Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Annexation Conditional Zoning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Smithfield council continues annexation and conditional-zoning public hearings to Oct. 7 after requests from multiple parties
Summary
Council voted to continue public hearings on annexation ANX-25-04 and conditional zoning CZ-25-05 to the Oct. 7 meeting at the request of multiple parties, including the developer and opponents; citizens at the meeting cited the planning board's unanimous recommendation to deny a proposed 1,147-lot development and raised environmental concerns.
The Town of Smithfield Town Council voted to continue two public hearings — annexation request ANX-25-04 and conditional-zoning request CZ-25-05 — to the council's Oct. 7 regular meeting after multiple parties asked for more time.
A council member moved to continue both items and said the request came from several parties, including the developer; the motion was seconded and carried by voice vote. The mayor announced both public hearings will be continued to the Oct. 7 meeting at 7:00 p.m. in the council chamber.
During the citizens-comment period, several residents who said they live near the project reiterated concerns that mirror the planning board's recommendation. Rick Buckner read from the planning board's unanimous vote to recommend denial of a proposed 1,147-lot development, citing traffic, land-use compatibility and impacts to rural infrastructure. “The people are against this and so are some of the people that are on the planning board,” Buckner said.
Stuart Lee urged the council to require a watershed and environmental-impact assessment, saying the parcel contains agricultural land, woodland, wetlands, hydric soils, three blue-line streams and a flood plain. Lee referenced hydrologic-unit-code (HUC) mapping and said the parcel's environmental constraints could magnify impacts compared with smaller projects the council has reviewed previously.
Council members and staff said the continuance was granted to allow additional parties — including the developer and the lawyer for the opposition — time to prepare. The council did not take substantive action on the annexation or the conditional-zoning request at the meeting; both items will be heard on Oct. 7.
