Candidates offer their views on growth

This week the two candidates for mayor and the five for town commissioner were asked to respond to this question:

Everybody seems to talk about the growth in Wake Forest and the traffic, and of course the two are related.

* What are your views about the growth in Wake Forest in light of the subdivisions under construction, those approved but not yet being constructed, and the others waiting in the wings? We keep hearing about people or groups opposed to developing a property like the current group which does not want the old country club developed. How do you square that with the right of property owners to sell and develop?

* What are your views about the traffic in Wake Forest and what would you do to improve the current situation?

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The two candidates for mayor responded:

Mayor Vivian Jones:

We have certainly experienced a lot of growth over the past 25 years. This has been a good thing. We now have more opportunities to live our lives right here in Wake Forest with jobs, shopping, restaurants, events, etc. Communities do not stay stagnant. I appreciate that we continue to grow. We have approved developments that will be coming on line over the next 10-25 years. As we go forward, I am sure there will be additional developments presented and approved. We are fortunate that we live in a growing area. Our town is a wonderful place to live—most of the people who live here now moved here in the past 10-15 years. Let’s ask all of those people if they wish we had not allowed them to come to Wake Forest!

Our population is approximately 3.3 people per acre. That is not high density in any book I have read. We are maintaining open space through our parks and greenways and we require open space in developments. Our tree canopy is at 46% and we will maintain that canopy by keeping trees when we can and replanting trees when we can. People who own property have a right to do what they want to with their property. We have zoning and land-use regulations to keep intrusions into your property as unobtrusive as possible but I respect each person’s right to use their property in the manner in which they want.

Traffic is an issue twice a day. For the life-long residents, it is a lot different than it used to be. For the new residents, it is probably not as bad as where you came from. Most of our main roads are NCDOT roads and we all know that funding has been a problem for them over the past few years. The Town is trying to help by making our streets flow better and connect better. One-half cent of our sales tax is set aside for streets and we will be putting forth a bond issue next year to make some needed improvements. I am personally working very hard with CAMPO to get main roads addressed. I am pushing for better intersections and connections that make a big impact with the smaller amount of money we have. I am also pleased that we now have more bus service in town. I know this is a tremendous help to many people. The Wake Transit Plan will continue to expand different types of service in Wake Forest and throughout the county. I am working with NCDOT on their plans to purchase the S-Line (rail corridor) and expect that we will be able to have a commuter rail from Wake Forest to Raleigh with connections to Charlotte and beyond within a few years. There are many aspects of the traffic issue that need to be addressed and I am working at CAMPO and GoTriangle to make sure Wake Forest gets its share of money and attention.

With growth comes traffic; I will continue to work to make it work as well as possible.

Commissioner Bridget Wall-Lennon responded:

The current and projected growth in Wake Forest is a great sign of our Town’s healthy economy. I believe we must balance growth and the quality way of life that we, and people who desire to move here, want to see. I look at each proposed subdivision on a case-by-case basis. I consider the projects individually, how they fit in with the surrounding communities, and how it fits within the Town, as a whole. I try my best to keep an open mind for all parties, the Town, the residents in close proximity to the proposed subdivision, the developers, and the property owners wishing to sell their land. I have come to realize that our Land Use Plans may have called for a section of Town or a piece of property to be zoned one way, and 5, 10, 20 years later, we realize it might be better served with a different type of zoning. I have also realized that property owners desire to sell their property, many of whom are heirs to the property. I am mindful that someone had to sell land to a developer who developed the subdivisions where many of us currently live. With that in mind, I take the position that each subdivision requires an in-depth look to really understand its impact on all of us.

As a Commissioner, I have brought about positive and impactful citizen-focused change. A policy that I am responsible for was brought before the Board of Commissioners that we consider changing our ordinance for “Notification Requirement for Rezoning.” As a result, we increased the notification of property owners from 100 ft of a proposed rezoning to 500 ft. I also worked with staff to increase the size of our public hearing notice signs placed on the proposed property for rezoning and to include the date of the public hearing on the sign. Property owners now receive notice of the public hearing in a large yellow envelop in hopes that we catch their attention of a notice of the public hearing. Our planning department does an outstanding job of evaluating and approving subdivision plans under our current Unified Development Ordinance, Community Plan, and Comprehensive Transportation Plan.

As far as the golf course development, it has not been brought before the Board of Commissioners. But staff has advised us that the project will be a quasi-judicial rezoning, which means it is an evidentiary case. As such, we are not allowed to discuss the development outside of it being presented to us at the board meeting.

We need road expansion, better-maintained roads, and new traffic patterns to meet our current and future transportation requirements. I will continue to support and identify ways to proactively address our transportation needs, like having a robust Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) that provides for new roads, road maintenance, and traffic signals. What concerns me about rapid growth is that infrastructure does not seem to keep with development. While developers may put in roads per NCDOT standards, major corridors that may need widening to accommodate more cars do not happen right way. This temporary inconvenience, which often does not seem temporary because it may be 18 to 24 months before road work happens – just exacerbates residents. Educating and keeping everyone informed about the projects and schedules would be a way to help ease the transitions.

The Board of Commissioners has already identified an improvement to address our transportation concerns. We voted to approve a .015¢ dedicated tax for transportation needs. And as Mayor, I could continue to support this dedicated tax for transportation needs we identified in our Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP) and Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) to address the congestion issues. We anticipate this dedicated tax to generate $996,000, which we will use to put in stoplights, road widening, and road maintenance.

We have been gifted with a town and communities that we are responsible for maintaining and making better. We have a legacy to honor and a responsibility to our children and generations to come. We have to do all we can to preserve our heritage, environment, and community.

I will serve as your Mayor in a Concerned, Committed, and Community-focused manner. Please join me on November 2nd and Vote Bridget Wall-Lennon for Mayor of Wake Forest. You may visit my website for more information at www.BridgetForWakeForest.com/

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The five candidates for the town board responded:

Commissioner Liz Simpers:

You will hear all of us talk about “thoughtful growth.” I have to tell you that I have seen our town staff truly step up in the past four years to update our community plan and develop a land use plan to account for the pace of our growth. But with growth comes growing pains! Our neighbors in Heritage feel that more than anyone right now. Whenever possible, we have worked with developers to have them invest in connecting roads like Ligon Mill and Franklin Street, ease traffic headaches, and improve infrastructure to save Wake Forest taxpayers money. The Wegmans and Grove 98 project is a great example of those key partnerships.

The growth of our town has been exciting, but also something to be managed. In the past four years, we as a board have pushed developers to create the right projects with the good of the town in mind. We have denied cases that did not benefit neighboring communities. Many of our re-zoning cases have been amended and improved over months and even years of compromise. We need the right businesses, the right developments, and the right protected open space to keep our residents happy.

In the next four years, it is my goal to create more jobs in town, and more opportunities for families to live, work, and play in Wake Forest. Local jobs mean less commuters and less commuters means less traffic! Imagine a world where traveling Rogers Road or Capital Boulevard doesn’t give us all road rage!

Nick Sliwinski:

Our town needs to control its growth.  According to an article printed in the Wake Forest Gazette from August, we have 19 new developments that have been approved as of publication.  Not all of these are currently under construction, but with an average household of 2.83 people, this will add roughly 12,000 residents to Wake Forest.  This number would bring our population to over 60,000 when they are all completed.  There are several more developments that have been approved or are in the process of review beyond these developments.  I am not opposed to growth, but uncontrolled growth can be a detriment to our community.
It is good to see that our citizens are getting involved in the process of looking at population growth.  What every community needs is for its citizens to be engaged, and our elected officials listening to the concerns of those citizens.  Wake Forest has done an amazing job at making our town a desirable place to live, but we need to protect the resources that make this town such a great place to live.  Residents have spoken and they say that one of the greatest strengths of Wake Forest is its open spaces, and we should listen to that input.

I do agree with property owner’s rights.  A landowner has the right to buy and sell property. The developer must work within the local ordinances along with applicable county and state laws.  Regarding development, that is where zoning and the Board of Commissioners have a say.  There is a process to apply for rezoning of a property, but that application process goes through several steps to ensure it is in line with our Community Plan and Unified Development Ordinance.  Zoning follows the land, not the landowner; so while I do agree that a property can be developed, I do not see rezoning as an absolute right.  To the specific project mentioned, this land is zoned as a Planned Unit Development and designated as a golf course/open space.  This means that the owner can do with that land what he wants if it conforms to the zoning and designation currently in place.

Traffic has become a major concern in Wake Forest; it is an inevitable outcome of a growing population.  I will work with state and local officials to create dialogues with NCDOT.

If elected Commissioner, I would be a voice for the citizens.  I want to get input from our community on the growth of our town.  Not everyone will be happy with every decision, but I would approach every project with a focus on conformity to our Community Plan and Unified Development Ordinance.  These are our guiding documents for growth and zoning, they should be followed and at the forefront of every decision being made for our community.

I do not want to stop growth in Wake Forest; however, growth needs to be approached with logical forethought of the impact on our community now and for years to come.  I look forward to having the opportunity to work with the Wake Forest Planning Department.  From everything I have experienced, they are an amazing team of dedicated workers trying to make good decisions for our community.  As a part of that process, I would do my very best to work towards the same goal of allowing our town to thrive without sacrificing the characteristics that make Wake Forest a place I am proud to call home.

Patrick Griffin:

Growth is good!  Growth is something we should cherish and embrace but do it smart and efficient.  The amount of neighborhoods that have been given approval and the infrastructure to support them have not been handled with proper balance.  The roads need to be widened in certain areas, traffic patterns need to be improved, and moving forward we need to plan accordingly and think 2-3 moves ahead versus the cart before the horse approach.  I am by no means a city/urban planner but I can tell you the Forestville/Heritage lake and Rogers rd intersection is an absolute nightmare.  It resembles a third world country during peak usage.  A barrier or median needs to be installed to prevent drivers from crossing the double yellow lines, eliminating congestion/back up, and in turn improve good traffic flow either that or a no left turn policy south of that intersection needs to be implemented.  When the town and NC DOT improved the bridges they missed a golden opportunity to hit the reset button and evaluate the town’s growth at that point in time possibly creating a new traffic flow around heritage high school and also widening the lanes at Forestville/Heritage lake and Rogers Rd.

Property owners should have the right to sell the land they have rightful ownership of and to who the feel would be the best buyer and steward of the land moving forward.  It’s the town’s responsibility to look after the footprint and make sure the development of that land makes the most sense.  As I mentioned in my first response to the questionnaire we need to be thinking in terms of preserving the land we have for commercial space and attracting businesses that will support the large tech companies that are coming to our area.  From that point attract the strong businesses that will in turn attract the top notch business talent making our area one of the strongest and most attractive areas in the country and world!

Michael Molinaro

Michael Molinaro did not respond.

Keith Shackleford:

Stating the obvious, we are growing fast. Our population is exploding.  As the new construction and increased population come, our transportation issues become magnified. To a large extent we depend on the North Carolina Department of Transportation for improving our roads and traffic control. Unfortunately, that means we are on their schedule.  We need to explore options for addressing these issues on a quicker timeline.  Evaluating the pro and cons of some sort of road fee or a transportation bond is worthwhile. The Town needs to increase its roads budget and then make the road improvements itself.  This might address our issues quicker than NCDOT.  As a Town we are in a difficult place with balancing the rights of landowners to sell and develop their property with the effects of that development on our neighbors. This balancing act extends beyond just the issues surrounding the former country club, it also includes the gentrification of the east end community. Regarding the former country club, the country club has been closed and the property vacant since 2007. My experience as a trial lawyer, who believes in finding compromise if possible before spending a lot of money, leads me to consider whether the possibility of a compromise between the neighbors and potential developers exists. Based on the history of the country club since 2007, any decision by the Town Board could end up in court. At that point, one party will not get the desired result. To avoid that, compromise is always best because then the interested parties can have a say in the result. As a commissioner, I will balance the competing interests our residents and business community within the confines of state law and our ordinances as enacted.

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Wake Forest voters will elect a mayor and two commissioners on Nov. 2.

Friday, Oct. 8, at 5 p.m. is the last day to register for new voters in this election. You can register to vote at the Wake County Board of Elections website and also request a vote by mail ballot.

There is no early voting for this election although you can vote by mail.

Go to Wakegov.com, click on Departments and then on Board of Elections for full information about voting by mail and the election.

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