By Jessica Coates

jessica.coates@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — After 45 minutes of discussion, public comment and deliberation, the Salisbury City Council decided to table a vote on rezoning land for a new fire station until more specific data could be provided by the Fire Department.

Representatives of the Fire Department spoke during deliberations and provided information to the council, but the amount of uncertainty that members — particularly Councilmen Brian Miller and Kenny Hardin — felt led the council to request extensive data from the department in order to help the council make a decision.

But even from the beginning of the council’s deliberation over whether it would allow a new Fire Station 3 to be built in the 100 block of Mahaley Avenue, it was clear that the issue would be a tricky one.

Councilman David Post recused himself from deliberations as soon as the agenda item was brought up because he said that, should the fire station be built, it would “significantly” affect the value of his house.

He later commented during the public hearing portion of deliberations, saying, “I can’t vote, but I can speak.”

“As council people, your No. 1 job is empathy,” Post said. “With that said, I would ask every single one of you: Would you like to have an 18-foot wall with a fire station that’s open 24/7 … 10 feet away from you on Fulton Street?”

The remaining council members listened to nine other people, seven of whom are residents of neighborhoods adjacent to the fire station, as they spoke about their concerns regarding the potential fire station’s effect on their quality of life.

Joanna Young, a resident of Lily Avenue, said that thinking about the proposed fire station makes her physically ill.

“My family has lived in that spot for 49 years,” Young said. “I’m extremely worried about our quality of life disappearing. … These woods that have been there forever will be gone forever.”

Young was referring to the woods on the property adjacent to both her land and the fire station property, which would be partially cut down in order to accommodate the station.

The architect for the station, Bill Burgin, also spoke during the public-comment period. He attempted to address concerns about the noise and disruption that neighbors had mentioned.

“If you’re behind (the station), the sound will be really low,” Burgin said. “So from a noise standpoint, it’s about as favorable as it could be.”

When the public-comment period ended, council members spent about half an hour asking questions of the fire staff, Burgin and City Manager Lane Bailey.

In the end, it became apparent that the council wanted more specifics to ensure that the best location was being chosen since the station would be a big financial investment and would likely be on the chosen site for 50 to 75 years.

The council did not decide when deliberations about the station would be picked up again.

In other business, the council:

• Discussed approval of a special permit to allow a Livingstone College radio tower. Post, who was allowed back after the end of the fire station deliberation, asked if the construction of the tower would affect the surrounding area’s property values.

Livingstone College’s communications project manager, Justin Walker, said that after completing a survey of the  area, school officials had concluded that it would not.

With that assurance, the council only had one more question, which came from Miller: “Will the station have jazz?”

The council voted unanimously to approve the special permit.

• Voted unanimously to adopt the so-called “brunch bill,” which will allow any Salisbury store with a valid ABC permit to serve alcohol beginning at 10 a.m. on Sundays.

Rowan Chamber of Commerce President Elaine Spalding, who made a brief presentation before the council voted, thanked members for supporting the business community with their vote.

• Heard from developer Billy Hughes and his partner at Black Point Investments, Britt Weaver, about design renderings and tentative plans for the Empire Hotel.

Hughes said that it had been “a long trek to get here, but we have kicked it into higher gear.”

He said the building would be multiuse, with 62 residential units on the second and third floors and both commercial and residential spaces on the first floor.

He also said that they intend to restore the aesthetics of the ballroom, but that it would not be financially feasible to operate the space as a ballroom. Instead, he imagined it potentially being a gathering area for residents of the building.

Weaver said that, should all go according to plan in terms of acquiring adequate financing, they hope to begin construction on the hotel in late spring 2018.

Contact Jessica Coates at 704-797-4222.