PEMBROKE – The Pembroke Town Council denied two separate requests to conditionally rezone parcels of land inside the town limits for the purpose of constructing multiple-family apartment complexes.

One of those requests, for the proposed Pembroke Ridge, had been denied once before. The other one, for the planned Pembroke Gardens, had been tabled from the previous council meeting due to the lack of a quorum.

Austin Brinkley, with Insight Planning & Development, made the initial presentations on behalf of the requests.

The initial request during the public hearings portion of the meeting was first introduced to the members of the council during the last meeting, he said. The proposed project is known as Pembroke Gardens.

Brinkley asked the council to consider a request to conditionally rezone a portion of a tax parcel from R-20 (residential district) to a conditional R-8CZD (multi-family dwelling district). Landbridge Development is the applicant for the entreaty, which is planned as a 48-unit multi-family development that would include one-, two- and three-bedroom units, according to Brinkley.

“It is adjacent to the existing multi-family development, Pembroke Pointe (Apartments),” he told the members of the council.

The conditional rezoning would only be for a 4.8-acre portion of a 80-acre tract on Harry West Lane.

“It would not inhibit the property’s ability to support those office and institutional type uses if the conditional rezoning was approved,” he said. “And some of the land uses in existence in the vicinity do support the need for residential uses in proximity. There was a list of recommended conditions to make the proposal more compatible with the land-use designation and the adjacent uses. Those included an additional two laptops per checkout, sidewalk to be provided along Harry West Lane and a boundary survey of the area to be done prior to any rezoning being officially approved.”

The applicant did provide a traffic study to address any types of potential traffic concerns, he noted, and the study revealed there would not be any kind of adverse increase in traffic due to this proposal.

Staff is recommending approval of this request, according to Brinkley, provided that all the conditions and site modifications be met.

“It would aid in providing more affordable housing options, and it would provide units of different size and price points,” he said before yielding the floor to Gary Hammond of developer Landbridge Development.

Hammond then gave a long presentation on his company’s background and more detailed specifics on what Pembroke Gardens would entail on the Pembroke landscape.

“This is my passion. This is my livelihood. I’m asking you to listen with an open mind … ,” he said of his livelihood of developing affordable housing, workforce housing and housing for seniors. “I’m asking to be a business owner in Pembroke.”

Commissioner Ryan Sampson said what the town is lacking is single family homes.

Resident Michael Jacobs spoke out against the planned development, agreeing with Sampson on the need for housing for single families.

Commissioner Channing Jones made the motion to deny the request; Commissioner Rudy Locklear seconded the motion that was then put to a council vote.

With Commissioner Theresa Locklear absent from the meeting due to health problems, the vote was 3-0 to deny the proposal.

Brinkley then returned to the podium to make a presentation on another request, this time to rezone a couple of parcels from R-10 (residential) to R-8 (multiple family dwelling district) to build a multiple family apartment complex off Lumbee Bank Drive. That’s off 3rd Street in Pembroke.

This proposed multi-family apartment complex would consist of 56 units in three two-story structures – of 16 units each – with the overall complex featuring five buildings, he told the members of the council regarding the development.

The units would include one, two and three bedrooms.

“This does provide the opportunity for families to have affordable housing,” he said, adding that staff had recommended approval of the proposed conditional rezoning request.

Tristan Williams, vice president of the applicant, Taft Mills Group of Greenville, then made her pitch with an overview of the planned development for the community. She said it would be 100% affordable housing and not project-based Section 8. It would not accept project-based Section 8 vouchers.

The apartment complex, she said, would be privately owned by the developer/owner and the equity investor.

One resident spoke during the public hearing, saying that the developer should consider building the complex outside of town so as not to impact those who live in the town limits.

“We’re trying to build a community,” he said.

Mayor Cummings then echoed earlier remarks, saying what Pembroke really needs is single-family housing.

Commissioner Ryan Sampson made the motion to deny, which was seconded by Commissioner Rudy Locklear.

Again, the vote was unanimous, 3-0, to deny the request.

The board later passed a TNT Land Holdings request for a major site plan for a proposed Zaxby’s restaurant.

“The Planning Board has recommended approval of the site plan and the accompanying elevations and rendering,” Town Manager Tyler Thomas said.

Trevor Bullard of the Bullard Restaurant Group of Lumberton then addressed the council. For the last four years, he said, the group has operated the Burger King by the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

“We’re excited to do this right by the Walmart,” he said of the Zaxby’s restaurant. “Adjacent to Taco Bell.”

After motions to approve from Jones, and seconded by Sampson, the council voted unanimously to approve the request.

“Bring the chickens on,” Mayor Cummings quipped.

In other business, the town leaders recognized former Councilman Larry McNeill, who sat on the Pembroke Town Council for 28 years.

McNeill lost in his bid for re-election in the November municipal elections. Incumbent Sampson and newcomer Rudy Locklear won the two available seats on the council while McNeill finished third in the race.

Over that 28 years of public service, McNeill said he never missed a single meeting.

Mayor Cummings, Town Manager Thomas and members of the current council praised McNeill for his long service to the town.

His tenure on the Pembroke Town Council started in 1991.

“From that point until right now,” Cummings said during the special presentation, “the growth of our town that you’ve seen. Larry played a major role in these last 28 years. Because you can’t do it by yourself. It’s done as a group. And I guess I can sum it up very well on this gentleman. He’s very religious. And during that period of time, we’d always look at Larry and say, ‘You lead us with the invocation.’ He’d always lead us.

“He’s a servant,” Cummings continued. “He’s been a servant to the citizens of the town of Pembroke during this time. And he’s done it with integrity and loyalty. He always tried to reach a common ground. And that’s key. When you’re in that position that we’re in, it’s not about me, myself and I. It’s about the town of Pembroke — the citizens, the taxpayers and what’s best for the growth of the town for the future.”