Almost there City Council gives the nod to three parts of SouthPass project
Posted on Friday, November 7, 2008
One of the biggest developments Fayetteville has ever seen is now three-fourths of the way through the City Council.
Aldermen voted 6-2 on two occasions Tuesday night when dealing with the SouthPass Development. It first voted to annex 855 acres into the city for the development. Ward 2 Alderman Kyle Cook and Ward 4 Alderman Lioneld Jordan were the lone holdouts
The council also voted to rezone the land as a residential planned zoning district and adopted the associated master development plan, Ward 2 Alderman Nancy Allen and Jordan voted against the measure. The council also approved the development’s master street plan.
“Every single, solitary person that I’ve talked to, or gotten an e-mail talking about (SouthPass), is not in favor of this project, and I speak for them,” Allen said, defending her vote.
Whether the city would go into a cost share for infrastructure construction with developers John Nock and Richard Alexander was tabled by a unanimous vote from the council.
These votes mark the first significant measures taken by the council since it entered into a contract with developers in 2004 to create a public-private partnership that would create a 910-acre mixed use development of commercial and residential buildings as well as a 200-acre regional city park. The SouthPass Development is planned just west of Interstate 540 south of Sixth Street.
Ward 1 Alderman Adella Gray led the charge stating that the city needed the park and it needed to follow through with its side of the contract it signed with SouthPass LLC.
“I don’t know how any of us, as council members, don’t know that we have some obligations,” Gray said. “The developer has jumped through all the hoops. We have an obligation to meet up with our contracts.”
Gray echoed a warning City Attorney Kit Williams gave the council earlier in the meeting. Williams told the council that if it did not pass the annexation or rezoning, the city faced possible litigation that could result in millions of dollars in damages against the city for breaching its contract with SouthPass LLC.
“That could be a multimillion-dollar mistake by our City Council,” Williams said. “Changes of heart by an alderman or political opposition from a citizen are insufficient reason to deny the annexation...”
Williams also reminded the council that whether it liked it or not, the city is liable for the closed landfill located on the SouthPass property and would be responsible for dealing with any cleanup needed to make the land safe.
He said that the infrastructure cost share is completely up to the council and it could deny the cost share if the council did not think it was fair to the taxpayers of Fayetteville.
Ward 3 Alderman Bobby Ferrell said William’s comments on the litigation possibility were the only reason he voted yes to either resolution.
“I’m gonna vote for this, but I really don’t want to. I feel like I’ve been forced into it by the threat of litigation,” Ferrell told the council.
Alexander said that development on the property would not begin until the city could pass the cost share. Nock said he was thrilled with the decisions.
“I’m extremely grateful to the city of Fayetteville for having the vision and going forward with a project that will embrace our heritage and be in harmony with the ideals of our great city,” Nock said in an interview after the meeting.
Connie Edmonston, director for the city’s Parks and Recreation Division, was thrilled that the city is almost on its way to having its first regional park.
“ I wanted to scream (for joy) in (the council chambers), but I decided to hold off,” she said outside the meeting.
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