SOUTHERN PINES — The Southern Pines Town Council met Tuesday, October 11, where they held public hearings for a UDO exemption for the creation of a mural and the annexation of property.
The council held a public hearing for a UDO exemption for the Arts Council of Moore County in order to create a 40’x24’ mural installation at 311 Southeast Broad Street.
“Over time, we have had some mural requests, and so a program was developed by the Moore County Arts Council. And this council has adopted that as being appropriate for vetting these mural proposals that come forward,” said Principal Planner Pam Graham. “We have that program in place now, and this is the first mural to be considered.”
The mural is by artist Nick Napoletano and is funded fully by the property owners, as well as a small grant by the Moore County Arts Council.
“The piece is playing off of the passage of time and the importance of staying in the present moment,” said Arts Council Director Chris Dunn. “While it was inspired by the first stop-motion imagery of a horse in motion by Edward Mybridge in the late 1800s, it’s also a nod to the critical role horses have played in Southern Pines and the surrounding area.”
Following the hearing, the council voted to approve the exemption, and according to Dunn, the Arts Council will hold additional meetings in the future to show what the finished mural will look like before it is created.
The council held a second public hearing, this one for the annexation of 2.32 acres of property at the corner of S. Carlisle Street and Brucewood Road.
“The subject property is the future site of Sandhills Pediatric, which council has looked at a couple of times,” said Town Manager Reagan Parsons. “This simply brings it into town so that they can access utilities and get construction underway.”
Following the hearing, the council approved the annexation.
The council also approved the issuing of a Watershed Protection Permit to Bantembo, LLC, in order to develop 20 single-family attached dwelling units on 1.22 acres of protected watershed land.
Finally, the council approved a request for relief from an ordinance in the Town Code for McNeil Road that would have required the extension of water to new developments along it.
“The extension of the water main to these five lots would be deemed an inefficient extension due to the small number of customers being served and the resulting dead end of the waterline,” Graham said.
The Southern Pines Town Council will next meet November 8.
