On Tuesday June 6th Jeanette Mendence, Will Webb and Heather Guild attended the Moore County Commissioner Meeting in Carthage. Over 150 people attended, with most there to better understand the freight terminal situation as reported in the May 21st Pilot. During the meeting, the County Planning Director Debra Ensminger clarified that this hearing and the previous hearing on May 16th were NOT to approve the reopening of a freight terminal closed in 2008. Rather, the hearings were to make a text amendment to the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) written in 2016. Before the UDO was written freight terminals were allowed in B-2 zoning districts provided that a special use application for a permit was submitted to and approved by Moore County.
This language was mistakenly omitted from the UDO in 2016. Ms. Ensminger and Commissioner Chairman Nick Picerno both emphasized that if Angus McDonald, the owner of the currently closed freight terminal, wanted to reopen the terminal, he would need to apply for a special-use permit which would be evaluated by 2023 standards for safety and environmental impact.
The fact that the freight terminal was previously permitted for use has NO bearing on its suitability to be reopened in 2023 or beyond since it has been closed for 15 years and not subject to modern day restrictions and codes for operation. While the motion to amend the UDO text was passed, there is currently no permit application submitted. If one is submitted, hearings will be held and the SLLA, along with Seven Lakes West and McLendon Hills HOA presidents are very likely to oppose the application as a united front to reflect the concerns of our respective residents. To this end, the Greater Seven Lakes Council, comprised of the 3 HOA presidents, the Business Guild president and Nick Picerno, our district’s County Commissioner, and Seven Lakes News will continue to monitor this situation.
