10 months ago
I am not deliberately being offensive; you seem like an intelligent individual. I think maybe you don't understand the concept. 4 miles out of a town center that is perhaps a mile in diameter IS sprawl. Granted it is not one acre lots which would be just as bad. What is planned is high density housing, but it is low income housing, 1 and 2 bedroom apartments adjacent to commercial property and an airport that accommodates jets. Rent will be low, and probably subsidized. Residents will not have a stake, they will not be vested, and they will not have any incentive to preserve the property. In addition, as so many have pointed out along the way, there is an unbelievable amount of excess commercial property available at this time. The businesses are not going to be restaurants or bars, so the apts. are not going to support them. So what comes next to this very specific area?
landopines 1 year, 10 months ago
No offense taken. There are some new townhouses in downtown Southern Pines that are literally 100 ft from the RR tracks. Attracted some nice folks. You are making statements that you simply don't know to be true and Council can't make decisions on what they "feel" to be true but what they know to be true. There are also an unbelievable amount of excess residential single family homes available at this time too. Why don't we oppose building new ones? Please do not make my comment any more than what it was. It was general, not specific, just general. 4 miles is still pretty close.
sarahbw22 1 year, 10 months ago
For the record CSmithson, I have been to almost every meeting. The only one I didn't attend I was out of town for. I've stayed into the late hours with the others. In addition, I'm very familiar with the developer. And the way I look at it, you were the ONLY one to vote against it. There has to be a reason for that. I couldn't imagine the other 4 officials not being aware of your points, so obviously they find no merit behind them. And I do feel 22 is a main road. It may not be 15/501, but it's not a small road either. It has nursing homes, golf courses, parks, leads to an airport and a busy traffic circle, has numerous houses and a few small businesses. How does that not qualify as a main road?