Thursday, November 29, 2007
, Staff Writer
PITTSBORO – The Pittsboro Town Board unanimously approved a new moratorium on subdivisions and nonresidential development Monday night.
The two-year moratorium, which applies to the town and its planning area outside town limits, replaces a similar moratorium that expired last week.
The fast-growing county seat of about 2,500 people has been forced to curb development because of a lack of water-treatment capacity.
Town Manager Bill Terry hopes a new water treatment plant will be open or under construction by the end of this moratorium. The site of the $34 million future plant has not been determined.
Several local developers have expressed interest in helping upgrade the current plant. At Monday’s meeting developers Ricky Spoon and Patrick Steele said they would help fund a plant update.
“We need to really quit dilly-dallying about this,” Spoon said.
Town Planning Director David Monroe said the town is taking developers’ offers seriously.
In other news:
* Mandatory prohibitions on residential outdoor home and lawn water uses take effect Nov. 1. While Pittsboro has a relatively steady water supply behind a dam on the Haw River, the town is concerned about drought in the region, Terry said. To read the list of restrictions go to www.pittsboronc.org/boc/index.asp.
* The board approved Al’s Diner owner Shannon Plummer’s request to expand the West Street restaurant into a neighboring property. Several neighbors said the rezoning could lower property values.