Fayetteville Today

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - The Fayetteville City Council met Jan. 8 at 7:00 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers to discuss matters relevant to the city to discuss matters relevant to Fayetteville residents. 

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m., followed by a prayer offered by Pastor Blake Benge, Snyder Memorial Baptist Church, and then the Pledge of Allegiance lead by Mayor Mitch Colvin and City Council. 

There were several ANNOUNCEMENTS AND RECOGNITIONS made by the Mayor and Council. 

• Council Member Thompson presented Mr. Kwame Molden a proclamation in recognition of his work in the community.  Mr. Molden presented a video regarding SPGBRK watches. 
• A Key to the City was presented to Jeff “Goldy” Goldberg in grateful recognition of his devoted interest and untiring commitment to the community for over 40 years in radio. 
• Mayor Pro Tem Jensen recognized community service leaders who donated to Wreaths Across America at the Sandhills Veterans Cemetery and Lafayette Veterans Cemetery laying 9,910 wreaths.  Ms. Patricia Archie- Jackson; Mr. Howard Braxton, Food Lion Manager and Veteran; Chancellor Johnson Jr, Veteran; Twila D. Jefferson, Burger King Team Leader; Marley A Williams, Anthony, Mings Store Manager; Cycle Gear; Nathaniel Rainey, Veteran and South Region Chairman of the Triple Nickles. 

A motion was made to Approve the Agenda by Council Member D.J. Haire. Council Member Derrick Thompson seconded the motion and it PASSED (10-0).     

The City Council acted on 15 CONSENT AGENDA items during this meeting. The Consent Agenda is a group of items that are considered routine whereby all items are passed with a single motion and vote. Members of City Council can remove items from the Consent Agenda for further discussion prior to voting.  

Council Member Lynne Greene moved to pull the Oct. 9, 2023 minutes and add as Item 11.03 for a separate vote. This was seconded by Council Member Brenda McNair. It was approved UNANIMOUSLY (10-0)  

Council Member Thompson moved to approve consent agenda which was seconded by Council Member Haire. It was approved UNANIMOUSLY (10-0).  

• Approval of Meeting Minutes: 
  • December 6, 2023 – Special - Inauguration  
  • December 11, 2023 – Discussion of Agenda Items  
  • December 11, 2023 – Regular  
• Special Use Permit to allow a school to be located in a Single Family 6 (SF-6) zoning district, located at 4502 Rosehill Road and being the property of Bethel Christian Assembly Inc., represented by Del Crawford, Crawford Design Company. This was postponed from the October 23, 2023, City Council Meeting. 
• Adoption of Capital Project Ordinance Amendment 2024-9 for renovations to Orange Street School. 
• Adoption of Capital Project Ordinance 2024-11 to Appropriate North Carolina Department of Transportation Grant Funding for the Environmental & Design Phases of Taxiways Foxtrot and Golf Rehabilitation. 
• Adoption of Budget Ordinance Amendment 2024-8 to appropriate the 2023 Motiva First Responder Grant. 
• Adoption of Budget Ordinance Amendment 2024-9 for the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 to move Cape Fear Regional Theater funds from Other Appropriations to Economic and Community Development. You can read more about this item here.
• Adoption of Special Revenue Fund Project Ordinance 2024-12 to Appropriate the FY23 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG). You can read more about this item here. Award of Terminal Renovations Phase III Construction Contract to Daniels & Daniels Construction Company, Inc., and Authorization for the City Manager to Execute the Contract. 
• Authorize the execution of an engineering service contract for professional services for Phase 1 Watershed Study for Buckhead Creek.
• Approve Resolution Authorizing Municipal Agreement with the North Carolina Department of Transportation for the Review of Plans and Documents associated with the Blanton Road Extension Project. 
• Approval of a Municipal Agreement with NCDOT for the update to the Fayetteville Comprehensive Pedestrian Plan. 
• Approval of a Municipal Agreement with the NCDOT Project B-4490(L) for landscaping and irrigation at the intersection of Bragg Blvd and Rowan Street.
• PWC - Bid Recommendation - Re-advertisement of Various Sewer Manhole Rehabilitation Polymeric Epoxy. 
• PWC - Bid Recommendation - Re-advertisement of Various Sewer Manhole Rehabilitation (CIP) Fiberglass Reinforced Epoxy. 
• PWC - Resolution of the City of Fayetteville, NC to Authorize the Tentative Award of a Bid Contract By and Through Fayetteville Public Works Commission.

The City Council held a PUBLIC FORUM during this meeting. This is a critical portion of the Regular Council meeting as the City Council seeks to have a collaborative citizen and business engagement base. This opportunity allows for residents to address the council directly on specific issues in an effort inform them of their opinions on specific topics. The following are some of the topics which were discussed: Homelessness, Office of Community, Walkability in the City, rezoning and traffic calming measures throughout the city. Due to the volume of people seeking to speak to the City Council, Council Member Mario Benavente moved to extend the public forum for 12 minutes to hear the last three public forum speakers which was seconded by Council Member Courtney Banks-McLaughlin. It was approved UNANIMOUSLY (10-0). 

The City Council held two PUBLIC HEARINGS during this meeting. This is a critical portion of the Regular Council meeting since for certain issues, the Fayetteville City Council may sit as a quasi-judicial body that has powers resembling those of a court of law or judge. The Council will hold hearings, investigate facts, weigh evidence and draw conclusions which serve as a basis for its decisions.  

Citizens wishing to provide testimony in response to a notice of public hearing or to participate in the public forum can obtain instructions to submit a statement by emailing cityclerk@ci.fay.nc.us or by calling 910-433-1312 for assistance.  Individuals desiring to testify on a quasi-judicial public hearing must contact the City Clerk by 5:00 p.m. the day of the meeting to sign up to testify; instructions will be provided on how to appear before Council to provide testimony. All persons wishing to appear before the Council should be prepared to give sworn testimony on relevant facts. 

The first was the Rezoning of 1.86 acres ± from Mixed Residential 5 to Downtown 2 Conditional, located at 344, 348 352 Hawley Lane and unaddressed Plummers Lane, and being the property of Cumberland County Board of Education, Michael J Carpenter and Helen Kelly Heirs, represented by Jimmy Kizer, Moorman, Kizer & Reitzel, Inc. and Jermaine Walker, Cumberland County. 

Three speakers spoke in favor of this item and two in opposition.  

Council Member Malik Davis moved to approve the amendment to the DT-2/CZ as presented based on the evidence submitted and finds that the rezoning is consistent with the Future Land Use Plan as demonstrated by the attached consistency and reasonableness statement. This was seconded by Council Member Benavente. It was approved UNANIMOUSLY (10-0). You can read more about this item here. 

The second was a Conditional Rezoning of 1.42 acres ± from Mixed Residential 5 to Heavy Industrial, located at 1009, 1015, & 0 North Street, and being the property of DRA LLC, represented by Thomas Lloyd of Franklin Johnson Commercial Real Estate. 

Council Member Davis moved to table Item this item to Jan. 22, 2024. This was seconded by Council member Deno Hondros. It was approved UNANIMOUSLY (10-0). You can read more about this item here.  

The City Council held one EVIDENTARY HEARING during this meeting.  

This hearing was about a Special Use Permit to allow Transitional Housing at 344, 348 352 Hawley Lane and unaddressed Plummers Lane, and being the property of Cumberland County Board of Education, and Cumberland, represented by Jimmy Kizer, Moorman, Kizer & Reitzel, Inc. and Jermaine Walker, Cumberland County. 

Three speakers spoke in favor of this item and two in opposition.    

Council Member Benavente moved to approve the Special Use Permit (SUP) to allow the operation of a Transitional Housing shelter in the Downtown 2 zoning district subject to the conditions identified and the submitted site plans and conforming to the current Unified Development Ordinance.  The special use complies with all applicable standards in Section 30-4.C, as presented by the applicant with the involvement of the zoning review board; The special use will be in harmony with the area in which it is located based on the inclusion of a multitude of services to include eventual transitional and low-income affordable housing; The special use will not materially endanger the public health or safety if located where propose due to Hawley Lane already contains many government buildings and homeless support services will improve the public health and safety; The special use is in general conformity with the City’s adopted land use plans because the applicant included facts about the permit allowing for county owned properties to be combined for the construction of the facility; The special use will not substantially injure the value of the abutting land because the abutting land is all government property; The special use complies with all other relevant City, State, and Federal laws and regulations as the applicant is a county board and legally are required to comply with laws. This was seconded by Council Member Hondros and approved UNANIMOUSLY (10-0). You can read more about each of them here.   

OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS 

During the Other Items of Business portion of the meeting, the City Council discussed the City Council Policies Review Committee Recommendations concerning Membership and Removal policies and procedures and the Public Forum Policy. Council Member Jensen moved to approve revisions to Policy 120.9 - Public Forum which was seconded by Council Member Haire. It was approved UNANIMOUSLY (10-0). You can read more about this item here.  

Council Member Jensen moved to approve revisions to Policy 110.1 – Boards and Commissions Membership and Removal which was seconded by Council Member Hondros. It was approved UNANIMOUSLY (10-0).  You can read more about this item here.   

The Council also discussed a Resolution Adopting Changes for Council Meeting Start Times and Ordinance Amending Chapter 2 of the Code of Ordinance. Council Member Haire moved to adopt the Resolution and Code of Ordinances amending the City Council’s Work Session meeting time to 2:00 p.m., the Discussion of Agenda Items to 5:30 p.m. and the Regular Meetings to 6:30 p.m. effective Feb. 1, 2024. This was seconded by Council Member Thompson. The vote was 6-4. Those voting in opposition were: Council Member Benavente, Greene, McNair and Banks-McLaughlin. You can read more about this item here.  

Council Member Haire moved to approve the Oct. 9, 2023 minutes. This motion was seconded by Council Member Thompson. The motion passed 9-1 with Council Member Greene in opposition.   

The meeting adjourned at 9:54 p.m. 

The next City Council Regular Meeting will be held on Monday, Jan. 22 at 7:00 p.m. in Council Chambers in City Hall. The January Work Session will be held on Monday, Feb. 5 at 2 p.m. in the Lafayette Conference Room. Meetings also air live on Spectrum Channel 7, at FayTV.net and on the FayTV app available on your streaming device. Meeting agendas, supporting documentation and minutes are publicly available here. For more information about the Fayetteville City Council, please visit fayettevillenc.gov/city-council.  

Original source can be found here.