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People
living along Ligon Mill and Burlington
Mills roads were disappointed Tuesday
night if they thought the Wake Forest
commissioners would follow the
recommendation from the planning board
and turn down Jim Adams’ request to
rezone the southeast corner of the
intersection for a convenience store and
gas station.
Rather than voting aye or
nay, the commissioners agreed on
Commissioner Velma Boyd-Lawson’s motion
to delay action for a month “so the
neighbors may have time to talk to the
applicant and come back next month about
the uses.”
The neighbors also heard
some straight talk from the board
members.
Commissioner Margaret
Stinnett said she had been on the fence,
looking at the site as both a business
person and a homeowner. “A lot of the
arguments you gave don’t fly,” she told
the neighbors.
She had checked with the
state Division of Water Quality about
leaks into groundwater from underground
gasoline storage tanks and found they
account for less than 1 percent of the
291 releases.
She called the State Bureau
of Investigation and talked with a
statistician who told her “crime would
be greater if there were a bank on that
corner rather than a convenience store.
“In your defense, I wouldn’t
want a gas station in my backyard
either,” Stinnett said. Jim Adams’ son,
James, was in the audience, she said,
and “is willing to have a meeting with
you. I personally would like for you to
do that first. If you feel exactly the
same after the meeting, you can send me
those e-mails one more time.
One of the neighbors’
arguments was that the store would
create more traffic problems, but
Commissioner Stephen Barrington said a
traffic study commissioned by the town
and cited by town planner Ann Ayers at
the public hearing showed the
developer’s improvements would ease the
congestion while it would increase if
nothing is done. Barrington also said he
had seen some very nice convenience
stores near high-end homes in other
Triangle towns.
“That corner will have to be
developed,” Commissioner Frank Drake
said. “No one will build a house there,
but it does not have to be a gas
station. It will be used and you might
not like the alternative.” He had
mentioned tattoo parlors.
Commissioner David Camacho
said the corner is an appropriate site
for neighborhood business. “I think the
uses on that site are debatable. The
fact is, it is crying out for some kind
of business to be located there. I think
if the neighbors are not willing to
discuss with the developer then it is
incumbent on this board to decide for
you.”
This is the third time Jim
Adams has proposed a convenience store
and gas station on the site. About a
year ago the plan was withdrawn before
the public hearing to give Jim Adams
time to consult with the neighbors, and
there was a meeting with at least 20 of
the neighbors. (Whether there was a
meeting and how many attended is one of
the disputed points.)
Rose Oil in Henderson
submitted the plan again in February and
withdrew the request at the last minute.
In March the request to
rezone for conditional use neighborhood
business with a master plan was
submitted by Wakeville, one of Jim
Adams’ corporations.
Mike Crowley, who heads the
Wake Forest engineering firm Crowley &
Associates and spoke briefly at the
March public hearing,, said the March 7
Gazette article was incorrect in part. “While
a development plan for the corner of
Burlington Mill Road and Ligon Mill Road
may have been presented three times,
this firm has only been involved with
the project on one of them. We were
contracted by Rose Oil to prepare and
present the plan that was withdrawn at
the last meeting. We are not the
engineer of record for the current
application, nor are we under contract
with the current applicant. The plan we
prepared under contract to Rose Oil was
resubmitted to the Town by Mr. Adams.
We were unaware of the re-submittal of
our plan by the current applicant until
late last week.” |
