By Natalie Anderson
natalie.anderson@salisburypost.com

LANDIS — Town aldermen Monday unanimously denied a request to rezone a nearly 126-acre property near Cannon Farm Road in anticipation of a future home development in the Irish Creek area.

The request came from Atlantic American Properties, which owns the property adjacent to the existing Irish Creek subdivision. The request was to rezone the property, measuring 25.55 acres, from single family residential to mixed-use district one, which allows highway commercial, urban work, detached and attached homes and multi-family units.

Over the summer, Landis worked with Kannapolis to modify the town’s extraterritorial jurisdictional boundaries in preparation for a different subdivision project that proposed nearly 1,000 homes to the Irish Buffalo Creek area. The process was sparked by a request from Lennar Homes to develop land in the Club at Irish Creek area for a residential subdivision, which impacts both the city of Kannapolis and the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Landis.

Suzanne Boyd, a resident of Cannon Farm Road, said she was concerned with the high traffic in that area. Boyd added that she spoke with potential developers months ago about their plans, and added that it appeared her home would be located between both entrance points of the new subdivision. Boyd said she was further concerned the zoning designation would increase the traffic in that area.

Mayor Meredith Smith told attendees Monday developers have not yet come forward with a proposal or site plan, and Monday’s public hearing focused only on the rezoning request.

“We do not know what they would give us in the future,” Smith said.

The Planning Board last month approved the request, which was provided as a recommendation to board members.

All four aldermen voted against the measure, with Mayor Pro Tem Ashley Stewart stating his vote was due to the concerns voiced at the meeting. While a few others signed up for the public hearing, the only other speaker asked clarifying questions about the zoning designation.

In other agenda items:

• Board members welcomed the town’s new finance director, Chase Norwood.

Norwood previously worked as a budget analyst in Rocky Mount for several years before beginning with the town on Nov. 1. He received a political science degree from North Carolina Central University and a master’s degree in public administration from North Carolina State University.

Town Manager Diane Seaford said during the meeting Norwood is getting along well and told her he was comfortable working with all women in the town hall because “he was raised and influenced by strong females.”

• Town aldermen authorized Seaford to advertise for upset bids for the purchase of a .53-acre vacant wooded lot on the corner of Old Beatty Ford Road and Dial Street, formerly owned by the D. C. Linn family. The lot is zoned single family residential, and Michael Chad White has made an offer of $22,000. The property is valued at $34,425, but does not have a sewer connection. If no upset bids are received within a 10-day period, White can purchase the property, which he plans to provide to his in-laws.

• Seaford shared with board members a list of town property that’s been sold on govdeals.com over the last month. Those items range from laptops, filing cabinets, furniture, desks and a 2008 Chrysler SUV. Seaford said the town is looking at outdated and unusable equipment in all departments. So far, the town has received around $7,500 for the items sold.

• The town voted to no longer authorize residents the ability to rent a town truck for $200, and eliminated that fee from the budget’s fee schedule. Seaford said she’s not sure when or why such a policy was implemented, but that it shouldn’t have been allowed from a liability standpoint alone. Additionally, she’s only received one request to rent a truck over the last two years.

• The Landis Fire Department reports responding to 66 calls for service in October, with police responding to 634 calls, which includes self-initiated activities from officers. The Police Department participated in the DEA National Drug Take-Back event on Oct. 23 and collected more than 7 pounds of medication. Additionally, the department reports moving forward with filling current and upcoming vacancies, with hopes to have those positions filled by the end of the year.

Contact reporter Natalie Anderson at 704-797-4246.