Cedar Creek Community Meeting Re: Sanderson Farms

Cedar Creek Community Meeting – Fayetteville, NC

Topic of Discussion: Sanderson Farms – Chicken Processing Plant (rumored to be in negotiations with county officials to locate in the empty Cedar Creek Industrial Plant)
August 7, 2014

 

Speakers in Attendance:

Richard Evans – local landowner and Cedar Creek spokesperson against the proposed farm

Derb Carter – Southern Environmental Law Center – Chapel Hill

Kemp Burdette – Cape Fear River Watch

Michael Mallin – research professor for marine and estuarine ecology at UNC Wilmington

Larry Baldwin – NC Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation – coordinator

 

Others:

Residents/others – roughly 300+

Representative Rick Glazier

NC Senate candidate district 19 Billy Richardson

 

Website:  The group opposing the chicken facility has created a website, which can be found at www.nochickenplant.com.  They also have an email address, which is [email protected]

 

What Was Said:

Richard Evans – “We invited the commissioners, city council, and candidates.  There was a conflict with the Cumberland County commissioners.  Let me give you a little history of how this all started.  A third party representative began to contact landowners expressing an interest to purchase property.  The representative would give no name of the company or would indicate what the use of the land would be.  So obviously that got us very curious and we started asking questions.  It peaked our curiosity, we made some calls and there was some discussion with area landowners.  Additional details emerged and soon we learned there was a chicken processing facility in negotiations with Cumberland County to be located in the Cedar Creek Industrial Park.  Keep in mind at time there is no public knowledge of this, no media coverage.  This did not become public until we organized a small group of landowners to discuss it.  Clearly, these discussions with the county have been going on for what we believe to be a long time.”

 

Mabel Smith (concerned resident and member of Falling Run Baptist Church) – “I am Mabel Smith, lifelong citizen of Cumberland County.  I’m a previous councilperson and when I saw the first article in the paper about the Sanderson chicken slaughterhouse…excuse my expression; I immediately called the chairwoman of Cumberland County Commissioners and expressed my feelings about this.  It falls on the line with Falling Run Baptist Church, so I have multiple interests in this plant that is supposed to be coming.  They talk about jobs but they haven’t said a thing about the people here in the community.  The county commissioners will have to vote on it.  They didn’t have time to come to us…but we can go to them!  They are up for election in November and don’t you forget!  You can also have right in’s!”

 

Evans – “To give you an idea of the reach of Sanderson….they has contacted land owners 4 to 5 miles toward Elizabethtown and contacted land owners from the park 3 to 4 miles towards Fayetteville so this is for spray fields so you could have 7 to 8 miles of pipeline meaning spray fields.  It’s a huge footprint.  They use 1.25 million I think I heard gallons of water a day to run their operations.”

 

Derb Carter – (talking points below)

  • This is the same as proposed outside of Wilson
  • They haven’t bought property yet, it’s not too late
  • They haven’t come forward yet and that’s a good thing
  • 3 red flags – 1) Why didn’t they come and announce it…let’s have a conversation 2) Wilson – they did this in Wilson, they filed lawsuits and beat it 3) Affects the Cape Fear River basin down to Wilmington
  • We can help with getting others involved
  • They are looking for property to spray waste on
  • 1.4 million gallons of wastewater a day
  • Concerns – water quality, groundwater contamination, aquifer depletion, rural homes/quality of life, truck traffic, noise, dust, feathers, odor
  • On the poultry operations – (140-150) tons of poultry litter per chicken house per year

Kemp Burdette – (talking points below)

  •  The Cape Fear River is in the worst shape today due to nutrient input
  • The EPA has been forced to look at it
  • Sanderson Farms will be a death sentence for water quality
  • I urge you to look at this and imagine the future. Huge slaughter house and huge chicken houses
  • It’s early and you can fight it

Larry Baldwin – (talking points below)

  • This company is insidious – contacting people without telling you who they are and not talking above board
  • They are sliding in underneath you and talking to county officials
  • The landscape in NC has already changed due to Sanderson Farms
  • Regardless of where the 500(+/-) new chicken barns are located, the environment of eastern NC will be negatively impacted
  • Most times, we don’t know, and are not allowed to know, where they will be built or what they do with the waste generated

 

Sidebar: It was announced that a committee would be formed to fight the plant. Person(s) are asked to contact Richard Evans.

What is Next?  The group plans to attend public forums for the Cumberland County Commissioners and Fayetteville City Council.

August 18 – Cumberland County Commissioners Public Forum
September 8 – Fayetteville City Council Public Forum

FHA HAWK Program – news release from the National Asssociation of REALTORS®

FHA HAWK Program a Good Start but Needs to Go Further, Say Realtors®

Media Contact: Sara Wiskerchen / 202-383-1013 / Email

WASHINGTON (June 30, 2014) – In a letter sent today to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the National Association of Realtors® offered support for the Federal Housing Administration’s efforts to reduce mortgage insurance premiums for first-time buyers through its Homeowners Armed with Knowledge, or HAWK, housing counseling pilot program but is concerned the program won’t significantly reduce premiums or reach enough qualified buyers.

“As the leading advocate for homeowners, Realtors® are concerned about FHA’s high annual mortgage insurance premiums and the insurance requirement for the life of the loan,” said NAR President Steve Brown, co-owner of Irongate, Inc. Realtors® in Dayton, Ohio. “FHA fees make up nearly 20 percent of a monthly mortgage payment today and are making it more difficult for qualified buyers to purchase a home. Since FHA is on target to meet and exceed its capital reserve requirements in the next fiscal year, we encourage FHA to support premium reductions across the board.”

First-time home buyers who participate in the four-year pilot program will benefit at closing from a 50 basis points reduction in the upfront mortgage insurance premium and a 10 basis points reduction in the annual premium.  If buyers complete post-closing housing counseling and do not have delinquencies greater than 90 days in the first 18 months after closing, they will receive an additional 15 basis points reduction on the annual premium starting the loan’s 25th month.

In its letter, NAR said HAWK fees could be prohibitive to buyers if lenders or counseling agencies aren’t able to pay a portion of fees and encouraged FHA to allow for coordination with other pre-purchase counseling programs, which also typically include fee-based education. It could take buyers two years to offset the cost of counseling with the premium reductions offered under the HAWK program and even longer if buyers have to satisfy other financial programs separately. NAR also urged for future expansion of the program to repeat buyers.

Brown said NAR also has concerns about the amount of time it will take for buyers to access and complete the counseling program. If renters decide not to renew at the end of their lease and contact a real estate agent to begin the home search process, they could be pushed beyond their target move out date if the next available counseling class isn’t for 30 to 60 more days.

NAR plans to work closely with FHA to educate its Realtor® members and consumers about the availability and benefits of the HAWK counseling program and recommends that FHA heavily market the program to lenders, real estate agents and consumers so there is awareness about its ability to make FHA loans more affordable.

The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

Spring Lake Main Street Overlay District – DRAFT

spring_lake_overlay_district_map_and_proposed_changes –  LINK to the document

The Spring Lake Board of Alderman has called a public hearing regarding the Spring Lake Main Street Overlay District.  The purpose of the meeting is to receive comments from the public regarding the proposed district.  The meetings are scheduled as follows.

Monday, June 30
7:00 p.m.
Grady Howard Conference Room
Spring Lake Municipal Building – 300 Ruth Street, Spring Lake, NC

and

Thursday, July 10, 2014
7:00 p.m.
Grady Howard Conference Room
Spring Lake Municipal Building – 300 Ruth Street, Spring Lake, NC

 

 

 

NCAR Legislative Meetings

North Carolina Association of REALTORS
Yearly Legislative Meetings
Raleigh, NC
June 16 – 18

FRAR members in attendance:  James Sherrill, Queen Wheeler, Steve Cohen, Wendy Harris, Chet Oehme, Jimmy Townsend, Cheryl Spears, Pat Spears, Willy Snow, Jay Dowdy, Grisel McGurty, David Evans, Zan Monroe, Jane Cannon, Debbie McFayden, Angie Hedgepeth

What Happened: Members across the state convened in Raleigh for  Association meetings and yearly legislative visits.  During the NCAR Legislative Forum, Governor Pat McCrory spoke with NCAR REALTORS®.  The following are a few of his talking points.

  • Currently their is <1 billion owed to the federal government vs. 2.4 billion in 2012
  • For the first time in 8 years, unemployment is below the national average
  • Main priorities for the administration are the economic and transportation plans
  • The question remains on how to connect the smaller NC towns with major throughfares
  • The past transportation bills were built on politics. Road building should be based on safety, conjestion and economics
  • Historic Tax Credit – “I’m a firm believer in the tax credit…small, rural towns need it”
  • Tax Refrom – “We heard from you, believe me”

Q & A:

Q – Any possibility that the income tax will eventually go away?

A – “In the short term, I don’t see that happening.  I have to make sure I’ve got enough money.  The lowest it could go is 3% percent if it meets certain benchmarks”

Q – What about the Wilmington (Filmington) tax credits?

A – “The tax credit should be based on buildings and long term infrastructure not for something that moves out in weeks.” ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ On Wednesday, the Fayetteville Association of REALTORS® met with the Fayetteville delegation to discuss the 2014 NCAR Legislative Agenda.  Senators Wesley Meredith, Ben Clark and Representatives Marvin Lucas and John Szoka were in attendance.  Absent were Representatives Rick Glazier and Elmer Floyd.

Legislative Agenda in Brief:

Non-Commercial Leaking Underground Storage Tank Fund – proposal in Raleigh is to eliminate the fund.  Eliminating the fund would be catastrophic to the non-commercial real estate market.  Financing and title issues could halt the market in areas where underground storage tanks are prevalent.

Historic and Mill Rehabilitation Tax Credits – proposal in Raleigh is to eliminate the credit.  The credits provide investment and create over 1,000 jobs each year.  They preserve important pieces of NC history, increase property values and promote tourism.

Sidebar: since 1976, Fayetteville has received over 3 million in historic tax credits

Homeowners Insurance Changes – House Bill 519 creates transparency and fairness in the insurance rate-setting process.  It requires the NC Rate Bureau to use (1) More than one projection model when determing risk (2) North Carolina-specific date, and (3) historical data

Real Estate License Exemptions – Senate Bill 734 would expand the exemption for licensure in a way that is dangerous for consumers.  It will allow unlicensend employees of LLCs to sell or rent the property owned by that entity, and further allows employees of management companies to sell or lease without a license.  NCAR opposes this legislation.