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| Ukulele Duet in front of Summit Coffee |
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| A future winner of The Voice out back |
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| A hotrod parade just out for a ride. |
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| This was at least 30 cars long. |
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| A color guard on duty |
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| and a trolley roaming the streets. |
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| The "Save Davidson" magnet mobile. |
Saturday, June 10, 2017
#SmallTownLiving - Davidson Main Street on Saturday
In about a 10 minute span all of the following were seen on Davidson's Main Street Saturday morning.
All of those things plus the Davidson Farmers Market made for an awesome morning in town, but that small town charm is under intense pressure. That pressure makes this last picture maybe the most important.
Pick up a magnet when you see this car around town and join the Save Davidson Facebook page to see how you can help.
Roads take back seat in Davidson $15 million GO bond proposal
aShortChronicle told readers a couple of weeks ago about the possibility of Davidson Commissioners putting a sizeable amount of $$$ up for a vote on the town's first ever General Obligation bond. At the May 23rd Board meeting they took a major step closer towards doing that.
Before getting into the details, readers need to remember this money is not for the truly big ticket item of a new Town Hall and Public Safety facilities. The Board won't let you vote on that. Instead, that will likely depend on a 15% stealth tax increase at the next property revaluation in 2019.
These bonds are for other things. By one Board member's own description, items more appropriate for a GO bond vote include items that are "nice to have, not critical services." While aShortChronicle wholeheartedly disagrees with this limitation everyone is entitled to their own opinion. However, it should be pointed out that by the logic most Davidson Commissioners appear to be using, schools would never go up for GO bonds, neither would roads. Many people, probably most, would consider those critical services by government yet citizens regularly vote on them.
At the May 23rd meeting Commissioners instructed staff to prepare a $15 million bond this November for what can best be described as primarily mobility projects. However, in true Davidson style "mobility" doesn't just mean roads.
This bond order to be voted on at this coming Tuesday's meeting will be broken up into three parts - transportation, greenways, and parks. Here is the bond order language for each part.
aShortChronicle confirmed with the Town that if approved by the Board, this should end up as three different ballot questions in November. That's a good thing as it won't be a single "take it or leave it" $15 million question. However, based on a review of the proposed projects, Davidson Town Hall appears to be starting off on the wrong foot by deceptively grouping these projects under the above categories.
Here is the list.
Looking specifically at the $6 million Mobility category, there are 2 projects worth just under $2.5 million that are for Multi-Use Paths related to the Potts Sloan Beaty road project. The rest of the listed projects with dollar amounts are roads. The multi-use path projects, if the Town was interested in being transparent, should be under the Greenways category. As proof of that, look at the language in the above $5 million bond order for greenways. It specifically says "multi-use paths" as one of the allowed uses.
Again, if Davidson Town Hall had any interest in being transparent it would recategorize the bond orders to be $3.5m for Roads, $7.5m for Greenways, and $4m for Parks. Why do you think that is not being done?
Here is one explanation.
Do you think these bonds have a better chance at passing if people think Town Hall is asking for more money for roads or for greenways? The way they are presenting it, it appears they are spending more on roads. The reality is that much, much more will go to non-road transportation projects - by more than a 2-1 margin. In fact, 41% of the money in the category that looks like roads is actually for non-road projects.
We can certainly debate which is better for Davidson, but let's at least debate it honestly.
At the May 23rd meeting Commissioners instructed staff to prepare a $15 million bond this November for what can best be described as primarily mobility projects. However, in true Davidson style "mobility" doesn't just mean roads.
This bond order to be voted on at this coming Tuesday's meeting will be broken up into three parts - transportation, greenways, and parks. Here is the bond order language for each part.
aShortChronicle confirmed with the Town that if approved by the Board, this should end up as three different ballot questions in November. That's a good thing as it won't be a single "take it or leave it" $15 million question. However, based on a review of the proposed projects, Davidson Town Hall appears to be starting off on the wrong foot by deceptively grouping these projects under the above categories.
Here is the list.
Looking specifically at the $6 million Mobility category, there are 2 projects worth just under $2.5 million that are for Multi-Use Paths related to the Potts Sloan Beaty road project. The rest of the listed projects with dollar amounts are roads. The multi-use path projects, if the Town was interested in being transparent, should be under the Greenways category. As proof of that, look at the language in the above $5 million bond order for greenways. It specifically says "multi-use paths" as one of the allowed uses.
Again, if Davidson Town Hall had any interest in being transparent it would recategorize the bond orders to be $3.5m for Roads, $7.5m for Greenways, and $4m for Parks. Why do you think that is not being done?
Here is one explanation.
Do you think these bonds have a better chance at passing if people think Town Hall is asking for more money for roads or for greenways? The way they are presenting it, it appears they are spending more on roads. The reality is that much, much more will go to non-road transportation projects - by more than a 2-1 margin. In fact, 41% of the money in the category that looks like roads is actually for non-road projects.
We can certainly debate which is better for Davidson, but let's at least debate it honestly.
Friday, June 9, 2017
BREAKING NEWS: Davidson Town Hall set to vote on Beaty Street
The agenda for the next meeting of the Davidson Board was published late Friday afternoon. It contains an item titled: Consider Approval of Beaty Street Developer.
In government lingo "consider" means "vote".
This comes just 3 weeks after the most watched episode in Davidson Town Hall history where Davidson Commissioners heard from both their former Town Attorney and the grandson of the property owner who sold the majority if the Beaty St property to the town over 30 years ago.
Since then a steady stream of documents have been released by activists confirming the intent of that sale for the land to be used as a park. There have also been documents showing the Town working with the developers to "drum up" more support for the project known as the Luminous.
At the end of the previous discussion the Board asked the developer to come up with a few changes. Those are included in the agenda.
Will these incredibly modest and ambiguous changes be enough for Commissioners to vote the proposal through with straight faces? We will find out Tuesday. One thing is certain however. For opponents of the project, this skimpy list almost certainly will not be enough to appease their discontent.
Update: Organizers tell aShortChronicle a protest is being planned for Town Hall immediately prior to the Tuesday Board meeting. Stay tuned for more details.
Update: Organizers tell aShortChronicle a protest is being planned for Town Hall immediately prior to the Tuesday Board meeting. Stay tuned for more details.
Thursday, June 8, 2017
Suspects still at large from Tuesday burglary
aShortChronicle followed up with the Town of Davidson on Thursday regarding the early Tuesday AM incident involving three burglary suspects.
If you have any information, including home security video, please contact Detective Jay Stokes at the Davidson Police Department at 704-892-5131.
Residents were contacted by the town Tuesday morning via email, text message, and social media regarding an incident.
At 9:05 AM an email blast informed residents that...
"On Tuesday, June 6 at approximately 4:27 a.m., the Davidson Police Department received a call reporting a burglary of a home in the Page’s Pond neighborhood off Davidson-Concord Road. Officers responded as the three suspects were fleeing the scene in a vehicle. Three suspects, all wearing ski masks, crashed the vehicle in the McConnell neighborhood on Morrison Hill Road.
One suspect is a black male who knocked on the door of a home along Grey Road, claiming he had been robbed. When the homeowner said he would call the police, the suspect fled."
At 9:24 AM a text message for subscribers to the civic alert system arrived. The word was also put out on Facebook and Nextdoor.
At about 3pm a follow-up set of communications went out saying:
"We believe the three suspects have fled the area and that there is no immediate threat to Davidson residents related to this investigation."
While it was certainly a relief to hear the update, a few residents did raise questions on the Nextdoor social media app as to why the initial communications did not go out earlier considering the location and that it was a school day.
Thursday afternoon, aShortChronicle heard back on a request to see if there was any more information such as if the vehicle involved was stolen. Here's the latest from Public Information Officer, Christina Shaul.
"The investigation is still underway. Our police department is actively seeking suspects, and we are pursuing every lead based on evidence as it arises. At the moment, we are unable to comment about the status of the recovered vehicle, beyond the fact that it remains a critical piece of evidence to our investigation."At 9:05 AM an email blast informed residents that...
"On Tuesday, June 6 at approximately 4:27 a.m., the Davidson Police Department received a call reporting a burglary of a home in the Page’s Pond neighborhood off Davidson-Concord Road. Officers responded as the three suspects were fleeing the scene in a vehicle. Three suspects, all wearing ski masks, crashed the vehicle in the McConnell neighborhood on Morrison Hill Road.
One suspect is a black male who knocked on the door of a home along Grey Road, claiming he had been robbed. When the homeowner said he would call the police, the suspect fled."
At 9:24 AM a text message for subscribers to the civic alert system arrived. The word was also put out on Facebook and Nextdoor.
At about 3pm a follow-up set of communications went out saying:
"We believe the three suspects have fled the area and that there is no immediate threat to Davidson residents related to this investigation."
While it was certainly a relief to hear the update, a few residents did raise questions on the Nextdoor social media app as to why the initial communications did not go out earlier considering the location and that it was a school day.
Thursday afternoon, aShortChronicle heard back on a request to see if there was any more information such as if the vehicle involved was stolen. Here's the latest from Public Information Officer, Christina Shaul.
If you have any information, including home security video, please contact Detective Jay Stokes at the Davidson Police Department at 704-892-5131.
Wednesday, June 7, 2017
It's "official", Laurie Venzon running for Davidson Mayor
aShortChronicle is usually more on top of these things, but every now and then something slips by the information dragnet. That happened last week when we missed an important email that went to an infrequently monitored email account. For that we apologize to our regular readers.
Here's what was missed.
On Tuesday May 30th, former Davidson Commissioner Laurie Venzon issued the first public announcement of her campaign for Davidson Mayor at the November election.
That makes her the third candidate to say they will seek that office, the others being Rusty Knox and current mayor, John Woods. Official filing doesn't start until mid-July, but having three people seriously talking about running for Davidson Mayor certainly makes this upcoming election cycle interesting.
Here is what the announcement from the Venzon campaign had to say.
Venzon's announcement shows she is keyed in on the issues that have riled up residents over the past few years. It's good to see her previous experience on the Board didn't leave her with a bad case of the tone deafness that seems very contagious around Town Hall these days.
aShortChronicle first let readers know Venzon was likely to be a candidate in this story back in February. Venzon filed paperwork with the Board of Elections back in November 2016 and raised about $2500 before year end. The next round of campaign reports won't be out until late July.
Venzon looks to be puting together an experienced campaign team. Her campaign treasurer is listed as Brenda Kolls of Davidson, and Venzon confirmed for aShortChronicle that she has also hired local political consultant Neil Orr as a "campaign strategist". This is the same pair Commissioner Beth Cashion used for the same roles when she ran for the Board in 2013 where she was the top vote getter.
With this announcement, things are shaping up to be a real horse race in Davidson this November.
You can check out her campaign website at laurievenzon.com.
Here's what was missed.
On Tuesday May 30th, former Davidson Commissioner Laurie Venzon issued the first public announcement of her campaign for Davidson Mayor at the November election.
That makes her the third candidate to say they will seek that office, the others being Rusty Knox and current mayor, John Woods. Official filing doesn't start until mid-July, but having three people seriously talking about running for Davidson Mayor certainly makes this upcoming election cycle interesting.
Here is what the announcement from the Venzon campaign had to say.
Venzon's announcement shows she is keyed in on the issues that have riled up residents over the past few years. It's good to see her previous experience on the Board didn't leave her with a bad case of the tone deafness that seems very contagious around Town Hall these days.
aShortChronicle first let readers know Venzon was likely to be a candidate in this story back in February. Venzon filed paperwork with the Board of Elections back in November 2016 and raised about $2500 before year end. The next round of campaign reports won't be out until late July.
Venzon looks to be puting together an experienced campaign team. Her campaign treasurer is listed as Brenda Kolls of Davidson, and Venzon confirmed for aShortChronicle that she has also hired local political consultant Neil Orr as a "campaign strategist". This is the same pair Commissioner Beth Cashion used for the same roles when she ran for the Board in 2013 where she was the top vote getter.
With this announcement, things are shaping up to be a real horse race in Davidson this November.
You can check out her campaign website at laurievenzon.com.
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
Kicking the hornets nest....Lake Davidson rezoning vote delayed
That's Mooresville Mayor Miles Atkins in a text exchange with Commissioner David Coble regarding the controversy swirling around the Lake Davidson project near the Mecklenburg/Iredell County line. It's the same text message thread mentioned in this story by the Mooresville Tribune. (The exchange was sent to aShortChronicle by the citizen who obtained it via a FOIA request.)
The Tribune article outlines some of the details in the back and forth between Atkins and Coble, but not all.
Coble showed clear disdain for those most impacted by the potential Mooresville project, primarily Davidson residents. When caught, he gave a weak apology. However, not only did Coble insult residents, Atkins got in on the game as well - a fact the Tribune article conveniently left out.
During the exchange, when asked if he'd seen one particular email from a resident discussing possible legal action, Atkins responded with this.
Maybe the crying kitty emoji is a sign of sympathy, but that seems unlikely.
The rest of the text exchange shows how Mooresville is planning to respond. There are mentions of interviews with local mainstream media including the Charlotte Business Journal and the Charlotte Observer. They discuss how the elected Town officials should respond to these requests. The answer is to say as little as possible and hide behind the idea they are just trying to be fair to the rezoning request. Both of them indicate they have no interest in a delay.
They must have changed their mind when the hornets showed up to pack Mooresville Town Hall Monday night because delay is exactly what they did.
What kicked that nest? Here's the first text in the overall thread.
Glad to see Mayor Atkins is a reader of aShortChronicle.
Coble showed clear disdain for those most impacted by the potential Mooresville project, primarily Davidson residents. When caught, he gave a weak apology. However, not only did Coble insult residents, Atkins got in on the game as well - a fact the Tribune article conveniently left out.
During the exchange, when asked if he'd seen one particular email from a resident discussing possible legal action, Atkins responded with this.
Maybe the crying kitty emoji is a sign of sympathy, but that seems unlikely.
The rest of the text exchange shows how Mooresville is planning to respond. There are mentions of interviews with local mainstream media including the Charlotte Business Journal and the Charlotte Observer. They discuss how the elected Town officials should respond to these requests. The answer is to say as little as possible and hide behind the idea they are just trying to be fair to the rezoning request. Both of them indicate they have no interest in a delay.
They must have changed their mind when the hornets showed up to pack Mooresville Town Hall Monday night because delay is exactly what they did.
What kicked that nest? Here's the first text in the overall thread.
Glad to see Mayor Atkins is a reader of aShortChronicle.
Monday, June 5, 2017
Legal issues outlined against "Lake Davidson" rezoning request
Yesterday, aShortChronicle told readers about tonight's hearing and vote on the massive Lake Davidson neighborhood rezoning request. As part of that we mentioned the possibility of pursuing a move towards conditional zoning instead to give citizens more control.
Well, a petition has just started on Change.org with outlines a whole host of legal issues against the rezoning - including moving this to conditional. The tone of the petition sure sounds like this one is headed to court if tonight's decision doesn't go the right way.
This certainly amps up the drama for the hearing. The action starts at 6pm at Mooresville Town Hall.
Here are the details:
We are petitioning the Mayor and Board of Commissioners of the Town of Mooresville to DENY an Application for Rezoning of land located at 1814 and 1828 Mecklenburg Highway in Mooresville, North Carolina.
The developer, Hinckley Gauvain, is requesting that the land be rezoned from Single Family Residential (R3) to Corridor Mixed Use (CMX) and Neighborhood Mixed Use (NMX) to build a proposed commercial and highly dense multifamily neighborhood development called "Lake Davidson Development." The developer has filed its Application for Rezoning as a "straight" rezoning request rather than a "conditional" zoning request.
We are strongly opposed to the rezoning request for the following reasons:
·The rezoning request is not a narrowing of the scope of the base zoning district, but rather an expansion from existing residential to high density multifamily and commercial; therefore, it cannot be reviewed as a "straight" rezoning request under Town Ordinance § 2.3.1(4)(A). Conditional zoning is critical to maintain control over development of this area.
·The subject land is identified in the Town's Comprehensive Land Use Plan as Employment Center - Office, not CMX and NMX. Additionally, the majority of uses allowed in the CMX and NMX zones will fail the 25-to-50 job test request required by the Comprehensive Land Use Plan for the Employment Center - Office classification.
·The subject land's existing watershed is "Lake Norman IV Critical," meaning that 50% of the land must be used for Single Family Residential (R3) in order to protect the lake. Neither CMX nor NMX allow the subject land to remain 50% Single Family Residential.
·Rezoning the subject land to CMX and NMX is inconsistent with the Town's Comprehensive Land Use Plan for Highway 115 to remain historic, scenic and rural.
·The rezoning request would significantly burden traffic. The Town's own Traffic Impact Analysis shows serious degradation of numerous roads surrounding the subject land to a level of service of F.
·Town Officials have repeatedly commented that this rezoning request should not happen until the East-West Connector is complete; however, no construction on the East-West Connector has even begun. The rezoning request should be denied until the East-West Connector is complete or there is a commitment from the State, Norfolk Southern, the Town and the developer to widen Highway 115.
·Upon information and belief, approximately six (6) landowners are funding the East-West Connector and will be paid for their property by a developer who will then develop and benefit from rezoning by the Town of subject land on Highway 115 up to and including Langtree Road. This gives an appearance of impropriety, particularly where tax payer dollars are used and rezoning benefits the developer and Town to the detriment of residents.
·There is no current need for the rezoning and the proposed Lake Davidson Development.
·There are no current changes in condition, such as a large corporate addition to the area, to necessitate this rezoning request and proposed development.
·This kind of development is too early. This area is still thoroughly pastoral and undeveloped and almost exclusively residential.
·The rezoning request and proposed development will destroy the lake, environment and rural nature of this area.
·Numerous public records requests, under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 132-1, have not yet been responded to by the Town. Until citizens are provided with said public records, no rezoning request should be approved and public comment should remain open.
·The subject land and surrounding neighborhoods are in Mooresville's Extra Territorial Jurisdiction (ETJ). Rezoning the subject land without giving adjacent neighborhoods the right to vote and other rights afforded to non-ETJ citizens is unconstitutional. As recently noted by the North Carolina Supreme Court in Town of Boone v. State, "Extraterritorial jurisdiction remains extraordinary because it broadens a municipality's jurisdictional reach beyond its corporate limits. This extension of extraterritorial jurisdictional authority deprives the residents of the extraterritorial area of meaningful representation and the right to vote for local government representatives who shape policies affecting their property interests." Further, no one residing in the adjacent neighborhoods has ever been represented on the Town's planning or adjustment boards.
Well, a petition has just started on Change.org with outlines a whole host of legal issues against the rezoning - including moving this to conditional. The tone of the petition sure sounds like this one is headed to court if tonight's decision doesn't go the right way.
This certainly amps up the drama for the hearing. The action starts at 6pm at Mooresville Town Hall.
Here are the details:
We are petitioning the Mayor and Board of Commissioners of the Town of Mooresville to DENY an Application for Rezoning of land located at 1814 and 1828 Mecklenburg Highway in Mooresville, North Carolina.
The developer, Hinckley Gauvain, is requesting that the land be rezoned from Single Family Residential (R3) to Corridor Mixed Use (CMX) and Neighborhood Mixed Use (NMX) to build a proposed commercial and highly dense multifamily neighborhood development called "Lake Davidson Development." The developer has filed its Application for Rezoning as a "straight" rezoning request rather than a "conditional" zoning request.
We are strongly opposed to the rezoning request for the following reasons:
·The rezoning request is not a narrowing of the scope of the base zoning district, but rather an expansion from existing residential to high density multifamily and commercial; therefore, it cannot be reviewed as a "straight" rezoning request under Town Ordinance § 2.3.1(4)(A). Conditional zoning is critical to maintain control over development of this area.
·The subject land is identified in the Town's Comprehensive Land Use Plan as Employment Center - Office, not CMX and NMX. Additionally, the majority of uses allowed in the CMX and NMX zones will fail the 25-to-50 job test request required by the Comprehensive Land Use Plan for the Employment Center - Office classification.
·The subject land's existing watershed is "Lake Norman IV Critical," meaning that 50% of the land must be used for Single Family Residential (R3) in order to protect the lake. Neither CMX nor NMX allow the subject land to remain 50% Single Family Residential.
·Rezoning the subject land to CMX and NMX is inconsistent with the Town's Comprehensive Land Use Plan for Highway 115 to remain historic, scenic and rural.
·The rezoning request would significantly burden traffic. The Town's own Traffic Impact Analysis shows serious degradation of numerous roads surrounding the subject land to a level of service of F.
·Town Officials have repeatedly commented that this rezoning request should not happen until the East-West Connector is complete; however, no construction on the East-West Connector has even begun. The rezoning request should be denied until the East-West Connector is complete or there is a commitment from the State, Norfolk Southern, the Town and the developer to widen Highway 115.
·Upon information and belief, approximately six (6) landowners are funding the East-West Connector and will be paid for their property by a developer who will then develop and benefit from rezoning by the Town of subject land on Highway 115 up to and including Langtree Road. This gives an appearance of impropriety, particularly where tax payer dollars are used and rezoning benefits the developer and Town to the detriment of residents.
·There is no current need for the rezoning and the proposed Lake Davidson Development.
·There are no current changes in condition, such as a large corporate addition to the area, to necessitate this rezoning request and proposed development.
·This kind of development is too early. This area is still thoroughly pastoral and undeveloped and almost exclusively residential.
·The rezoning request and proposed development will destroy the lake, environment and rural nature of this area.
·Numerous public records requests, under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 132-1, have not yet been responded to by the Town. Until citizens are provided with said public records, no rezoning request should be approved and public comment should remain open.
·The subject land and surrounding neighborhoods are in Mooresville's Extra Territorial Jurisdiction (ETJ). Rezoning the subject land without giving adjacent neighborhoods the right to vote and other rights afforded to non-ETJ citizens is unconstitutional. As recently noted by the North Carolina Supreme Court in Town of Boone v. State, "Extraterritorial jurisdiction remains extraordinary because it broadens a municipality's jurisdictional reach beyond its corporate limits. This extension of extraterritorial jurisdictional authority deprives the residents of the extraterritorial area of meaningful representation and the right to vote for local government representatives who shape policies affecting their property interests." Further, no one residing in the adjacent neighborhoods has ever been represented on the Town's planning or adjustment boards.
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