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Council approves Veterans Guardian headquarters preliminary plan with 20‑foot tree buffer
Summary
Council approved a preliminary development plan for Veterans Guardian’s proposed 27,000 sq. ft. headquarters in the Southern Pines Corporate Park, requiring a 20‑foot perimeter buffer to retain trees (≥6‑inch caliper) with tree‑protection fencing and allowing a watershed allocation; council and applicant debated a large parking request tied to anticipated employee growth.
The Southern Pines Town Council voted Oct. 14 to approve the preliminary development plan for Veterans Guardian’s new headquarters in the corporate park, attaching conditions intended to preserve perimeter trees and require standard landscaping.
Planner Mason Maddox said the PDP covers about 8.67 acres in the corporate park and described the proposed building as a two‑story office of roughly 27,000 square feet with 246 parking spaces and 12 bicycle spaces. Maddox said staff recommended approval and that the land‑use designation in the corporate park allows supportive uses such as veteran services.
Tim Carpenter of LKC Engineering and Mark Christiansen of Veterans Guardian said the parking request reflects an anticipated employee load: Christiansen said the organization has grown from about 30 employees in 2019 to roughly 190 now and anticipates growth toward 300. "We can't hire employees fast enough to help all the veterans that need assistance," he told council, and said parking was based on employee counts and shift patterns.
Council members pressed staff and the applicant for traffic and trip‑generation documentation. Staff said a trip‑generation letter had been provided to the town; if town engineering determines a traffic‑impact analysis (TIA) is required the applicant must complete it before site‑plan approval. Several council members said they were concerned about the visual impact of a large parking field and urged a planted or retained buffer between the parking and the public rights of way.
To address those concerns the council added a condition requiring a 20‑foot buffer adjacent to Tyler Industrial Court and Airtel Drive that retains all existing trees 6‑inch caliper and larger where feasible; tree‑protection fencing must be installed around retained trees and the town arborist will review any requested reductions in standoff distance. The motion also included watershed allocation language staff had proposed.
Staff said the condition includes flexibility: if the buffer contains gaps, the developer must plant to meet buffer standards; if grading or essential site design prevents retention at a given point, applicants may request a reduction with arborist concurrence.
What happens next: the applicant will proceed to site‑plan review, work with town engineering on any required traffic analysis or mitigation, finalize stormwater design and produce planting/landscape plans that meet buffer and vehicle‑use‑area landscaping standards. Council members said they expect staff and the applicant to coordinate on precise buffer alignment during the site‑plan stage.
The PDP approval advances Veterans Guardian’s plan to consolidate regional operations into a single headquarters in Southern Pines while imposing town conditions intended to preserve the site’s natural character along public streets.
