The Whispering Pines Village Council is considering an ordinance that would clarify height restrictions in the village related to the airport.
Gary Leopper and several other residents questioned why a height restriction is needed in village ordinances if airport ordinances already deal with the matter.
“I believe if we pass this ordinance we’re going to open ourselves up for something further down the road,” he said during the council’s work session.
Village ordinances prohibit residential buildings from being more than 35 feet tall, but cell phone towers and other nonresidential structures could exceed that height as well as the 50-foot limit required by the Moore County Airport, which is adjacent to parts of the village.
Delauter, who was recently elected chairman of the Moore County Airport Authority, said the airport wants to make sure all surrounding municipalities are aware of it height restriction. He said adding restrictions to the village ordinances is merely a way of coordinating efforts between the airport and the village.
Leopper and others questioned whether Delauter has a conflict of interest since he is chairman of the airport authority.
“I’ve said this before,” Delauter responded. “If people aren’t happy and think there’s a conflict of interests, then they need to let me know about that, and then I’ll make a decision on how to solve that problem. I’m not going to try for a minute to do one job better than the other.”
Aircraft Noise
Other residents complained that increased jet traffic has created more noise.
“This airport is in violation of FAA noise abatement standards,” said Frederick Korb.
Ron Goldberg said the noise and pressure from jets has loosened the windows in their frames in his house.
Eleanor Goldberg said the problem is getting worse. She said she is concerned about safety and her property value because of the airport.
“When we’re entertaining or having a dinner we actually have to suspend our conversation when a plane is getting ready to take off or land,” she said.
Delauter said golf and tourism is the reason for the increased jet traffic.
“If you don’t want tourism, then I guess we could go back to the way it was when it was just Cessnas flying around,” he said.
He encouraged village residents to call the airport if they’re concerned about any perceived violations.
Above-Ground Pools
The council voted unanimously to enforce its ordinance restricting above-ground pools.
A group of residents from the Laurinwood subdivision, which is in the village’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, had asked the council to allow the pools. Last month, the council considered allowing the pools in the neighborhood if they were behind privacy fences and did not interfere with septic systems.
Some of the residents who had already installed pools on their property made their case to the council last month, saying that they didn’t know above-ground pools were prohibited and that they had been misled or misinformed by their real estate agents.
“The council felt, unanimously, that we had to stick with our ordinances and enforce our ordinances,” Mayor Giles Hopkins said afterward. “They’ll either have to put the pools in the ground or remove them. We’re not going to expect them to do it tomorrow, but we’re not going to draw it out either.”
Sewer Study
The council discussed a recently completed wastewater study and decided to look into forming a long-range planning committee to help the village stay up to date on the cost of installing a sewer system.
The current estimate is about $30 million.
A separate committee will be formed to look into the possibility of creating an ordinance for regulating septic systems.
