By Tammy Grubb
Family Dollar opponents say the retail store is being shoehorned into a longtime neighborhood with no regard or respect for what the community wants or needs.
“We want the character of our community preserved. We want our health and safety protected. We want our natural environment protected, and we want vulnerable populations protected and justice done,” Alabama Avenue resident Claire Hermann said last night.
Both they and the developer will have to wait another two weeks to find out if the Board of Adjustment approves an 8,100-square-foot Family Dollar for the less than one acre site. The Board of Aldermen will not review the plan.
Roughly 40 people spoke Wednesday night against building the store. The public hearing was continued from May 16, when developer Will Stronach, of Raleigh-based Stronach Properties, presented more than two hours of expert testimony to a standing-room only crowd.
The Board of Adjustment will meet again June 6 to decide two issues:
- whether to grant a variance so the developer can pave over an ephemeral stream that funnels stormwater from several acres surrounding the site, and
- whether to grant a special-use permit for the retail store.
The variance must be approved by a four-fifths vote and largely hinges on whether the applicant can make “reasonable use” of the property without it.
Look for more on this story today at www.chapelhillnews.com, www.newsobserver.com and Sunday in The Chapel Hill News.
