Big development related decisions are on the agendas for Mooresville/Davidson on Monday/Tuesday this coming week, and each is likely to yield some controversy.
Social media sites are encouraging people to attend and show their displeasure with the Lake Davidson development rezoning request in Mooresville on Monday and with the Beaty Street RFP developer selection in Davidson on Tuesday. See here and here for the details on each.
Citizens opposed to both projects have been working diligently - pursuing any and all options to derail these large scale projects that will occur in close proximity to each other, on similar propose6thd timelines, on already overcrowded NC115. To date, those efforts appear to have fallen largely on deaf ears at local Town Halls.
Enough shenanigans have certainly come out of those halls of power to have earned officials the ire of the people they supposedly represent. See here, here, here, and here for examples.
aShortChronicle has received indications that both meetings could see some surprises as activists pull out all the stops before potential votes that could change this portion of the Lake Norman area from bucolic small-town America to Birkdale on steroids.
Stay tuned as this story unfolds over the next few days.
Sunday, July 9, 2017
Saturday, July 8, 2017
Updated - Saturday Bummer...Swimming Hole closed due to downed tree
Saturday morning a fallen tree took out a powerline behind the pool's pump house.
As of 2:10pm Duke Power is currently on site, so hopefully the pool will be back up and running soon.
Check the pool Facebook page for updates.
Update: Pool opened on time Suday at noon with the tree cleared away in spite of last night's storms.
Friday, July 7, 2017
BREAKING: Beaty RFP vote on Tuesday agenda
After Davidson Town Hall botched a planned vote on the Beaty Street RFP last month, it looks like it is set to try again this coming Tuesday.
Note the last item on this coming Tuesday's Board meeting agenda- "Consider Approval of Beaty Street Developer".
Readers will remember the Town initially scheduled this vote over the planned retirement party for retiring DPD Chief Jeanne Miller then suddenly cancelled the vote mere hours before it was scheduled to occur on June 13th. Those scheduling errors on the Town's part certainly made it look like the Town was using the retirement of its long-time police chief as a potential shield against citizen protests of this controversial Beaty Street vote.
That tactic did not stymie protesters who showed up anyway and brought the largest media coverage Davidson has seen in a long time.
Seeing how that did not work, now the vote is being scheduled to occur during peak vacation season.
There is nothing currently in the agenda item other than the below new Master Plan picture.
Here is the original Luminous proposal.
While there is no other documentation in the town website on the new proposal other than this first picture, one can assume the differences are from this list of changes sent from the developer dates June 9th.
This new plan appears to offer more protection from impact to the Hobbs Hill neighborhood by eliminating the affordable housing complex along Beaty Street and maintaining more tree buffer on the Main Street side. It also bumps up the park acreage to 8.2 acres which is still less than half of the total acreage.
Other than that, it looks primarily the same as the original plan. However, it is hard to tell without more detail - detail not yet provided.
It is hard to see how the Board could think presenting this new plan and voting on it the same night is a good idea, but stranger things have happened.
Would recommend checking the agenda item over the weekend in case more detail is added.
Note the last item on this coming Tuesday's Board meeting agenda- "Consider Approval of Beaty Street Developer".
Readers will remember the Town initially scheduled this vote over the planned retirement party for retiring DPD Chief Jeanne Miller then suddenly cancelled the vote mere hours before it was scheduled to occur on June 13th. Those scheduling errors on the Town's part certainly made it look like the Town was using the retirement of its long-time police chief as a potential shield against citizen protests of this controversial Beaty Street vote.
That tactic did not stymie protesters who showed up anyway and brought the largest media coverage Davidson has seen in a long time.
Seeing how that did not work, now the vote is being scheduled to occur during peak vacation season.
There is nothing currently in the agenda item other than the below new Master Plan picture.
 |
| New Luminous Master Plan |
Here is the original Luminous proposal.
 |
| Original Luminous Master Plan |
While there is no other documentation in the town website on the new proposal other than this first picture, one can assume the differences are from this list of changes sent from the developer dates June 9th.
Other than that, it looks primarily the same as the original plan. However, it is hard to tell without more detail - detail not yet provided.
It is hard to see how the Board could think presenting this new plan and voting on it the same night is a good idea, but stranger things have happened.
Would recommend checking the agenda item over the weekend in case more detail is added.
Save Davidson's level of organization peaking as election season begins
Originally started as a Facebook group focused solely on the Beaty Street RFP, the Facebook group quickly expanded and now boasts over 1100 members. That's a tremendous representation and reach for a town the size of Davidson. In addition to hosting several nature walks on the town owned Beaty Street property, conducting flyer handouts, and coordinating information sessions at homes around town, the organization has just expanded its web presence as well by launching SaveDavidson.org .
As a show of the dedication and research capacity this group is capable of harnessing, a 100 page dossier on the history of the Beaty property and the RFP process was posted to the new website. Check it out here.
When a group gets this organized and this active, it is a game changer when it comes to local politics. Look at WidenI77.org for a comparison. While that group hasn't stopped the I77 HOT lanes project - yet - it has had a tremendous impact on our local elections over every election cycle since 2013. It's very arguable the anti-toll group's efforts and the other groups it spawned cost the governorship of a sitting incumbent at the state level. That is in addition to the impact the movement has had on the makeup of the Town Boards in Huntersville and Cornelius.
With "Save Davidson", it looks like a similar phenomenon is in the works in our local college town.
A big part of the reason for the saying "you can't fight Town Hall" is that Town Hall (or government in general) has a whole staff whose job it is to promote the "official" point of view. It is hard for part time activists to compete against that. When average citizens get organized and leverage the time and talents of many, it changes that dynamic. The balance of power between activists and the local government shifts.
Election season starts Friday with the opening of the filing period for candidates. The Save Davidson group is peaking at the right moment to truly have an impact on the outcome. The key will be which candidates does it get behind and which ones it opposes.
Tuesday, July 4, 2017
New news site for Davidson "coming soon"...just in time for #DavidsonElection2017
Rumors of a new source for Davidson town news have been swirling for quite some time now. aShortChronicle first reported on this back in April, with this post "New source for news of Davidson on the way?" Now, it appears the wait is almost over.
A new website that had been dark, has finally gone live...sort of...
Here at aShortChronicle, we say the more the merrier when it comes to news sources about town. What makes this potential new news site interesting is the timing and who is behind it.
A search of WHOIS, shows that Jane Campbell of Davidson reserved the website name. There is also a non-profit 501c3 organization with the same name and mailing address. The IRS site says donations are 50% deductible.
Readers will remember that Campbell unsuccessfully ran for the NCGA in 2016 trying to unseat NC98 Rep John Bradford. Now this year, rumor has it that Campbell may jump into the race for Davidson Commissioner.
That rumor was corroborated by this trial balloon announcement last month on the Save Davidson Facebook group by Heather McKee.
In a follow up question on that FB thread, McKee was asked if it was Jane Campbell. The answer was "yes". McKee went on to say...
It should be noted that the responses in that thread were highly favorable to a potential Campbell candidacy, but what makes this even more interesting is that McKee lists herself as a "columnist" at NewsOfDavidson.org on her own FB profile.
With filing only a few days away and campaign season ready to start, having a new news site preparing to launch - one that can accept anonymous tax free donations and with clear links to a potential candidate - things are setting up to be more interesting than usual here in Davidson.
A new website that had been dark, has finally gone live...sort of...
Here at aShortChronicle, we say the more the merrier when it comes to news sources about town. What makes this potential new news site interesting is the timing and who is behind it.
A search of WHOIS, shows that Jane Campbell of Davidson reserved the website name. There is also a non-profit 501c3 organization with the same name and mailing address. The IRS site says donations are 50% deductible.
Readers will remember that Campbell unsuccessfully ran for the NCGA in 2016 trying to unseat NC98 Rep John Bradford. Now this year, rumor has it that Campbell may jump into the race for Davidson Commissioner.
That rumor was corroborated by this trial balloon announcement last month on the Save Davidson Facebook group by Heather McKee.
In a follow up question on that FB thread, McKee was asked if it was Jane Campbell. The answer was "yes". McKee went on to say...
It should be noted that the responses in that thread were highly favorable to a potential Campbell candidacy, but what makes this even more interesting is that McKee lists herself as a "columnist" at NewsOfDavidson.org on her own FB profile.
With filing only a few days away and campaign season ready to start, having a new news site preparing to launch - one that can accept anonymous tax free donations and with clear links to a potential candidate - things are setting up to be more interesting than usual here in Davidson.
Will apartment wave swamp Davidson's small town character? This election could help decide.
For the longest time (well more than a decade), the Bexley apartments at Exit 30 was the only major apartment development in Davidson. Every town needs some rentals, so this 185 unit complex filled that need. As an added bonus, the Bexley's design fits in with the surrounding owner occupied housing to the degree that it being apartments is hardly noticeable.
However, the recent development wave overtaking Davidson seeks to change that. Here's a chart for what the town is facing when it comes to total large scale apartment complexes.
If all of these were in place including the ones yet to be built, Davidson would have nearly 1000 households in large scale traditional apartment complexes.
What will that do to the small town character of the town? How will it impact traffic - particularly in the immediate vicinities of these projects? What are the impacts to the environment?
All of these questions need to be answered, and fortunately all of them are shaping up to be central to the upcoming election with the Potts St Development being the focus point. Not only is it the Potts St Development the largest of the proposed new projects, but it is in a critical watershed area currently covered in mature reees. It also sits at a major intersection
Under pressure from neighborhood residents opposed to the project, Town Hall has scheduled a "walk" of the Catawba neighborhood this Friday at 11am. A majority of sitting Commissioners are expected to attend. This project has also been raised as an issue by multiple potential challengers for the Board.
Filing for this year's election starts this Friday.
However, the recent development wave overtaking Davidson seeks to change that. Here's a chart for what the town is facing when it comes to total large scale apartment complexes.
If all of these were in place including the ones yet to be built, Davidson would have nearly 1000 households in large scale traditional apartment complexes.
What will that do to the small town character of the town? How will it impact traffic - particularly in the immediate vicinities of these projects? What are the impacts to the environment?
All of these questions need to be answered, and fortunately all of them are shaping up to be central to the upcoming election with the Potts St Development being the focus point. Not only is it the Potts St Development the largest of the proposed new projects, but it is in a critical watershed area currently covered in mature reees. It also sits at a major intersection
Under pressure from neighborhood residents opposed to the project, Town Hall has scheduled a "walk" of the Catawba neighborhood this Friday at 11am. A majority of sitting Commissioners are expected to attend. This project has also been raised as an issue by multiple potential challengers for the Board.
Filing for this year's election starts this Friday.
Davidson Community Garden roadwork and minor asbestos cleanup almost complete
There has been a lot of activity at the Davidson Communkty Garden these past several weeks beyond just the harvests being brought in for the Ada Jenkins food pantry.
With the help of the Town Public Works Department, the landscaping and fence along Potts street was moved back to make way got the eventual Potts-Sloan-Beaty road project. All reports are that the plants are doing well. Also, some additional raised bed boxes have been installed which will prevent the loss of food production capacity.
All in all, what initially sounded like a change that could have significant implications, turned out to not be that bad.
Coming this week, there will also be some activity related to the ongoing asbestos cleanup being done by the EPA at a number of properties in the West Side neighborhood.
After testing the garden, the EPA did find trace amounts of asbestos in the portion of the property closest to the road and fortunately not where food is produced and digging occurs. Here is the latest information from the weekly garden email blast
A few weeks ago, a man from the EPA came by the garden to talk to us about asbestos testing results. Because of asbestos discovered near the warehouse on Depot Street, the EPA started testing properties nearby. They tested at the Community Garden and found no traces of asbestos in the garden area. In the grassy area from the picnic table to the road, however, they found the minimal testable level for EPA clean-up. EPA workers will come to the garden this Thursday and Friday to remove the top foot of soil, replace it with new soil, then lay turf and mulch. The positive outcome of this is (1) no traces of asbestos in the gardening areas and (2) a renewed grassy area!
aShortChronicle contacted the EPA to see if more detail was available. According to EPA's Davina Marriccini, "EPA collected 2 composite samples in the community garden, one in the garden area itself and one north of the garden where the mulch, compost bins and picnic tables are located. Asbestos was found in the sample north of the garden at the lowest detectable level (detection limit of 0.25% at the 3-6" interval). EPA has coordinated with the property owner and the community group that oversees the garden to schedule cleanup within the next few weeks and answer questions. There is no immediate risk to people working in the garden harvesting vegetables. Please remember to wash hands and vegetables after working the garden."
Cleanup is scheduled for later this week.
All in all, what initially sounded like a change that could have significant implications, turned out to not be that bad.
Coming this week, there will also be some activity related to the ongoing asbestos cleanup being done by the EPA at a number of properties in the West Side neighborhood.
After testing the garden, the EPA did find trace amounts of asbestos in the portion of the property closest to the road and fortunately not where food is produced and digging occurs. Here is the latest information from the weekly garden email blast
A few weeks ago, a man from the EPA came by the garden to talk to us about asbestos testing results. Because of asbestos discovered near the warehouse on Depot Street, the EPA started testing properties nearby. They tested at the Community Garden and found no traces of asbestos in the garden area. In the grassy area from the picnic table to the road, however, they found the minimal testable level for EPA clean-up. EPA workers will come to the garden this Thursday and Friday to remove the top foot of soil, replace it with new soil, then lay turf and mulch. The positive outcome of this is (1) no traces of asbestos in the gardening areas and (2) a renewed grassy area!
aShortChronicle contacted the EPA to see if more detail was available. According to EPA's Davina Marriccini, "EPA collected 2 composite samples in the community garden, one in the garden area itself and one north of the garden where the mulch, compost bins and picnic tables are located. Asbestos was found in the sample north of the garden at the lowest detectable level (detection limit of 0.25% at the 3-6" interval). EPA has coordinated with the property owner and the community group that oversees the garden to schedule cleanup within the next few weeks and answer questions. There is no immediate risk to people working in the garden harvesting vegetables. Please remember to wash hands and vegetables after working the garden."
Cleanup is scheduled for later this week.
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