Residents speak out on proposed Publix grocery store in north Raleigh
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Hundreds of people who do not want a Publix grocery store built in north Raleigh voiced their anger and frustration Thursday evening.
A developer wants to build the store at Falls of the Neuse and Dunn roads, but neighbors don't want all of the extra traffic.
Click here for a Google map of the area.
Most of those at the meeting voted against rezoning for the Publix grocery with 522 votes out of 564. Only 23 voted for it, and 19 people walked out of the meeting without casting a ballot.
It was no surprise since most people at the meeting wore stickers showing their stance on the way into the meeting.
"Nothing against the store coming in, but off of a main thoroughfare -- not coming in on neighborhood streets," said resident Anna Moser. "I also live on one of the neighborhood streets in the surrounding area."
The Charlotte-based Morgan Property group wants to rezone the 11 acre plot north of Interstate 540 to add the 50,000 square foot grocery store.
"I'm not against Publix, but I am against the rezoning," said resident Bob Perry.
People who live in several neighborhoods including Bedford cited congestion and safety concerns that would ruin the integrity of their planned community.
"It's way too large out of scale. It's not serving our community. It's serving too large of a community, drawing in way too much traffic," said resident Kerry O'Sullivan. "Traffic is a concern for our children. They play in our neighborhood. We don't need to have all those cars cutting through our neighborhood streets."
Thursday's vote is non-binding, which means it's not the final say, but the results will go to Raleigh's Planning Committee and the city council which will vote.
