Pittsboro, NC – A decision that could convert nearly 300 acres in southeastern Chatham County from residential to heavy-industrial zoning, four public hearings, a proposed contractor storage yard in Bear Creek and more than $1 million in contracts and equipment purchases are among the issues facing the Chatham County Board of Commissioners on Monday, Aug. 17.
The commissioners are holding a work session beginning at 1 p.m. and are scheduled to reconvene for their regular session at 6 p.m. in the Historic Courthouse Courtroom in downtown Pittsboro. The county’s official agenda is marked “Final,” although commissioners may adjust either portion of the agenda before proceeding.
By acreage and potential long-term land-use impact, the largest zoning decision on Monday’s agenda involves EC PROPCO LLC’s request to rezone 292.288 acres off Christian Chapel Church Road in Cape Fear Township from R-1 Residential to Ind-H Heavy Industrial. Commissioners are scheduled to vote either to approve or deny the request during the evening session.
The board also will decide whether to grant Lockley Holdings LLC a Special Use Permit for a contractor storage yard and staging area on 3.9 acres in Bear Creek, hear public comments on significant changes to the county zoning ordinance, consider a proposed 199-foot communications tower on Andrews Store Road and act on contracts for economic development, a Deep River trail study, Goldston library furniture, waste compactors and public-safety radio tower repairs.
The meeting combines immediate development decisions with long-range policy discussions involving aging, libraries, conservation, economic development and the county’s legislative priorities.
Nearly 300 acres could shift to Heavy Industrial zoning
The EC PROPCO case puts four parcels totaling 292.288 acres before commissioners for a final legislative zoning decision.
The land is located off Christian Chapel Church Road in Cape Fear Township. EC PROPCO is seeking to change the zoning from R-1 Residential to Ind-H Heavy Industrial. The formal action before commissioners Monday is to approve or deny the general-use rezoning and adopt the appropriate consistency or inconsistency statement required as part of the zoning process.
Unlike a conditional rezoning tied to a specific site plan or particular development commitments, the item on Monday’s agenda is identified as a general-use rezoning. The agenda itself does not identify a particular end user or development project. The significance of the decision therefore extends beyond any single development concept: approval would establish Heavy Industrial zoning for the property and govern the categories of uses available under that district.
The proposal has been moving through the county’s public-review process for months. Commissioners held a legislative public hearing on the request April 20. County meeting records from that hearing identify the same four parcels and 292.288-acre request.
The location adds another layer of interest because southeastern Chatham has become one of the county’s focal points for industrial and economic development. Regardless of what eventually might be built on the EC PROPCO property, Monday’s vote will determine whether nearly 300 acres historically zoned residential should be moved into one of Chatham County’s industrial zoning categories.
For residents following development pressures in the Cape Fear Township area, it is likely to be the night’s most consequential land-use vote simply because of the amount of land involved and the difference between the existing and proposed zoning classifications.
Bear Creek contractor storage yard returns in narrower form
Commissioners also will make a decision involving industrial activity in another largely rural portion of the county.
Lockley Holdings LLC is requesting a Special Use Permit to operate a contractor’s storage yard and staging area on 3.9 acres at 1656 Campbell Road in Bear Creek. The 3.9-acre proposed use would occupy part of a 10.02-acre tract.
The property has appeared before county officials before.
In 2025, county records show Lockley Holdings, doing business as Bear Creek Fabrication, sought a general-use rezoning of the approximately 10-acre parcel from R-1 Residential to Heavy Industrial. Monday’s application is different. Instead of changing the zoning designation of the entire tract to Heavy Industrial, the current request seeks authorization for a specific storage and staging use on a smaller portion of the property.
That distinction matters procedurally.
The EC PROPCO matter is a legislative general-use rezoning, in which commissioners make a policy decision about the zoning classification of property. The Lockley matter is quasi-judicial, meaning commissioners are acting more like a judicial board and must evaluate the application under applicable standards and evidence entered into the record.
The agenda calls for commissioners to vote on the Lockley Special Use Permit Monday evening.
Four public hearings scheduled
Before commissioners reach the EC PROPCO and Lockley votes, residents will have an opportunity to weigh in on four separate planning matters.
The first could have implications throughout unincorporated Chatham County.
Commissioners will hold a public hearing on a package of proposed amendments to the county Zoning Ordinance. The revisions involve the ordinance title, bona fide farm exemptions, definitions, the table of permitted uses, off-street parking and loading requirements, and procedures for amendments to the zoning ordinance.
County staff says the changes are intended in part to maintain compliance with recent legislative changes to North Carolina General Statute 160D and related laws.
Among the changes described in the agenda are updates to bona fide farm exemptions and the removal of off-street parking requirements. The amendments also would add all townships to the ordinance title, incorporate additional uses into the permitted-use table, modify staff participation in legislative processes and eliminate a waiting period for resubmitting applications.
Those changes are more technical than a rezoning of a single property, but they could ultimately affect a much broader range of future development applications because they concern the rules used countywide.
A second legislative hearing concerns proposed revisions to the Chatham County Design Guidelines used for commercial and industrial properties.
The Chatham County Appearance Commission has recommended revising the guidelines and providing both a suggested plant list and an invasive-plant list for commercial and industrial development.
A third hearing involves a relatively small individual rezoning.
Candace Beal is asking the county to rezone 4.089 acres at 82 Bonlee Bennett Road from NB-Neighborhood Business to R-1 Residential. The hearing gives commissioners and residents an opportunity to evaluate whether residential zoning is appropriate for the property before the application moves through the remainder of the county process.
The fourth hearing will be conducted under quasi-judicial rules.
Anthemnet Inc. is requesting a Special Use Permit for a new 199-foot wireless telecommunications tower at 1879 Andrews Store Road. Because it is a quasi-judicial evidentiary hearing, the agenda specifically notes that individuals with standing may provide evidence concerning direct impacts to their property.
Together, the four hearings give Monday’s evening session a particularly strong planning and development focus.
More than $1 million in contracts and purchases on consent agenda
Several significant financial items appear not under the board’s main discussion section but on the consent agenda.
Consent agendas are designed to allow commissioners to approve routine or noncontroversial matters through one motion rather than debating every item separately. Any commissioner may seek to remove an item for separate consideration.
Five specifically priced contracts and purchases listed on Monday’s consent agenda total approximately $1.02 million.
The largest is a $477,558 contract with the Chatham County Economic Development Corporation for economic-development services during fiscal year 2026-27.
Commissioners also are being asked to approve $171,624 for Carolina Furnishing to design, deliver and install furniture for the Goldston Public Library.
Another $150,000 contract with Weston & Sampson would fund a feasibility study for the Deep River State Trail in Chatham County.
The county previously received a $75,000 Great Trails State Program grant for the study, matched with $75,000 from Chatham County. County documents have described the project as an examination of a potential land-based trail corridor along the Deep River from Carbonton toward Moncure, representing an approximately 25-mile Chatham County segment of the larger planned Deep River State Trail.
The state’s Great Trails State Program also lists Chatham County’s $75,000 award for the Deep River feasibility study.
Commissioners also will consider spending $118,709 on two trash compactors and two mixed-recycling compactors from Becker Complete.
A $103,952.41 contract with Engineered Tower Solutions would pay for remediation repairs to seven county-owned public-safety radio towers. The proposal also would authorize the county manager to negotiate and execute the contract.
Those five items alone total $1,021,843.41.
Second Bloom shelter agreement and public health funding
The consent agenda includes additional matters with human-services implications.
Commissioners will consider approving a Disbursement Agreement and Deed of Trust with Second Bloom of Chatham Inc. for an emergency shelter. The agenda lists both the disbursement agreement and deed of trust for board approval.
Second Bloom works in Chatham County on domestic-violence services and related support programs. The action Monday concerns the county’s formal agreements connected with the emergency shelter rather than establishing a new general county program.
The board also will consider accepting $199,853 in Public Health Infrastructure Workforce Development funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
The money is carryover funding intended to support staff development, communications and other public-health department needs, with an emphasis on foundational public-health capabilities.
Briar Chapel property, Poole Road and school land
Several property and infrastructure matters also appear on the consent agenda.
Commissioners are being asked to adopt a resolution reverting Parcel 0091272 to the Briar Chapel Community Association and approving a quitclaim deed.
The board will consider an N.C. Department of Transportation request for the partial abandonment of SR 1903, Poole Road East.
Commissioners also will decide whether to decline an opportunity to purchase a 0.73-acre property owned by the Chatham County Board of Education off J.S. Waters School Road. If the county declines, the school board may move forward with disposing of the property as permitted by law.
Other consent items include July tax releases and refunds and the reappointment of Patricia Dukes to the Pittsboro Parks and Recreation Advisory Board as the extraterritorial-jurisdiction representative through June 30, 2028.
The commissioners also will consider scheduling a September 21 public hearing on another set of zoning amendments dealing with Special Use Permit procedures and standards. Those proposed revisions are intended to update county rules for compliance with General Statute 160D.
Aging plan looks toward Chatham’s demographic future
The afternoon work session focuses more heavily on long-term policy.
One major item is the proposed Chatham County Master Aging Plan, which commissioners are scheduled to receive and vote on Monday.
The accompanying action includes a resolution and letter supporting the designation of Chatham County as an Age-Friendly Community through the AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities.
The aging plan arrives as county government increasingly must consider how housing, transportation, health services, recreation, community facilities and other services intersect with the needs of older residents.
The agenda does not ask commissioners merely to receive the report; it specifically calls for a vote to adopt the Master Aging Plan and accompanying documents supporting the Age-Friendly designation.
Commissioners begin the work session with a related ceremonial action recognizing September 2026 as Healthy Aging Month in Chatham County. They also will consider resolutions recognizing Kinship Care Month, Payroll Week from Sept. 7-11 and National Voter Registration Day.
Libraries set out five-year strategy
Commissioners also will consider adopting the 2026-2031 Chatham County Libraries Strategic Plan.
The item includes both a presentation and a formal vote. The plan is intended to guide the county library system for the next five years and is one of two major long-range planning documents before commissioners during the afternoon work session.
Taken together, the aging and library plans illustrate another side of Monday’s meeting: while much of the evening agenda is dominated by land use and development, the afternoon session deals with how county government intends to structure services and priorities over a longer horizon.
WEBB Squared funding partnership under review
Commissioners also will hear a presentation on Chatham County’s funding partnership with WEBB Squared and determine what should happen next.
WEBB Squared is a Pittsboro-based nonprofit focused on entrepreneurship and economic inclusion. Its Chatham County Innovation Lab is a partnership bringing together business-development organizations from government, higher education and business to provide resources to small-business owners.
The agenda includes an FY27 WEBB Squared contract proposal and a presentation but leaves the board to “determine next steps.”
That wording means Monday’s discussion may be important for determining the future size and structure of the county’s relationship with the organization, even though the agenda title itself does not state a specific new appropriation.
Conservation Dashboard puts numbers behind Plan Chatham goals
Another work-session presentation comes from the Chatham County Conservation Working Group.
The presentation follows the county’s recent launch of a new Conservation Dashboard designed to measure progress toward conservation goals established in Plan Chatham, the comprehensive plan adopted in 2017.
The county says the dashboard was completed in June and represents the first quantifiable review of conservation-based goals in Plan Chatham. The project is the first phase of a two-part effort; the next phase is expected to use the findings to identify conservation objectives that remain unfinished and develop implementation steps.
“This project reflects our commitment to understanding what conservation goals Chatham County has accomplished since 2017,” county Conservation & Resiliency Planner Erin Ansbro said when the dashboard was announced.
The dashboard is intended both as a planning tool for county departments and as a way for residents to see what conservation measures have been completed.
ARPA money and state legislative priorities
Commissioners will receive another update Monday on the county’s American Rescue Plan Act funds.
The quarterly presentation is listed as an informational item rather than a new appropriation request.
The board also will discuss and vote on Chatham County’s proposed legislative goals for the 2027-28 biennium.
Those priorities are to be submitted to the N.C. Association of County Commissioners, which gathers proposals from counties as it establishes goals for advocacy before the General Assembly. Commissioners are scheduled to adopt a resolution supporting their final list.
The afternoon also includes a presentation from the Chatham Health Alliance.
ECO TIP West litigation on closed-session agenda
Two closed sessions are scheduled before commissioners break between the afternoon and evening portions of the meeting.
The first cites the state law allowing commissioners to meet privately with an attorney to preserve attorney-client privilege.
The second specifically names ECO TIP West LLC v. Chatham County. Commissioners are scheduled to consult with an attorney and consider instructions concerning the handling or settlement of the litigation.
Because the discussion is legally permitted to occur behind closed doors, the public agenda provides no detail about what legal strategy or possible settlement terms commissioners may discuss.
Any action that legally must be taken in open session would have to occur after commissioners return from closed session.
Appointments and 2027 county calendar
Late in the regular meeting, commissioners will consider several administrative and appointment matters.
The board is scheduled to select Chatham County’s delegate to the Triangle Area Rural Planning Organization, commonly known as TARPO.
Commissioners also must decide whether to appoint a recommended District 4 member to the Chatham County Planning Board for a term expiring Dec. 31, 2026, or readvertise the vacancy. Ten applications are included with the agenda.
The commissioners also are being asked to adopt their 2027 meeting schedule and fiscal year 2028 budget calendar, and to approve a process for filling a vacancy on the Goldston Gulf Sanitary District Board.
The regular meeting concludes with intergovernmental-relations, clerk and manager reports, discussion of future agenda items and individual commissioners’ reports.
Residents have multiple opportunities to speak
The board provides a general public-comment period during both the work session and regular session.
According to the agenda, each general comment period is limited to 30 minutes, with individual speakers generally limited to three minutes. Speakers are asked to sign up in advance, although the county also accepts written comments.
The four scheduled public hearings during the evening are separate from those general public-comment periods.
That distinction could be particularly important Monday because several of the night’s most consequential issues involve land-use policy.
Residents interested in countywide zoning regulations may comment on proposed ordinance revisions. Those concerned about the Bonlee Bennett Road property, the proposed Andrews Store Road telecommunications tower or commercial and industrial design standards have hearings dedicated specifically to those subjects.
The EC PROPCO rezoning and Lockley Special Use Permit, however, are listed Monday as decision items following earlier stages in their respective review processes rather than as new public hearings.
A meeting spanning immediate development and long-term planning
Monday’s agenda puts several different versions of Chatham County’s growth challenge in the same room.
The EC PROPCO vote asks commissioners to decide what kind of development should be permitted across almost 300 acres in southeastern Chatham County. The Lockley case asks whether a specific contractor storage use meets county standards on a rural Bear Creek property.
The zoning-ordinance hearing asks a broader question: how should Chatham’s development rules themselves change in response to state law and county needs?
At the same meeting, the county will consider spending on economic-development services, public-safety infrastructure, solid waste equipment, a rural library and a feasibility study for a long-distance trail.
And during the work session, commissioners will be looking much farther ahead through the Master Aging Plan, Library Strategic Plan, conservation program, state legislative goals and discussions over support for local entrepreneurs.
The board’s 1 p.m. work session and 6 p.m. regular meeting are being held Monday, August 17, at the Historic Courthouse Courtroom in Pittsboro. The county’s published agenda remains subject to adjustment by commissioners before or during the meeting.
Whatever that vote produces, Monday’s agenda offers a broader snapshot of the decisions facing a rapidly changing county: where growth should occur, what forms it should take, what public investments should accompany it and how Chatham County plans for the residents who will live with those decisions for years to come.