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Council approves Southside Plaza Public Works Agreement despite developer objections to roundabout charge
Summary
The Mount Airy Town Council approved a Public Works Agreement for the Southside Plaza medical development that includes a $31,985 pro‑rata charge toward the South Main roundabout after a lengthy debate about fairness and how costs should be apportioned.
The Mount Airy Town Council voted April 6 to approve a Public Works Agreement (PWA) for the Southside Plaza development that includes a $31,985 assessment described by the town as the project’s pro‑rata share of the recently completed South Main roundabout.
Developer and physician Shahed Rafi told the council the town’s paragraph six — the provision assigning the roundabout cost — is inconsistent with the town engineer’s May 5, 2025 memorandum and with the project’s Adequate Public Facilities (APFO) determination. Rafi and his team argued the roundabout addressed an already‑failing intersection and prior improvements tied to other projects, and that Southside Plaza’s traffic analysis showed the project did not trigger mitigation. He asked the council to remove the contribution or allow the project to proceed while the parties continue to review the matter.
Town Attorney Tom McCarron and the town engineer (identified in the meeting as Barney) said the charge reflects the town’s cost‑sharing approach for off‑site improvements. McCarron explained the town applied a ‘‘roughly proportional’’ apportionment method used for prior developments — noting Chick‑fil‑A had been assessed a share of the same roundabout in an earlier PWA — and that the planning and staff reports specifically told applicants the project would receive an invoice for a prorated share of the roundabout work.
Barney described the traffic analysis and the spreadsheet used to apportion costs across parcels in the study area. He said the town’s consultant originally estimated a $1.56 million project and that, after incorporating traffic counts, Southside Plaza’s estimated share was 2.1%, or about $31,985. He also noted the town had performed related frontage work and utility tie‑ins as part of the roundabout contract, which reduced the cost the developer would otherwise have borne.
Council members debated fairness and precedent. Some members said the roundabout has long been discussed as a response to multiple safety and traffic issues and that it was reasonable to ask new developments that benefit from the improvement to pay a modest prorated share. Others said the planning materials presented to earlier councils emphasized Chick‑fil‑A’s role in the roundabout rationale and expressed sympathy for a medical project that seeks to improve local health access.
After rounds of questions, the council approved the PWA as written. The motion carried by majority voice/roll‑call vote (motion carried with one recorded dissent). The PWA will proceed with the assessed amount reflected in the document.
What happens next: the developer and town staff can still negotiate implementation details in the PWA process, but the council’s approval authorizes invoicing and demonstrates the town’s intent to recover prorated off‑site improvement costs in keeping with prior practice.
(Reporting note: quotes and paraphrases are drawn from public remarks made at the April 6 town council meeting.)
