Hamlet, county enter jurisdiction agreement for property development

HAMLET — City leaders last week approved an agreement to give the county jurisdiction over the development of two properties that fall partly in Hamlet’s ETJ.

County Planning Director Tracy Parris presented the proposal to the Richmond County Board of Commissioners the week prior.

“Every once in a while there are parcels that are split for development … and the way we correct those… is whatever is chosen to be developed there will have to go through both (the) municipality and the county,” Parris said. “Or oftentimes, the municipality will relinquish their development portion of that back to the county to handle.”

Because zoning regulations differ between the governing bodies, Parris said the development process is more simple if the property falls under one jurisdiction.

The undeveloped property is zoned Rural Residential with a Highway Commercial overlay, Parris said, adding that she wasn’t sure about the Hamlet zoning.

Any development would have to go through the special use permit process, Parris added.

The first tract is owned by Over the Tracks, LLC and the other by Beane Investments, LLC.

Records with the N.C. Secretary of State’s Office show managing members of Beane Investments as Pamela Denson, Becky James and Sharon Russell of Rockingham, and Joan Keane of Fuquay Varina. The LLC was formed May 27, 2022.

Over the Tracks was formed Nov. 18, 2022 and its managing members are listed as James Quick of Hamlet and Joel Howard of Ellerbe.

The county approved the agreement last week, pending the decision by the Hamlet City Council to relinquish it.

Parris said the county has had similar split-jurisdiction agreements with both Rockingham and Hamlet.

The Over the Tracks tract is 168.79 acres located near the southeast corner of N.C. 38 and Perry Williams Road; the Beane Investments property is 45.24 acres on the northeast side, across the street. Both are just south of the U.S. 74 Bypass, south of Hamlet.

Assistant City Manager Mackenzie Webb said around 25% of one parcel was in Hamlet’s ETJ and the other is about 45%, though she didn’t specify which.

Webb said both property owners asked for the zoning to fall under a single jurisdiction.

The agreement is just for the development of the property.