Center Hill

Center Hill, NC · Municipal
theassemblync.com
The Daily Advance
Packed meeting precedes vote on 133-lot Briarwood subdivision
It was standing room only at the Perquimans County Planning Board’s regular meeting Oct. 10. The board heard nearly two hours of comments from a full house of residents before approving a zoning map amendment for Briarwood Estates, a proposed 133-lot subdivision on 214 acres off Woodville Road in Hertford. The board includes five members, but member Thelma Finch-Copeland was not present and did not vote. Some residents called on the board to stop the subdivision at the outset, arguing that even a preliminary rezoning recommendation would create a “spiderweb” effect, opening the door to more high-density development, disrupting Perquimans’ rural peace and further straining utilities and school capacity. Others asked the board to table the vote in the name of “responsible growth.” Several endorsed the subdivision on the reputation of its applicant alone. The board ultimately found the proposed subdivision consistent with surrounding land uses and recommended rezoning the property, in the 300 to 400 block of Woodville Road, from Rural Agriculture District (RA) to Residential & Agricultural District (RA-32). RA-32 zoning allows major subdivisions; RA does not. Board members emphasized that their vote is a preliminary step in a long process that rezoning goes through before it appears