The Cumberland County Commissioners approved a rezoning from A1 agricultural district to A1/CZ agricultural conditional zoning. The property is 62.55 acres and is located south of Carlos Road and east of Rebel Road. Red Rock Materials is the owner.
The property will be used for a sand mine/pit. Mr. Brian Raynor spoke on behalf of the owner of Red Rock Materials during the Cumberland County Joint Planning Board. Mr. Raynor said the mine will be used for material purposed only and not topsoil. Mr. Raynor stated that residents were concered of the draining of the lake on the land. Raynor stated that he does not believe it will be detrimental to the water quality or their well systems.
There were citizens in opposition based on the fact that the mine will be built next to their neighborhood. Other concerns included water quality, road maintenance and increased noise in the area.
Some Background: This case was previously held on September 20, 2022. At the meeting the joint planning board denied the request based on a finding that the rezoning was not in harmony with the surrounding land due to public safety concerns. Based on this decision, the applicant chose to prepare additional information in the form of a groundwater impact study and to conduct additional meetings with the nearby residents.
Surrounding land use: north – wooded land, farmland & quarry operations east – wooded land, farmland & single-family homes west – wooded land & single-family homes south – wooded land & farmland
Christopher Cauley, Director of Economic and Community Development for the city gave an update on Affordable/Attainable housing projects within the city. Below are some of the highlights of his presentation.
June 6, 2022 – new policies and procedures which allows for more development partners and smaller scale rental developments.
August 7, 2023 – project proposals
Development Process – requires work by the developer on the front end to include property acquisition, market analysis, site layout and architectural drawings
The following are proposed projects:
Step Up – Nonprofit proposing to convert motel (Night Inn Motel – Eastern Blvd.) into supportive housing for homeless. The building will provide 137 single room units aimed at homelessness.
Fayetteville Gardens – Private developer proposing to rehab 100 units that are currently 40 years old. The property is located at 2915 Gordons Way (off Raeford Road).
Hillside Manor – Is a privately owned affordable housing development in need of substantial repairs.
S. Cool Spring St. – Innovative Builds, Inc. is a private developer producing 8 rental units by renovating an existing property.
The city continues to grow as two new developments of townhomes and a large industrial park were approved by the Sanford City Council Tuesday.
After months of discussions and public hearings and unanimous approval from the Planning Board, council voted to approve a statement on the long-range consistency and the zoning map to rezone 10 tracts of land consisting of 879.17 acres for the Helix Innovation Park at the Brickyard.
Helix Ventures, LLC has proposed turning the area into what will be known as Helix Innovation Park at the Brickyard. The park will consist of 879 acres of what Helix officials call “prime developable land.” Annexation into the city helped provide access to water and sewer utilities for the park, which will be touted as shovel-ready site purpose built for manufacturing, life sciences and economic development.
The North Carolina General Assembly has passed bipartisan legislation to stop the NC Building Code Council from adopting outrageous energy code requirements that would add approximately $20,400 to the cost of the average new home in North Carolina.
Moreover, we estimate that the cost of these code requirements would price more than 102,500 North Carolina families out of a new home.
We need YOU to send an email to Governor Roy Cooper urging him to protect housing affordability by signing House Bill 488, “Code Council Reorg. and Var. Code Amend.” or otherwise allow it to become law.
Copy and paste the following with your name and address in the signature line and email it to: Jessica.Englert@nc.gov
Governor Cooper,
I urge you to sign House Bill 488, “Code Council Reorg. and Var. Code Amend.” or otherwise let it become law. This important legislation helps protect housing affordability in North Carolina by preventing an additional $20,400 in construction costs. Enactment of this legislation would make sure that more than 102,500 North Carolina families are not priced out of purchasing a new home.
Beginning May 1, some Americans will see higher fees on their mortgages while others will see fees reduced or eliminated. These changes to the so-called loan-level price adjustments—or LLPAs—have caused consternation in the industry. And in the week leading up to their effective date, National Association of REALTORS® advocacy staff have been busy both clearing up misunderstandings and reassuring REALTORS® that their concerns are being heard.
LLPAs aren’t new. These borrower-specific fees were instituted in 2008, on top of the base guarantee fee that borrowers pay. Over the years, there have been multiple changes to LLPAs, and the National Association of REALTORS® has regularly lobbied against adverse impacts on borrowers, including on these latest changes. According to an analysis by Experian, the latest LLPA changes will result in higher fees for consumers doing cash-out refinances and those with high-balance adjustable-rate mortgage. Mortgage News Daily reports that most borrowers who put down between 5% and 25% and have credit scores greater than 680 will also see a fee increase but will still pay less overall than lower credit borrowers. (In the article(link is external), author Matthew Graham provides a handy chart that shows how LLPAs are applied based on FICO score and LTV.) In addition, 2022 changes that reduced or eliminated fees for first-time homebuyers and those with low or moderate incomes will become permanent. And many borrowers with lower credit scores but strong down payments will see reduced fees.
Critics have said the changes amount to a penalty for those who have maintained high credit scores. However, at a housing policy forum hosted by NAR in April, FHFA Director Sandra Thompson indicated that “there was no uniform targeting of a borrower with a higher LTV for a lower.” While supporting some of the changes, NAR has consistently said that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have the wherewithal to lower fees for lower-wealth borrowers without increasing fees for those with greater wealth. Furthermore, supporting both groups dovetails with their congressional charter obligations and their function as market utilities.
However, some of the criticism of the new LLPAs has mischaracterized the changes, according to NAR. For example, one commentary said the changes amounted to “leveraging high-risk loans to people without the ability to pay them” and compared the changes to policies that led to the 2008 financial crisis. “That’s not accurate,” says Ken Fears, NAR director of conventional housing finance and valuation policy. “Every loan financed by the GSEs must comply with the Ability to Repay Rule, put into effect after the financial crisis, which requires that borrowers be able to afford the payments for the first five years based on their income,” he says. Furthermore, while some fees will change, the fees paid by lower-credit borrowers will still remain higher than those of borrowers with stronger credit.
When FHFA announced the changes in January, NAR released a statement saying it supported adjustments that reduced costs for some borrowers but had concerns about increases for other borrowers. “In the wake of a three-percentage point increase in mortgage rates, now is not the time to raise fees on homebuyers,” NAR President Kenny Parcell said in the statement.
NAR Chief Advocacy Officer Shannon McGahn says the association will continue to make its voice heard on the issue of mortgage fees. REALTORS® will be meeting with Washington legislators and policymakers during the May 9 REALTORS® National Block Party(link is external) at Nationals Park. The block party, part of the REALTORS® Legislative Meetings, will also be the national stop of NAR’s Riding with the Brand tour.
A new development with 54 single family lots will soon see construction in north west Harnett County. Construction on the first home as West Preserve will begin this Spring. The neighborhood is located five miles south of Sanford and 16 miles north of Spring Lake and will have easy access to NC 87.
Weaver Homes will be spearheading the project. The West Preserve neighborhood, situated on McDougald Road, in miles east of NC 87, the major North-South corridor between Sanford and Fayetteville/Fort Bragg.
“Drive times are reasonable” Frank Weaver said. “So you can work in Fayetteville or Raleigh, but live away from the city pressure.”
Lot sizes in the neighborhood will range from half-acre lots up to 1.5 acres. The development also has high-speed fiber optic internet service. Marketing for West Preserve is handled by Tony Weaver with Property Pros Group and Coldwell Banker Advantage.
Harnett Regional Jetport broke ground on a new 5.1 million terminal.
“Today is a great day for aviation in Harnett County,” said County Commissioner Lew Weatherspoon, who opened the program in a hangar at the airport.
Demolition of the existing terminal, which opened in 1981, is expected to begin at the end of this month. The new building is scheduled to be complete by March of 2024.
Sen. Jim Burgin cited the airport’s expansion as the “first part of the long-term plan to make Harnett County a place people want to be.”
He said 64% of Harnett County’s workforce now leaves the county to reach their jobs. Airport improvements, he said, can help attract new employers to address that problem.
The new building, at over 7,300 square-feet, will also house Harnett County Economic Development, which works with new and existing employers to bring jobs to the county.
