Date: Wed, 4 Jun 2014 07:47:47 -0400
From: Pittsboro Matters
Subject: Put Pittsboro First Rally!
Monday, June 9, 6:00 PM (before the vote) * Historic Chatham County Courthouse
Let the Mayor and Town Board know we want Pittsboro in the driver’s seat for Chatham Park, not outside developers who are putting their wallets first!
Do you want the Town of Pittsboro and area residents to be in the driver’s seat for the development and implementation of Chatham Park? Or do you want to turn over control of our community’s future to Chatham Park Investors? The Cary-based development company is pressuring the town board to vote on June 9 to approve Chatham Park’s wholly inadequate master plan, without the key conditions that the Town’s consultant, the Pittsboro Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, and Pittsboro Matters recommended.
If you want the town board and local citizens in the driver’s seat, please attend a Pittsboro Matters rally, “Put Pittsboro First,” at the Historic Courthouse on the circle in Pittsboro starting at 6 pm on June 9. The Town Board meeting is scheduled to start at 7 pm, but we want to gather outside first. We need to let the Mayor and Town Board know that citizens want the board to vote for what is in the best interests of the town and its residents, not just what seems to be in the developers interest.
As you may recall, the town board originally accepted most of the recommendations of the Lawrence Group consulting firm. However, Chatham Park Investors, with the backing of Commissioner Michael Fiocco, has refused to agree to the key recommendations, including setting aside at least 30% of their land as a conservation area or leaving a 2,000 foot conservation buffer along the Haw River, as recommended by the town’s land use plan, its Parks Advisory Board, Pittsboro Matters and many others.
At the May 20th public hearing, two-thirds of the 70 speakers essentially supported the eight conditions we asked the board to require of the development in order to approve the master plan and rezoning. Many repeated the common sense sentiment that this Cary-based developer’s promises are meaningless unless they are put in writing. Most of the folks supporting Chatham Park essentially said we needed jobs and, thus, they supported approval of Chatham Park. Few, if any, provided specific reasons they supported the current master plan. None said they opposed the improvements proposed by the Lawrence Group, Pittsboro Matters, the Pittsboro Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, and two members of the planning board, and supported by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and many local residents.
Thus, there is absolutely no reason why the Town Board should approve the re-zoning request for the current Chatham Park master plan on June 9. Instead they should vote to require that the proposed master plan be amended by the developers to include the key improvements and/or protections for the town and its residents. Again, these proposed improvements are clearly in line with the recommendations of the Lawrence Group Consulting firm, hired by the Town. In fact, if the Town Board of Commissioners were to engage in true due diligence concerning the proposed master plan, they would submit all of the recommended improvements in the plan for comment by the town’s professional planning staff, before sending them to the developers for incorporation into their master plan. Learn more at http://pittsboromatters.org