Village Approves Hospice MeasureBY TOM EMBREY: STAFF WRITERThe Pinehurst Village Council voted unanimously Tuesday afternoon to amend the village development ordinance to include hospice care services as a permitted use.
The 4-0 vote came after a public hearing and is another step toward allowing FirstHealth to build a hospice campus on the 38-acre site of the former Pinehurst RV Park on U.S. 15-501. The property backs up to homes at Pinehurst No. 6.
Mayor George Lane, who is recovering from back surgery, did not attend the meeting.
No one spoke against the proposal during a public hearing.
Council Member Virginia
"Ginsey" Fallon said the proposed hospice campus would be a "wonderful addition to the community."
Mayor Pro Tem Lorraine Tweed added, "I am sure you will be a good neighbor to (residents who live at) No. 6."
In January, FirstHealth bought the land for $1.79 million. The site will be developed in phases. The first phase includes the hospice facility with 11 inpatient beds and a freestanding, two-story administrative/bereavement facility.
When asked by a resident about the time frame for the facility, FirstHealth CEO Charles Frock said he hoped a site plan could come before council in May and that construction, if all goes well, could begin in the fall. The facility would be completed sometime next year.
In previous interviews, Frock has called the hospice campus a low density, low intensity development, with a maximum of four buildings.
Also during the meeting, the council held a third public hearing on an amendment to remove the pool fence requirement in the ordinance. The language is being removed because the current North Carolina building code offers a more stringent regulation of such fences. The village will now defer to the state code when enforcing swimming pool fence regulations.
"This is not because we don't want the fence ordinance in," Tweed said, "but because the state has regulated them."
Contact Tom Embrey at 693-2473 or by e-mail at tembrey@ thepilot.com.
