By Hugh Fisher

For the Salisbury Post

KANNAPOLIS — Debate over the proposed renaming of Rogers Lake Road and annexation of two parcels dominated Monday's Kannapolis City Council session.

With the extension of Rogers Lake Road to Kannapolis Parkway set to open by late August, Assistant Planning Director Ben Warren said the time had come to decide how road names would change.

"We need to have a name to begin prepping street signs to have in place," Warren said.

City planners recommend calling the extension "Rogers Lake Road," along with parts of existing Triece Street and Universal Street, all the way to Main Street.

The existing stretch of Rogers Lake Road that curves northward to meet Boy Scout Camp Road would need to be given a new name chosen by the City Council, while the portion that currently meets Main Street would be renamed as part of Lowrance Avenue.

Residents turned out for a public hearing on the issue at Monday's meeting.

Councilman Ken Geathers said he would like to see the name Rogers Lake Road extend all the way from where Universal meets Dale Earnhardt Boulevard to Kannapolis Parkway, forming a unified connector.

Jim Slaughter, a Greensboro attorney who grew up in Kannapolis, spoke in favor of renaming the extension, and "as much as possible," Rogers Lake Road.

He claims to be descended from the Rogers family for whom the road is named, whose community of Glass existed before the creation of Cannon Mills and Kannapolis in 1906.

"I was taught É to respect your elders and respect where you came from," Slaughter said.

Others are opposed to the name change, including Betty Ritchie. "It's going to be a problem to have to change our address on everything," she said.

The council is expected to make a decision at the next regular meeting June 9.

A petition to annex .9 acres at N.C. 3 and Davidson Road, filed by property owner Ronald Overcash of Concord, passed on a 4-3 vote, with Mayor Bob Misenheimer and councilmen Richard Anderson and Darrell Hinnant voting against.

Anderson cited alleged activities on other property owned by Overcash prior to the vote.

"I'm just concerned that we're not looking at a good corporate neighbor, at least in the past," Anderson said. He did not elaborate.

Meanwhile, the petition by Larry and Heather Stancil to annex 6.9 acres off Jim Johnson Road passed on a 6-1 vote, with Anderson the lone opponent.

However, board members expressed concern over the proposed use of the site for a climate-controlled self-storage complex, citing the character of the high-end retail and residential developments nearby.

The Kannapolis Planning and Zoning Board will determine zoning for the parcel, but an appeal might come back before the council.

In other business, the council:

- Voted to table a measure adding "boarding houses" as a permitted use in the Office and Institutional and Neighborhood Commercial districts until the June 9 meeting, pending discussion of the definition of a "boarding house" as opposed to a "bed and breakfast" or other lodging.- Unanimously approved the addition of "fine arts schools" and "performing arts companies" as permitted uses in the Neighborhood Commercial zoning district.

City Manager Mike Legg said the vote paves the way for Piedmont Dance Studio to acquire property in one such district.

- Received a report from Springsted Inc. on the compensation for city jobs in Kannapolis as opposed to other cities of similar size and the private sector.

The study proposes duty descriptions, salary levels and fringe benefits for city jobs based on such competitors. The council took no action.

- Voted to reappoint Hinnant to the board of directors of the Water and Sewer Authority of Cabarrus County.

Contact Hugh Fisher at 704-797-4245 or hfisher@salisburypost.com.

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