Controversial Wedding Venue Going Back Before Orange County Board of Adjustment Monday Night

A controversial Orange County project will go back before the county’s Board of Adjustment on Monday night.

Community members near Morrow Mill Road have been concerned for nearly an entire year about a proposal that would bring a wedding venue to the area.

The Barn of Chapel Hill is billed as a wedding venue by the owners but those who opposed the project prefer the term “party barn.” The proposal first went before the planning board last year in a meeting that was attended by many residents voicing opposition.

The owner’s of the 22-acre property applied for a Special Use Permit for the project. That application was denied by the county Board of Adjustment. But the barn owners do not need the permit approval to move forward because the property is classified as a “bona-fide” farm.

A local organization, Preserve Rural Orange, has been leading the fight against the Barn of Chapel Hill. A release from the group says three neighboring landowners are appealing Orange County planning staff’s decision that no zoning approval is required for property owners to construct the venue.

The property owners told WCHL earlier this year that they believed they did not need county approval but said they wanted to go through an open process to hear concerns from the neighbors.

In that interview, one of the property owners – Kara Brewer – said they were working to develop the barn “without being a nuisance to the community.” Brewer said, at the time, the property had two bee hives with hopes they would begin to sell honey in 2017. They had also had hopes of selling other products, including flowers next year.

The neighbor’s appeal is set to be heard by the county Board of Adjustment at 7:30 Monday night on the lower level of the West Campus Building at 131 West Margaret Lane in Hillsborough.

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