P8/C8 ***.*,,
EDENTON NC 27932-1854
Weui rcjv.,/(
Glorious Elliott
has been named
to the Board of
Directors of the
NC School Boards
Association. — 6A
h
Planning board backs limits on multi-family dwellings; proposal based on Holland Consulting Planners study
BY REGGIE PONDER
Editor
Tlte Edenton Planning Board unanimous
ly approved Monday a proposal that would
sharply limit where multi-family housing
could be located within the town.
Tire proposed text amendment to the
town’s Unified Development Ordinance will
go before the Edenton Town Council for fi
nal consideration.
The proposed amendment removes multi
family dwelling as a permitted use in most
of the town’s residential zoning districts. It
would remove the use in the R-40, R-20, R
14 and R-10 districts and also prohibit multi
family units, of three or more in the Historic
District
Duplexes and single-family rental houses
would still be allowed in the Historic District
under this proposal.
The amendment would allow multi-family
housing in the R-§ residential district and in
the medical arts and commercial districts.
Town Planner Sam Barrow presented
the proposed text amendment to the plan
ning board at its meeting Monday night The
amendment got the planning panel’s unani
mous backing and could be voted on by the
town council as early as the coundl’s meet
ing on Dec. 9.
The proposed amendment is a response
to a study conducted by Holland Consult
ing Planners. The study found, among
other things, that the town’s population is
not increasing; that the town has an above
average percentage of multi-family housing
- 27.5 percent in Edenton, compared with
an average of 20.7 percent; 18 percent of the
town’s housing is public housing or hous
ing receiving program support; 20.9 percent
of the population has an income below the
poverty level; and 66.4 percent of the town
is zoned for residential use, compared with
25-35 percent in most eastern North Caro
lina towns.
Barrow also noted a concern among town
officials regarding a relatively high number
of empty houses and the potential for blight
as a result of empty houses.
Barrow noted that the proposed amend
ment limits multi-family housing but still al
lows multi-family developments it in some
areas.
“You can’t zone them out completely,”
Barrow said.
Nonprofits
bristle at
new tax
BY REGGIE PONDER
Editor
Rep. Bob Steinburg is meeting
this week with representatives of
local nonprofits to discuss their
concerns about an amusement
tax that takes effect Jan. 1
The Chowan
County Repub
lican told the
Chowan Herald
he understands
that nonprofits
have concerns
about the tax, but
he said it needed
to be understood
in the larger context of tax reform
and the eventual elimination of
the state income tax.
E.C. Toppin, president of the
Chowan County Regional Fair As
sociation, mailed a letter to Stein
burg last week expressing frustra
tion about the tax - and especially
about the failure of the legislation
to exempt nonprofits.
Representatives of American
Legion Post 40, which benefits
from the regional fair, planned to
meet this week with Steinburg. A
K number of other nonprofits also
were invited to the meeting.
Toppin’s letter estimated that
based on this year’s fair revenues,
the tax would have cost the fair at
least $4,374.
The letter also indicated that
a bill would be introduced in the
upcoming legislative session to
exempt nonprofit-operated ag
1 ricultural fairs from the amuse
ment tax.
Tbppin’s frustration is at times
evident in the letter.
“Maybe it’s time the ‘original’
i Edenton Tea Party reactivates,”
Tbppin said in the letter.
Steinburg defended the tax,
See NONPROFITS, 4A
STEINBURG
Smith elected chairman of board of commissioners
■ Alex Kehayes is
board’s vice chairman
BY REGGIE PONDER
Editor
The Chowan County
Board of Commissioners
elected Jeff Smith as the
board’s chairman during the
annual organizational meet
ing Monday night
The board also elected
Commissioner Alex Ke
hayes as vide chairman.
The election of the chair
man and vice chairman folr
02009 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
BY REGGIE PONDER
Editor
Local merchants ex
pressed excitement over
strong sales on Black Fri
day and Small Business
Saturday.
“It went really good,”
Karla Eure, manager of
Soundfeet Shoes in down
town Edenton, said of the
store’s Black Friday sale.
“It was calm-busy. That’s
the perfect way to de
scribe it It wasn’t chaos.
Everyone was happy.”
Eure said the store’s
Black Friday sales volume
was better than last year’s.
She said Small Business
Saturday also went well,
with lots of shoppers ask
ing for receipts to cany
to the Chamber of Com
merce office.
The Edentpn-Chowan
Chamber of Commerce is
sponsoring a Shop Small/
Shop Local/Shop Chowan
promotion that offers
shoppers who submit
$100 in receipts for quali
fying purchases from local
businesses an opportunity
to be entered into a draw
ing to win Downtown Dol
lars and Chamber gift cer
tificates. Most purchases
qualify for the contest,
with gasoline, pharmaceu
ticals and groceries being
excluded.
The Shop Small/Shop
Local/Shop Chowan pro
motion continues through
Saturday. The drawing will
be held Dec. 9.
Eure said Shop Small/
Shop Local/Shop Chowan
has been a good promo
tion.
Two downtown busi
nesses got a jump on
Black Friday by opening
Thanksgiving Day. Peebles
opened at 4 p.m. and Sears
lowed the administration of
the oath of office to newly
re-elected Commissioners
Smith, John Mitchener and
Ellis Lawrence.
Both Smith and Kehayes
were elected unanimously
to their leadership positions
on the board.
Smith, 57, is starting his
second term on the board.
He represents the 1st Dis
trict in the northern part of
the county.
Smith, a Democrat, was
re-elected Nov. 4. He faced a
challenge from Republican
Ron Cummings.
Commissioner Keith
Nixon, who has served
as chairman the past two
years, nominated Smith for
See SMITH, 4A
STAFF PHOTO BY REBECCA BUNCH
Peebles Manager Jadelle Wagner opens the door and welcomes the first in a long line of shoppers who
showed up Thanksgiving afternoon to get some Christmas shopping done.
AiSi
at 6 p.m.
The first wave of the big
retail push began at Pee
bles, which opened at 4
pm on Thanksgiving Day
and remained open until 1
am Friday before reopen
ingatG am. Friday.
“It was crazy *tQ about
7:30, then it was just
steady,” said Jadell Wag
ner, manager of Peebles.
Traffic remained steady
all the way to 1 am., Wag
- . i. : - V ; :■/.
""M
ner said.
Peebles had eight 32
inch televisions available
at $100 and 20 seven-inch
tablets at $50.
The Thursday opening
probably took a bit of the
t>IAhh rnUIU bT Ktlalalt rUI'lUfc.K
Terri Britton of W.E.
Nixon Hardware waits
on customers during the
Black Friday sale.
edge off the Black Friday
early morning opening,
she said. But it didn’t take
long for the Black Friday
throngs to make it to the
store.
Thursday’s sales volume
was about the same as last .
year’s, Wagner said.
“Black Friday was bet
ter, though,” Wagner said.
“We had a bigger Black
Friday than last year.”
Wagner also thanked
the Edenton Police De
partment for its help with
downtown security during
the big sales days.
. See SHOPPING, 4A '
STAFF PHOTO BY
REGGIE PONOER
Chowan
Board of
Commissioners
Chairman
Jeff Smith *
(left) asks for
nominations for
vice chairman
shortly after
being elected
chairman
Monday
during the X, '
board's annual
organizational
meeting. At right ’ j
is Commissioner
Greg Bonner.
• • if i
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