Village OK’s Parking Ban
For U.S. Open

BY SARA LINDAU: Staff Writer, The Pilot

The Pinehurst Village Council Tuesday took a step toward preparing for the 45,000 visitors a day expected for the U.S. Open next month by adopting a temporary parking ban on 24 streets.

In a related matter, the council enacted a permanent ordinance prohibiting anyone from operating a paid vehicle parking or storage concession in the village, unless the business was already operating or unless the council grants special permission.

Also Tuesday, the village held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new $2.6 million fire station, with all five former fire chiefs attending as special guests.

U.S. Open ticket holders are receiving notification of the parking regulations in the envelope with their tickets, said Village Manager Andy Wilkison. Information on the parking ban will also be widely disseminated in the village newsletter that goes to all residents and will be posted on the village Web site, he said.

This year’s ban on parking on the residential streets in the core village near the No. 2 and 4 courses is similar to one adopted six years ago when the Open championship was played in Pinehurst for the first time. Ropes and signs will be put up, and police will be ready to enforce it, according to Wilkison.

General parking for Open spectators will be two satellite lots outside the village. Shuttle buses will transport spectators to and from the lots to the main entrance across from the Pinehurst Harness Track. The same system was used in 1999 and worked flawlessly.

The few specific areas where public parking is allowed will be clearly designated with signs and pavement markings.

Parking will be off limits from June 12 through 20 on Cherokee, Palmetto, Everett, Laurel, Magnolia, Chinquapin, Com-munity, Kelly, Fields, Dundee, Orange, Ritter, Village Green East and West, Short Road east of Page Road, Campbell, Dalrym-ple, Monticello from N.C. 5 to Blake Boulevard, Woods, McIntyre from Woods to Short, Craig, Short Road west of Page, Shaw Road Southeast, and Azalea.

Also covered by the “no parking” ordinance is Pine Tree Road, from St. Andrews to N.C. 5, except for residents of the condominiums with driveway access on Pine Tree.

“We are also recommending three permanent ordinances to be enacted,” Wilkison said. The the council voted unanimously to enact the ordinances at Tuesday’s work session.

The permanent ordinance that went into effect Tuesday bans parking or storing vehicles for a fee or any commercial purpose unless the use was already in effect April 26 (the date the council adopted the ordinance) or unless the individual gets “specific approval from the Village Council.”

Violation of the ordinance will result in a $500 penalty for each violation for every day the violation exists.

The council also adopted a ban on motorized vehicles on the greenway trail system. The trails are for walking and bicycling, members agreed.

Handicapped people are allowed to operate a motorized wheelchair or similar vehicle weighing no more than 1,000 pounds.

The ordinance covers all public park property, such as playgrounds, ball fields, picnic shelters, recreation buildings and field houses, in addition to the new greenway walking trail system.

New Fire Station

Current Fire Chief Jimmy McCaskill was joined by former chiefs Glenn O’Ferrell, Robert Viall, Wayne Brower, Thomas Pickard and Bill Yoder for the groundbreaking for the new fire station.

Mayor Steven Smith an-nounced that he would give the shovel that the mayor would ordinarily use to Wilkison, as a way of saying thanks for his service as the “unsung hero” of Pinehurst. He said Wilkison has been manager through much of the village’s most extensive period of growth.

The new station is to be completed next year and will replace the old station on Community Road. The new station will have four bays and about 16,000 square feet of space, covering three acres next to the Assembly Hall.

PDO Rewrite

Also on Tuesday, the council held an hour-long public hearing on the rewrite of the Pinehurst Development Ordinance, which was enacted in 1995.

No action was taken. The council is expected to vote on the PDO rewrite at its May 24 meeting, which begins at 1 p.m.

Howard Warren, chairman of a subcommittee of the Planning and Zoning Board, said the panel worked 22 months on the rewrite.

The committee was asked to incorporate goals of the Comprehensive Long-Range Plan and to make it more user-friendly, by simplifying and making it more understandable and organizing the code in a more logical sequence.

Steve Harris, president of the Moore County Homebuilders Association, said he spoke for the 380 builders who believe more work is needed to figure a better way to more easily calculate height and mass of new homes to ensure they are in proportion to the size and shape of lots and to address some other issues in the new ordinance.

The council generally agreed to review it with staff and committee members before voting on it. At the suggestion of a homeowner William Dunbar, the council agreed to address rules about combining adjacent lots to build one house, which would cut down on the number of new houses.

Architect Alan Stagaard recommended the council engage an outside specialist in residential construction such as his own firm to iron out this part of the ordinance.

Sewer Concerns

The council also agreed to have the village staff investigate and report within 30 days on the status of the aging, deteriorating sewer lines at Pinehurst Lake and the adequacy of current operation of the lift station at No. 6 and when it will be replaced.

Councilman Douglas Lapins brought up a report done in 1999 that some county leaders called “alarmist,” but which caused him concern about the continued health and safety of the Pinehurst utility system customers.

Other members joined him in expressing the need for the county to review known problems with the sewer equipment and lines that haven’t been addressed.

The county owns the water and sewer systems serving the village.