The Virginian-Pilot
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KILL DEVIL HILLS
Before a packed room of Kill Devil Hills residents - many wearing anti-Lowe's stickers - town commissioners voted late Monday to approve a controversial development plan for the home-improvement retail giant.
The unanimous vote followed hours of heated exchange between officials and residents, and it came on the condition that Lowe's substitute its original exterior design for a more aesthetically pleasing one once the town amends its zoning code allowing the company to do so.
Tensions over the project reached a boiling point at the meeting when several commissioners expressed hurt at having been accused of acting unethically in the process.
"It's been difficult for me to absorb a lot of the vitriol that's been directed at us," Mayor Ray Sturza said.
Lowe's plans to build a 160,000-square-foot store with 409 parking spaces on 12.8 acres of land along the U.S. 158 bypass, just north of the Wright Brothers National Memorial. The land is zoned for commercial use, and the Kill Devil Hills Planning Board recommended approval in August.
On the Outer Banks, permanent residents and visitors often cringe at development, seeing it as a threat to the area's unique landscape. North Carolina's barrier islands, dependent on tourism, continue to develop nonetheless.
Residents of nearby neighborhoods - in particular, Porthole Court to the south and Canal Drive to the west - have expressed frustration at the future store's proximity to their homes. Several dozen people have objected publicly to the plan, citing the potential for excessive noise, traffic, lighting and stormwater runoff.
Some also have speculated that Lowe's would have a devastating impact on local businesses. Others have lamented the loss of more natural landscape.
For its part, Lowe's has been responsive to many of those concerns. The company's engineers have tweaked the site plan to include an enhanced noise-barrier system and shorter light poles.
Erin James, (252) 441-1711, erin.james@pilotonline.com
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Have a little common sense
If the concerned citizens of the Outer Banks would worry half as much about the people selling crack on the street corner as they did the fact that Lowe's is going to have light poles that are to high. We would possibly be a better place.
actually
Lowe's has made some pretty poor decisons in recent years and is being watched for more. They have not changed their model to match the times, they are having to close stores and even walk away from new projects. I would not put too much faith in their management. Their stockholders don't.
Lowe's could have made great gains by taking over the existing retail site of the old Seamark and building a smaller store focused on garden and appliances etc the things rental cottages need rather than storing lumber in hopes of a boom return. They'd save enormously on startup, be situated out of the traffic cluster and have almost a monopoly draw from Hatteras, Ocracoke, Roanoke islands and the mainland while still being more convenient for KDH and NH residents than is the Home Depot. Maybe the taxes could be devoted to Nags Head beach nourishment Hey Mayor Bob! :)
The Cheese Is Almost Ready
I have taken time this morning to do up a beautiful plate of assorted cheese to go along with this enormous amount of wine, oops I mean WHINE you people have. There are far more important thing going on that need your attention than one store/ store front. Maybe like the mid term and the bozo running the country. Enjoy the cheese it is on me.
IGNORING THE VOTERS FOR LOWES
It seems to be that only about 50 people who live on the streets behind where it is going to be built are the ones opposed to it. They have been lucky all this time to have that empty land nearby. Every body else has a strip mall, gas station or whatever on the bypass road by them. Most of us would like to have a Lowes nearby. We got everything else we don't need. I think the council chose what is best for the town. Year round jobs and a big taxpayer. If they didnt get it Kitty Hawk or Nags Head would.
NIMBY
Wonder how locals felt when these subdivisions near Lowes were built and "ruined" the pristine landscape these naysayers now call home? I am sure they won't shop there either.
Would you rather have...
...a Home Depot?
Keeping up with the times
I believe it is called progress.
WHAT?
Lowe's = Progress ?!?!?!
KDH Lowes project
If the MAJORITY of the local taxpayers are against the project and the governing body goes against their whishes then it is the taxpayers obligation to remove the governing body that no longer represents them.
But they won't......
Blame Ourselves
When has the Town of Kill Devil Hills ever cared about maintaining the "Outer Banks Look"? If Lowes builds with any kind of look other than what clogs the roadside now, it will be an improvement. And, as to Lowes wanting to building here, it's like the heated ORV issue, Wings, Hooters and the door-to-door McMansions, we have no one to blame but ourselves.
If Sturza should be tarred and feathered for anything, it might be all those years he spent as a planning director in the mist of the OBX building boom.