Fayetteville City Work Session Recap – Feb. 3, 2025

Published on February 05, 2025

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - The Fayetteville City Council met Feb. 3, at 2 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers for the monthly work session to discuss matters relevant to the City.

The meeting was CALLED TO ORDER at 2:05 p.m. followed by the invocation offered by Council member Brenda McNair and the Pledge of Allegiance lead by Mayor Pro Tem Kathy Jensen.

Council member D. J. Haire moved to APPROVE THE AGENDA. This was seconded by Council member Lynne Greene. The motion PASSED UNANIMOUSLY (9-0).

Two OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS were discussed during the work session.

The first item discussed was the Watershed Master Plan Solutions for Beaver Creek 2. The Beaver Creek 2 Watershed Study has identified 31 proposed solutions at a total estimated planning level cost of $85M. The top 9 proposed primary and secondary system solutions range in severity score from 31 to 6 and in estimated costs from $9.7M to $590K. The majority of these solutions include capacity expansion and culvert upsizing. The prioritization of proposed solutions takes into consideration several factors before recommending them to Council for project development. Solutions are sorted based on Concern Area Score (“Worst First”) and efficacy. Staff then targets an equitable distribution between watersheds as well as strategic selections, such as a project’s ability to be considered for grant funding or a project’s proximity to other construction related activities (i.e. NCDOT improvements or Resurfacing),and incorporates other co-benefits into the decision-making process. Proposed solutions presented herein are not moving forward to project development at this time. However, approval enables staff to program them into the Stormwater Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) prioritization process. Council member Deno Hondros moved to provide consensus to approve the 31 proposed solutions from the Beaver Creek 2 watershed study to enable staff to program them into the annual CIP prioritization process and pursue grants as applicable. This motion was seconded by Council member Haire. The motion gained consensus. You can learn more about this item here.

The next item discussed was the Adoption of Historic District Design Standards and Associated Text Amendments to the Unified Development Ordinance. home to two local historic districts and nearly 50 local landmarks, is updating its "Design Guidelines for Fayetteville’s Historic Districts and Local Landmarks" to comply with North Carolina General Statute 160D that went into effect January 2021, which requires a transition to Design Standards. With funding from a Historic Preservation Fund Grant, the City partnered with Walker Collaborative and Common Ground Urban Design + Planning to update the guidelines, originally adopted in 2000. The new Design Standards streamline regulations, improve clarity, and ensure compliance with state law while offering flexibility for preservation efforts. The revised standards consolidate information, clarify procedural steps, and introduce allowances for substitute materials when originals are unavailable. The Historic Resources Commission and other key stakeholders have reviewed and recommended approval of these updates, which provide a clearer, more user-friendly framework for preserving Fayetteville’s historic character. Council member Mario Benavente moved to adopt solely the ordinance to comply with the updated North Carolina General Statute 160D. Council member Hondros seconded. The motion gained consensus. Council member Derrick Thompson moved that the policy committee return to council with recommendations regarding the guidelines that is outside of what is state regulated. This was seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Jensen. The motion gained consensus. You can read more about this item here.

City Council then went into closed session.

There were two council member requests heard at the work session.

Mayor Mitch Colvin requested to direct staff to seek information on an independent study for a countywide performance and comprehensive review of zoning and permitting processes. This request gained consensus. You can read more here.

During the second request heard, Council member Greene proposed the renaming of Woodrow Park to Haymount Park at Woodrow on behalf of the Friends of Haymount. This request gained consensus to send this request to the Fayetteville-Cumberland Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission to review and report back to council with recommendations. You can read more here.

The meeting adjourned at 4:26 p.m.

The next City Council Regular Meeting will be held on Monday, Feb. 10 at 6:30 p.m. in Council Chambers in City Hall. Meetings also air live on Spectrum Channel 7, at FayTV.net and on the FayTV app available on your streaming device. Meeting agendas, supporting documentation and minutes are publicly available here. For more information about the Fayetteville City Council, please visit fayettevillenc.gov/citycouncil.

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