Petition to the Pender County Board of Commissioners

We, the undersigned, object to the zoning change requested for Pender County parcels numbered 3294-60-654 and 4203-09-0309 from Planned Development (PD) to Rural Agriculture (RA) for purposes of allowing a sand and soil mine.

Mining does not preserve the overall quality of life for Pender County residents, protect the character of established residential neighborhoods, maintain orderly and compatible land-use and development patterns, minimize congestion in the streets, or encourage environmentally responsible development practices, all of which are required under the Pender County Unified Development Ordinance.

The proposed use of the property as a mine would negatively impact the learning of all students at Topsail High School, Topsail Middle School and Topsail Elementary School, and South Topsail Elementary School who need and deserve an education free of unnecessary air and noise pollution.

Trucks traveling in and out of the site onto Route 17 and then St. John's Church and Jenkins Roads, to haul sand and soil will worsen already critical traffic congestion in Hampstead.

The change of zoning and proposed use as a mine are inconsistent with the current residential use and character of surrounding properties and will decrease all nearby residential property values.

We, the undersigned implore you to deny the requested zoning change.