Town board members rarely do anything except ask a few questions about details during their joint public hearings with the Wake Forest Planning Board, but Tuesday night Commissioners Jim Thompson and Margaret Stinnett along with Mayor Vivian Jones challenged the shape and size of the overlay shopfront zoning district recommended by Planning Director Chip Russell, saying it should be extended on both sides of Brooks Street from Elm Avenue to Wait Avenue.
The current shopfront overlay district runs along both sides of South White Street from Roosevelt Avenue to Elm. The extension requested by the planning department would run along more of South White, Elm and Brooks, stretching to include the Renaissance Plaza. The Renaissance Plan update has identified the traditional downtown on South White and Renaissance Plaza as the major energy centers in the larger downtown Renaissance Area and recommends connecting them by making the area between more walkable. Citizens have mentioned that it seems like a long walk between the two [centers], Russell said, “but its only 400 to 600 feet.” He said it appears to be a long way because there is not anything interesting along the way.
Planning board member Rod Springer asked about pedestrian walkways and better lighting along the streets between South White and Renaissance Plaza, showing he had obviously walked it at night. Russell said there will be streetscape improvements such as those done on South White that will build wider sidewalks and provide pedestrian-level lighting as the plan is implemented.
That was when Thompson began asking about the lack of shopfront requirements along Brooks, and Jones said, “I was kind of surprised it was not included in the shopfront area to begin with. As things change in those areas, I think they should be included.”
Jones later said, “We want all this area to be our downtown,” and Stinnett noted that there are lots of empty lots along Brooks with more expected.
“It sets a precedent as a board,” Thompson said, to have the wider area including Brooks in the shopfront area.
Ed Gary, the planning board’s vice chairman, recommended looking further at those suggestions as a second phase while the planning board vote on what is proposed now. The vote during the later business meeting was unanimous. Three members – Chuck Moseley, Stephen DeRosa and Colleen Sharpe – were absent.
Chairman Bob Hill, who announced last month he will not seek another term on the board, said he will not be at the December meeting and will submit his resignation immediately.
During 30 years in public service in Wake Forest, he said, he had seen four town manager, three town clerks and “six or seven mayors.” He thanked everyone he has served with and said it had been his privilege to serve in different capacities on the town board and planning board.
