March 5. In an open letter to the Cornelius Town Board, former Mayor Jeff Tarte said their vote on proposed business park on Bailey Road “determines who is pro-business as well as if safe roads are important in Cornelius.” Read more about the project here.
Members Cornelius Town Board:
Tarte
In full disclosure I have been helping Greenberg Gibbons Properties and Drew Thigpen try to figure out how to improve their project on Bailey Road. For the longest time I was not sure Drew was listening and taking advice, but in his latest iteration, GGP has demonstrated not only that they are listening, but that they are invested in becoming a long-standing asset to our community.
As elected officials it is our responsibility to promote public safety, serve as a catalyst to create jobs, and approve projects that add minimal congestion or at least provides infrastructure to reduce traffic. We need to ensure presented projects follow the town’s desired land use plan as well as provide the type of structures needed in our community. This needs to be accomplished while making sure the economic benefit is such that town services can meet demand. This is all done in the interest of and for the benefit of the entire community. This is what we do.
Three issues
Three fundamental issues are before us. First, keeping our kids and residents safe. Second, respecting the rights of property owners who follow the laws, land use plans, and seek a reasonable return on their investment. Third honoring our promises to businesses and persons wishing to build businesses and homes in our community based on the land use code we require they follow.
When projects do these three things, they deserve and have earned the right to be approved.
Bailey Road has a serious sightline problem that puts drivers and kids going to school at risk. The Town has a responsibility to fix this problem. GGP has stepped up and committed to work with NCDOT to remediate the Bailey Road sightline problem. More importantly, GGP as a selfless corporate citizen has agreed to pay the cost to make Bailey Road safe for all drivers and our students going to school.
Where do we find ourselves with regards to the Bailey Road project presented by GGP? A major concern for all of us should be projects that add significantly to traffic congestion. Thankfully this project does not. It provides an immediate and practical solution to the sightline problem on Bailey Road. This initiative makes motorists as well as kids going to school on Bailey Road a top priority. The project meets virtually every aspect of our published land use plan. Are there things we would like to tweak? We all recognize there is practical limit to change. What we do not need is more branch banks, gas stations, and apartments without adding more roads and infrastructure. We need buildings that are in demand, that businesses can occupy here.
GGP will invest over $30M to bring this project out of the ground. Economically the project is forecast to generate multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars of annual revenue for Cornelius. We need projects that generate tax revenue to pay for much needed town services.
Elephant in the room
Now to address the elephant in the room. When evaluating a project, elected officials should consider the interests of the entire community, rather than be influenced inordinately by a very small group of individuals with a NIMBY attitude, who influence their neighbors’ opinions without presenting all the facts.
I have many friends who live in Bailey’s Glen. I have even been approached at church by residents of Bailey’s Glen asking me my thoughts on this project. These conversations reveal that residents lack a complete understanding of this project. If folks do their homework, they will learn the adverse traffic impact that different use alternatives create. This project creates minimal traffic impact, while adding an aesthetically pleasing and beautiful multi-lane tree and sidewalk lined boulevard through the entire length of the property, facilitating the future connection of Bailey Road to the Potts Plantation. This is a critical consideration for our future. The revised plan adds significant park amenities and walking trails open to the public.
My decades of experience in the Cornelius and Mecklenburg Park systems demonstrate that park usage for this property will create infinitely more traffic, than the proposed GGP use. The Bailey Glen residents I have spoken with appreciated this information.
Thank you warranted
We should all express our thanks and gratitude to Greenberg Gibbons Properties for their willingness to invest in Cornelius. We should thank Drew Thigpen for his and his partners’ commitment to Cornelius.
As a few town commissioners have noted, they listen to their constituents, and that influences their vote. That is the right thing to do. Doing the right thing for the property owners and the community at large should influence decisions. Facts should influence decisions. The decision on this project is significant to many residents who support business interests, seek assurance that Bailey Road is safe for driving, and want property owners’ rights upheld.
Your vote determines who is pro-business as well as if safe roads are important in Cornelius. Supporting this project will garner the vote of hundreds of residents in November, I assure you. Let’s support businesses and make Bailey Road safe!
I commend this project to you and ask for your vote of support.
Respectfully submitted,
Jeff Tarte
Cornelius resident
Cribb Philbeck, LLC, Partner
Cook Community Clinic, Chair
North Carolina Information Technology Strategy Board, Chair
Former positions held:
LKN Chamber of Commerce, Chair
Cornelius Park Advisory Board, Chair
North District County Park Advisory Board, Chair
Mecklenburg County Park Commission, Commissioner
Mayor, Cornelius
Senator, State of North Carolina
