Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
Babette Brown lives in Weldon Ridge and her house backs up on Old NC 10. She said <br /> that she is here to voice her concern about the proposed zoning changes. She said that they <br /> moved here because of the rural character and the great school system. She is worried that the <br /> entire character of the area will change, particularly on Old NC 10. She referred to the letter <br /> from Ms. Kelsey, which the County Commissioners received. She said that she supports the <br /> points on the character of the rural residential area. She said that this area does not seem to fit <br /> with commercial development. She said that a lot of this seems to be requested to benefit one <br /> or two large landowners. She said that there seems to be some space to do economic <br /> development north of the railroad tracks. She asked about any legal implications for the County <br /> if the property values decrease. She said that she wonders if Commissioner Yuhasz has a <br /> conflict of interest because he also does work for the largest landowner, who was his largest <br /> contributor. He said that one of his other contributors owns Cardesec, the business. <br /> Jim Brown said that he agrees with his wife, Babette Brown. He made reference to the <br /> access to 1-85 and NC 86 and said that this property has not been used. He made reference to <br /> the impact of high speed rail, which will use the existing tracks. This rail will bisect EDD. He <br /> asked if this has been taken into account. <br /> Sarah Glass lives in Weldon Ridge also and has lived there for about a year. She spoke <br /> about the rural character and the close proximity to places like RTP, Duke, Durham, etc. She <br /> said that at the time the house backing up to Old NC 10 was not a big issue. She said that she <br /> did call someone before they bought the house and was assured that there was not going to be <br /> any changes happening around this area in the near future. She said that the Planning Board <br /> has not been forthcoming with information. She said that the negative environmental impacts <br /> need to be explored, especially the species of wildlife. One of the major issues that bother her <br /> is that the proposed changes seem to be driven by some financial interests of a few landowners <br /> in the area. She said that it is not equitable to allow one landowner to benefit at the cost of a lot <br /> of the residents surrounding the area. <br /> Oliver Glass (husband of previous speaker) spoke of the rural character of this <br /> development. He said that the proposed amendments to the zoning and land designation will <br /> take away all of the enjoyment living at Weldon Ridge and negatively impact the future of quality <br /> of life of his family. Environmentally, the amendments will destroy the natural habitat of <br /> numerous wildlife species. <br /> Matthew Edwards also lives in Weldon Ridge. He thanked Craig Benedict and the <br /> Planning Board for all of the work and for changing the zoning from ED-1 back to R-1. <br /> However, he is concerned with the future land use change because it sets a permanent <br /> precedent. He said that his family decided to move to this area because of the rural character. <br />