The Board of Orange County Commissioners recently voted against a zoning request for a Dollar General store off of N.C. Highway 54 and White Cross Road.
Based on the current zoning for the land, which is west of Carrboro and Chapel Hill, the Orange County commissioners were tasked with making decisions on how consistent the proposal was with the intent of the government’s comprehensive plan. The site at 3026 White Cross Road is owned by a resident who holds other property around it and is in a Resource Protection Area based on the nearby historic White Cross School. Also nearby are a gas station, a locally owned grocery market, a restaurant, and other small businesses.
The application represented the second effort by Glandon Forest Equity, LLC to build a Dollar General at the site, having submitted a more general rezoning application last June for a 10,000 square-foot store. The developers ultimately withdrew the proposal in September before reworking the application as conditional zoning and sending it to Orange County in January.
Bob Hornik, an attorney with the Brough Law Firm, represented the developers and landowner during the county board meeting on April 4. He described the planned Dollar General as a “new concept” store that would focus on more produce and provisions for those nearby. The $2 million project needed a zoning change because its finished size would be slightly larger than the area already allowed for commercial development.
By adding the store and creating a turning lane on White Cross Road, Hornik said the applicants believed a Dollar General would fit within the goals for the area – which is deemed by the county a rural community activity node – without making it unsafe or feel out of place.
“The proposed use of the property is, we say, consistent with what your comprehensive plan and future land use plan have contemplated for this location,” said Hornik.
During the public comment period, speakers were split between supporting or rejecting the project. There have also been online campaigns and signs along N.C. 54 advocating against rezoning the property for Dollar General – just the latest example of general protests against the nationwide chain store. Additionally, the advisory planning board of county residents voted 9-3 against the project during a meeting earlier in March.
Ahead of the board’s vote last Tuesday, Commissioner Earl McKee said he understands perspectives on both sides of the project, but that the property user couldn’t be brought into his decision. He pointed to his interpretation of the county’s plans meaning the Dollar General fits within the comprehensive plan’s constraints. McKee also said he heavily weighed the planning director’s recommendation for approval based on those same reasons.
“It’s going to change White Cross, I’ve got no doubt on that,” said McKee. “But change is inevitable, and this is consistent with surrounding properties.”
Other commissioners, however, disagreed. The board ultimately voted 4-3 to deny the zoning request, with Dr. Amy Fowler, Jamezetta Bedford, Sally Greene and Jean Hamilton as the four votes. McKee, Phyllis Portie-Ascott and Anna Richards voted against the rejection.
Fowler said she weighed the comprehensive plan’s direction of “community building” being a priority for development in White Cross, as well as preserving the county’s rural landscape. A Dollar General store along NC 54 wouldn’t do that, she said.
“Furthermore,” Fowler added, reading from other guidance from the plan, “it really doesn’t seem to be reasonably necessary for public health, safety, or general welfare. I think it has the opposite effect.”
An aerial map around the intersection of North Carolina Highway 54 and White Cross Road, which has several local businesses around the proposed Dollar General store. (Photo via Google Maps.)
The current property at 3026 White Cross Road. (Photo via Google Maps.)
Greene said she agreed with that assessment and read a portion of the plan that sought to define what construction Orange County wants to promote: clustered businesses presented in a way that discourages generic shopping centers.
“What we have here,” said Greene, “currently looks a whole lot like strip development [more] than it does a walkable neighborhood. I understand what’s there [in White Cross] is there. This would be more or less consistent with what’s there – except not so, because of considerations of community character.
“To me,” she added, “the deciding factor is it’s not consistent with the 2008 land use comprehensive plan that says we need to be moving toward clustered developments, walkable developments and [moving] away from sprawl – which is what this would represent.”
Both Richards and Portie-Ascott said it was a challenge to remove the fact Dollar General was the applicant from consideration – but each commissioner said they believed the project fit into the guidelines set out by the county. Portie-Ascott said she wasn’t initially familiar with the area and drove through White Cross to get a first-hand perspective. After her visit, she said she believed the store would be consistent with the character of community.
“Listening to the planning director and hearing the words of my colleagues… I guess we approach things based on our own life experiences,” Portie-Ascott said. “I’m just a bit amazed how we could read the same words and come to a different conclusion.”
The full Board of Orange County Commissioners meeting from April 4 can be watched here. Additionally, Chair of the Board Jamezetta Bedford spoke with 97.9 The Hill about the project proposal and her thoughts, which can be listened to here.
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I attended several of these meetings and am glad to know the final vote by the Orange County BOCC was against this rezoning request that would’ve allowed for the building of a dollar store. I think the applicant and planning board tried a workaround by sending this thru a second time as conditional zoning and that would’ve set a bad precedent. Maybe it’s legal but it’s shady.
I do hope the landowner is able to find a buyer for his property. I really do think that there are better options for the community and hope that a thoughtful business will recognize that when the word gets out that he’s willing to sell the property.