SP Council Turns Down Merchants' Study Request

A proposed concept plan for the Knollwood Tract, 550 acres that adjoins Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club

As of Friday, November 9, 2012

BY TED M. NATT JR.

Staff Writer

The Southern Pines Town Council has rejected a request to have an economic and community impact study conducted in conjunction with a major development on 558 acres owned by the Bell family.

"We've never required such a study," council member Mike Fields said Wednesday at the council's monthly agenda meeting. "Unless we're going to require it on every single project that comes to town, we shouldn't do it."

Fields noted that downtown Southern Pines has "survived and thrived" in the past 30 years, despite retail encroachment by Walmart, Lowe's and the Pinecrest Plaza shopping center, among others.

"We have a very unique downtown that has been successful despite the growth," he said.

Council member Jim Simeon agreed, saying, "I do not think it's our role to restrict free enterprise."

Tony Grausso, co-owner of Seagrove Candle Co. and a founder of the Broad Street Merchant Community (BSMC), called the decision "disappointing and perplexing."

"You have to ask yourself, 'Why?' Whose best interests are council members prioritizing?" Grausso said. "I'm really eager to learn from them what their vision is to work with the downtown district to ensure that we remain vital amid all the development."

Grausso, who helped gather signatures, submitted the petition to the council on behalf of merchants last August. It was signed by 52 owners or managers of businesses in downtown Southern Pines.

Council member Chris Smithson said he empathized with downtown merchants.

"I share their concerns," Smithson said, "but I don't think a study will answer all of the questions they may have."

Still, he acknowledged that downtown Southern Pines "is not bulletproof."

"There are some things we can do to protect and enhance downtown Southern Pines, but I don't think this study is the way to do it," Smithson said.

Council member Fred Walden said he felt that a study would not "serve much of a purpose."

"I don't see where it would make a difference," Walden said.

Downtown merchants had hoped a study would help determine how a large retail component might affect their shops.

Simeon predicted that the project would benefit downtown in the long run.

"I think the project will enhance us as a destination," he said. "Ultimately, it will support and enhance downtown because more people will be coming."

The undeveloped land, known as the Knollwood Tract, is located near the intersection of U.S. 1 and N.C. 22.

It is the same tract that was the center of a major confrontation five years ago when the proposed Pine Needles Village development was defeated.

The Bell family submitted a conceptual master plan on June 25. The plan was required as part of the family's application to rezone the land from Planned Development-Conditional District (PD-CD) to Planned Unit Development (PUD).

The Knollwood Tract is currently envisioned to include a 300- to 400-room hotel, an 18-hole golf course, up to 350,000 square feet of retail space, up to 100,000 square feet of office and commercial space, as many as 300 assisted living units, and up to 300 homes.

In addition to the golf course, recreation areas would include walking trails, horse riding trails and golf practice areas.

The town Planning Board recommended approval of the rezoning last September.

The Town Council conducted a public hearing last month, but deferred voting on the matter because council members wanted some questions answered.

The council is expected to make a decision at its monthly meeting next Tuesday.

Contact Ted M. Natt Jr. at (910) 693-2474 or tnatt@the pilot.com.

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TF121 6 months, 2 weeks ago

The likely concern of merchants is that 350,000 square feet of new retail stores is a lot for our local existing market to absorb. I believe the retail part of this project is the first phase. So there will be bunches of new retail in place, well ahead of adding new residents by way of the residential portion of the project. A study would show what's currently being spent locally on different product and service categories, and would project the impact of adding new retail to the mix. Of course, the study could also show that our local market is way too soft to support the new retail center, and that would work against the Bell family's effort to interest a developer in taking on the project.

njc17 6 months, 2 weeks ago

The last discussion on this was beginning to turn away from the councils wishes so you quickly stow it and start another? In other words the Pilot will abet in the Town council in ramming this through to appease the greedy?

TF121 6 months, 2 weeks ago

David Woronoff, publisher and co-owner of The Pilot, is a board member of "Partners in Progress," which is Moore County's economic development organization. "PIP" board members also include Mayor McNeill, Kelly Miller (CEO of Pine Needles and applicant of record for the Knollwood Tract project), and John May (legal counsel for Pine Needles and the Knollwood Tract project. The president of "PIP" is Fred Hobbs, who heads the engineering firm attached to the Knollwood Tract development. "PIP" is fully on board with this project. Pat Corso, "PIP"'s executive director, has endorsed it publicly. Sweet deal. . . made even sweeter by the fact that "PIP" gets taxpayer $ to pursue such "progress." They have made retail expansion a priority of late, as they cannot seem to make any "progress" in their other economic development efforts.

Mythreekids 6 months, 2 weeks ago

Chris asked that the study include the outlying area in Aberdeen as well to get a better impact report. Unfortunantly that is not the concern of the majority of the Council nor PIP . I applaud Chris for his approach that considers the greater good.

njc17 6 months, 2 weeks ago

WELL TF; that sure explains a lot. I now see where Woronoff would need to have the last commentary removed, the tide was turning against him. A sad day for Moore County. This reminds me of the Obama approach, ram it through regardless of the consequences.

Arestorer 6 months, 2 weeks ago

This is a Board in Moore county,,,They dont care what the general population thinks...

renoace 6 months, 2 weeks ago

There is a marked difference between proper good stewardship by people with vision, resources and influence as opposed to just any old retiree with a pocket and a pension.

AbdominalDohMan 6 months, 2 weeks ago

When did it become OK that everyone around has to have a say in what someone does with their private land? This mentality is why we just got four more years.

Middleman522 6 months, 2 weeks ago

We have enough empty and unoccupied retail and residential space in this county to last 15 years, especially with the RICH tax hikes coming down the pike from You Know Who. We need to step back and see how the next 4 years turn out even for those on the O-Juice!

renoace 6 months, 2 weeks ago

My Stinking Opinion When they built Pine Grove Village down the short path to the bailing woods on Starland Farm, the mud ran into the creek and down to the reservoir. It was just plain ugly. All summer long even through the drought that copper looking mud kept oozing down the creek. Then they built a parking lot on tractor hill and a tennis court and called it a recreation area. I used to think how tragic, but as I got older I realized that we have a beautiful area and growth is inevitable, but it all boils down to who is doing the developing, what their experience is with maintaining the look and feel of the area without disturbing its natural beauty and why do they intend to break ground other than the capitalism condition the world revolves around. In the end, Pine Grove Village turned into a nice but necessary development and a good model for the area because we have to create these little parcels to offer residency to those that think somebody would actually want something they have and might steal it. That logic embraces the insatiable selfishness, narcissism and quest for material possessions which seems to be the embodiment of your basic run of the mill Yankee, which is only exceeded by their relative ignorance as it pertains to any form of cultural enrichment of our heritage and the audacious arrogance portrayed by the way they live their daily lives.

Let Johnny come lately explain to you why it is good to have things in the name of progress. It’s better our way, we know how things should be, they say. According to whom I often wonder. Why can’t they just be happy and live like the rest of us without coming here and trying to impose their ways on us when they were trying to get away from all that stuff in the first place or else they would not have come here? But what amuses me is when they try to enforce their wills and ideas of how things were where they come from to the powers that be. It tickles me to see just what comes poking out of the woodwork to grab the microphone to create the ruckus about how we should run our communities that our forefathers have been doing a pretty fair job of since before they were born. What is the most fun is when we tell one of them they might have something there and we encourage them to get elected to a public office. All of a sudden Mr. Going South to retire becomes everything he tried to forget and let go of in the name of progress for a cause he had no real control over to start with. Then he invariably steps on some toes he shouldn’t have in being Dudley Do Right to all the party line supporters that ultimately drop away when their feet get too close to the fire like ticks off a ground hog in November.

renoace 6 months, 2 weeks ago

continued and concluded.

Makes for good reading if you are a subscriber but it seems like such a waste of energy. If I was one of those people that had a beef about how when they got here things were nice and 5 years later blah blah blah, I would go and buy a real piece of dirt and grow myself a garden and not tell anyone where my blueberries were, instead of some acre or two plat they spent way too much for to build an overpriced fiefdom for themselves from which they can’t even go out and take a good whiz in the morning off their own front porch. But then again I don’t have the culture and breeding and expensive education to make those kinds of decisions. So I guess I will just spend the winter to decide whether to plant 14 rows of butter beans or 13 and use the top lot for chives next year. I don’t really like chives so much but Aunt Gertie likes to put them in her tater salad. Oh well.