Council wrestles with Hayes development strategy
BY SEAN JACKSON
Staff Writer
The Edenton Planning
Board rejected a rezoning re
quest by Hayes Plantation’s
owners May 14, and Monday
night the Town Council dis
cussed the protocol of how it
should handle the request in
the future.
Town Attorney Charles
Busby said council should only
focus on if the proposed devel
opment of the historic farm
tract will harm the safety,
health and welfare of sur
rounding properties and the
town. Developers have plans to
erect numerous homes and
several commercial districts
on the 1,500-acre tract over a 50
year span.
That plan could bring thou
sands of citizens to Chowan
County and Edenton. The
property is actually in the
county and just east of
Edenton. But the town’s zoning
map would need to be amended
to allow for the large-scale de
velopment of the site.
Busby said council should
narrow its, focus during the
rezoning request. Any con
cerns about future traffic or
water/sewer issues could be
handled at later discussions
and public hearings, since the
developers will have to come
before council multiple times.
“It’s not a question of aes
thetics. It’s not a gut question,”
Busby said of what council
should consider during the
first phase of the request. “It’s
(a question of) does it promote
health, safety and welfare.”
Busby said even if develop
ers were to offer specifics
about what they intend to do at
Hayes, the rezoning process
does not bind them to any set
plans. The process simply al
lows the zoning to change from
R-40—which allows only large
lot sizes — to R-5 and R-10,
which contain much smaller
lots, allowing for a higher den
sity of homes.
Hayes property owner
Gilliam Wood and developers
previewed their proposal with
council at an April meeting.
The same presentation was
given to the Planning Board
last week, Councilman Steve
Biggs said Monday.
About 15 people spoke at
the May 14 planning meeting,
but no opponents of the pro
posed development were on
hand for Monday’s council
session.
The Planning Board unani
mously vetoed the rezoning
request last week. But coun
cil can overturn that rejec
tion, which is merely a rec
ommendation to council.
Biggs asked Busby if he
should discuss the project
with developers when not in
public meetings. Biggs said
he had been “invited” to talk
with the developers about the
issua
“I don’t think that serves a
useful purpose,” Busby said.
Edenton-Chowan planner
.Elizabeth Bryant said Biggs
and other town officials are
not barred by state law from
meeting with the developers.
Busby said the town is in
full control of what is done
or not done with the site
since sewage service would
likely become a major factor
for the success or failure of
the project. With the new
zoning classification, septic
systems could not be used.
Sewage lines would have to
be installed for the smaller R
5 and R-10 zonings.
“It’s not the Town of
Edenton’s responsibility,” to
install sewer lines at the pro
posed development, Busby
said.
He also said the town could
change the zoning of the site
in the future if the develop
ment were to ever appear to
pose a potential threat to the
health, safety, and welfare of
surrounding residents and
properties.
Councilman Jerry Parks
said some opponents of the
project — many at the May 14
meeting were from the Vil
lage Creek Subdivision, just
north of Hayes — simply
“don’t want it to happen.”
Parks suggested that coun
cil has an opportunity to
make a development decision
that hasn’t been offered
much in the past.
“We actually have an op
portunity to say this is what
we want Edenton to look
like,” he said. “I see it as an
exciting opportunity, but it’s
been veiled in controversy,
apparently.”
Mayor Roland Vaughan
said developer Bob Chapman
has indicated it would take
him and his staff a year to 18
months to develop a thor
ough plan for the project.
May flies bye..
BY EARLINE WHITE
Staff Writer
One of the many signs of
an upcoming spring is the
frequent showers, the
longer daylight hours and
the appearance of our old
friends - the mayflies. This
year was just like the
others, though our friends
did come a bit late. They
came, they bred, molted on
our windows, and died all
within a week’s span. That
is the way of the Mayfly
“Mayflies hatch and live
for 12-24 hours in or near
the water,” confirmed Katy
Gray, Chowan County
Extension Agent. “They are
adapted to aquatic life.
Mayflies have transparent
wings with long forked tails.
There are over 600 species,”
Gray said after reading
“Golden Guide to Insects”
which she called a ‘great
resource’. Marjorie
Rayburn, Area Specialist
Extension Agent for Water
Quality and Commercial
Horticulture in Gates
County agreed with Gray, “I
don’t know if they are
‘worse’ in Chowan County
than the other counties
surrounding us, but we do
have a fairly high popula
Staff photo by Earline White
Mayflies coat the window of a downtown Edenton business. They are a familiar sight
in our community this time of year.
tion because of our proxim
ity to the water.”
Mating of mayflies occurs
around dusk or dawn. Eggs
may be laid while the female
is in flight skimming across
the water or below the
surface among the vegeta
tion. The egg hatches into a
nymph, or baby mayfly,
See MAYFLIES Page 8-A
Several events saluting vet
erans are planned in Chowan
County over the next week.
The first is a World War IT
Memorial Dedication plan
ned for Saturday, May 29. Ed
ward G, Bond Post 40 of the
American Legion Post 40 for
. ——- ■ ’ ■ n
all wwn veterans and their
significant others. The festivi
ties will begin at 11 a.m. with
an informal gathering as they
come together to share expe
riences. '
' •
See SERVICE On Page 3-A
- t .
Staff photo by Saan Jackson
Town workers deal with a damage tree twisted in power
lines on N. Broad St. Monday morning.
Erin Christina Potocki
Valedictorian
Eric Anthony Sliva
Salutatorian
Holmes seniors
graduate Friday
More than 160 John A.
Holmes High School seniors
are expected to graduate May
28, to become, with the turn of
a tassel, the Class of 2005.
Rehearsal for the ceremony
is scheduled for 9 a.m. on the
28th, and is required in order
to participate in the evening
Commencement. Seniors will
receive four tickets each at the
Friday rehearsal.
The Commencement Cer
emony is scheduled for 7 p.m.
at the Athletic Complex.
Graduating students must re
port to the Holmes Commons
by 6 p.m.
If it’s raining on Friday
evening, the Commencement
Ceremony will be rescheduled
to 10 a.m. on Saturday Gradu
ating seniors should meet in
the Commons at 9 a.m.
If it’s still raining on Satur
day morning, Commencement
will move to Swain Audito
rium at 10 a.m. The Swain au
ditorium Will open to the pub
lic at 9 a.m. Guests must have
tickets to enter the audito
rium. Guests should park in
the courthouse lot or in city
lots; all Swain parking spaces
See GRADUATE Page 3-A
Gusty wind\ rain
cause outages
BY SEAN JACKSON
Staff Writer
Gusty winds from a Sunday
evening storm knocked out
power in several parts of
Edenton.
The storm littered streets
and yards with limbs and
leaves, while heavy rains cov
ered roadways.
“Our system had pockets of
outages,” Town Manager
Anne-Marie Knighton said.
Areas south of town at Cape
Colony and near Northeastern
See DAMAGE On Page 3-A
OLF battle heats up as lawsuits, words fly
Last in a series
BY SEAN JACKSON
Staff Writer
Battle lines have been drawn
in the OLF debate, and some
state and federal politicians
are staying out of the line of
fire.
Some elected leaders have
openly joined the opponents,
while others have either said
little publicly or have been ac
cused of quietly siding with
supporters of the U.S. Navy’s
plans to build an outlying land
ing Reid in Washington and'
Beaufort counties.
This vehicle reading "No Farms, No Jobs, No OLF" sums
up criticism of the proposed field: all the noise, none of
the benefits, they say, will be coming to Washington County
and surrounding communities.
Roper Mayor Bunny Sanders
is tired of such hedging by po
litical leaders. Specifically,
she wants Gov. Mike Easley to
come out against the OLF,
which will consume more than
30,000 acres of prime farmland
in Washington and Beaufort
counties.
“The state should join the
lawsuit,” she said, referring to
legal action OLF opponents
%nd nature conservationists
have taken against the Navy.
She said Easley and other
state officials “have a respon
sibility to protect the lives and
property” of all North Carolin
ians, including those east of I
95.
“And, by God, I don’t see
them doing that,” Sanders said
during an interview last
month.
“They have left us on our
own to fight the battle.”
Beyond the local level, both
U.S. Rep. Frank Ballance, D
N.C., and state Sen. Marc
Basnight, a Manteo Democrat,
have led the charge against the
OLF since the Navy’s Sept. 10
announcement that Washing
ton County would house the
airfield for the new Super Hor
net fighter jets.
See OLF On Page 8-A
INSIDE THIS WEEK
Hurricane
season
nears
_1-C
Local teen
rides atop
horsing world_9-A
Preschoolers visit
fish hatchery...... 5-C
Cycle Speedway on
the go
1-B