HAMLET — City leaders approved a rezoning request last week that will allow an RV park in the city limits.
The request was made by Nathan Grant to rezone a parcel of land on the corner of Gin Mill and Freeman Mill roads from residential agriculture to heavy industrial, according to Assistant City Manager Mackenzie Webb.
Grant said he was approached about putting an RV park on the property.
“All these people coming in from that business out there on Airport Road, they don’t have no place to go,” Grant said, referring to the Amazon Web Services data center campus.
With no current RV park in Hamlet, Grant said they would have to go to other places like Southern Pines, Mount Gilead or South Carolina.
“It’s up to y’all … it doesn’t really matter to me, one way or the other,” Grant said. “But them people’s gonna have to have a place to sleep.”
Mayor Amy Guinn clarified with Grant that the park would be open to anyone, not just those involved with the Amazon project.
The entire parcel is nearly 18 acres, but Grant said he was just setting aside 8 acres for the RV park.
Webb said that there is a property across the street that is already zoned for heavy industrial, which is the only zoning district that allows for an RVs.
Although a public hearing wasn’t listed on the agenda, City Manager John Terziu reminded the council that one is required for rezoning.
Allison Thomas, who lives next to the property in question, was one of two residents to speak in opposition of the measure.
Citing the National Association of Realtors, Thomas said that having an RV park in a residential area would decrease property values up to around 20%.
“You don’t know who’s coming into the community,” Thomas said. “I know it’s quick and simple — they get in, they get out … everybody I’ve talked to in the community, nobody wants the RV park … We have a nice, quiet community, and … there’s no telling what’s going to come in with an RV park.”
Thomas also questioned what kind of restrictions would be in place and how it would affect her pigs and chickens, reiterating, “It’s just not something anybody in our community wants in our neighborhood.”
Although the public hearing had already been closed, the mayor allowed Marquitta Harrington to express her concerns.
“It is a quiet neighborhood, we do have kids … and I don’t feel like that would be a good place for a RV Park in our community,” Harrington said.
There was one other person who spoke in opposition, but it was later determined she had the location mixed up with another property on Freeman Mill Road (nearly Battley Dairy Road) where work is being done.
Terziu took the opportunity to point out that once a property is rezoned, it can be used for anything that falls within the table of uses for that zoning district.
Webb said adjoining property owners received a notice prior to the planning board’s meeting last month and prior to the February council meeting, She said the planning board unanimously recommended rezoning the property.
While the council weighed the proposal, there was some quiet talk between several members, prompting the city manager to ask them to speak out loud.
Councilman Maurice Stuart reminded the residents in the audience (and those watching the video) that the area is growing.
“The city of Hamlet, Richmond County is going to be looking very different in the next one, two to five years,” Stuart said. “I’m a family guy; I’m a local, country, Southern guy, but things are getting ready to change.”
Stuart said he understands the residents’ concerns about wanting to keep their communities quiet and safe for their families.
“I hear you, but I am for…this rezoning.”
(Note: There was some additional back and forth with the audience which is inaudible on the video.)
The council unanimously passed both a consistency statement and the rezoning request.
During the public comment section of the meeting, Thomas returned to the podium to ask about the consistency statement, what all is allowed in that zoning district, and how many letters were sent.
Terziu said he and Webb would be available to schedule a meeting with Thomas to go over that information.
(NOTE: The Rules of Decorum, passed by the city council in January, prohibit speakers from using public comment time to discuss matters of which there was a public hearing during said meeting.)
Prior to that, the council approved hiring Sanford Holshouser Economic Development Consulting as bond counsel for the wastewater treatment plant.
Terziu said the city had started the process in 2021 under former city manager Matthew Christian.
City Attorney T.C. Morphis said Hamlet will be seeking $12 million in financing for the project, which is enough debt that it requires approval from the Local Government Commission.
(NOTE: Morphis mentioned there would be a cost associated with hiring the firm, but that amount was never mentioned aloud during the meeting. The RO has requested a copy of the contract. This story will be updated when that information becomes avialable.)
The Richmond County Board of Commissioners has also used Sanford Holshouser as bond counsel.
After the rezoning vote, Terziu had the council back up to approve a resolution to seek approval from the LGC for the water and sewer bonds.
Earlier in the meeting, the council heard a proposal for a bar and grill at the old VFW building on the north side of Hamlet City Lake. The RO will have more on that in a later story.
Councilman Eddie Martin was not present at the meeting.
