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The Daily Tar Heel

CVS developers to build fence around site of protested building

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Developers for the CVS in Carrboro hold a meeting Wednesday night to address questions and concerns by locals. The group discussed the building of a new 24-hour CVS on the corner of Weaver Street.

Last week’s Carrboro Commune protests have caused a divide in the Carrboro community — literally.

Representatives from CVS met Wednesday with neighbors of the proposed CVS building at 201 N. Greensboro St. to discuss the fate of the site after protesters set up an encampment Saturday in a vacant building on the property.

In light of the breaking and entering and vandalism that accompanied the protest — which police dispersed after four hours — representatives said CVS has decided to construct a chain-link fence around the property.

Leigh Polzella, the developer for the project, said she tried to prevent CVS from constructing the fence for fear that it would be an eyesore.

“Initially, I decided not to put up a chain-link fence, because I thought it would be offensive to the town,” she said.

After last week’s protests, the building has become a liability for the company and the fence must be constructed, she said.

“The installation date for the fence will be happening very quickly,” she said.

Carrboro Commune protesters said earlier in the week that they would have representatives at the meeting to voice their concerns. However, no protesters made themselves known during the meeting.

But Alanna Davis, who is involved with Carrboro Commune, said three protesters attended but didn’t bring banners because they didn’t want to disrupt the meeting.

During the meeting, audience members discussed the specific layout of the building, which is currently designed to mimic the surrounding historical Carrboro homes.

“We want the community to like the building since it is going to be there for a long time,” Polzella said.

Although many residents said they would appreciate a more modern, progressive design, other audience members said they liked the historic look of the building.

“I’m glad that at least some thought was put into the flavor of Carrboro,” resident Debra Seaton said.

Neighbors also heard from Mike Horn, a traffic engineer from Kimley-Horn and Associates, who announced the results of the traffic counts the company performed to assess the impact the store would have on nearby intersections.

Horn said traffic added by other approved developments and the proposed CVS wouldn’t be heavy enough to require additional traffic lights.

To accommodate any increased traffic, Horn said traffic lights at intersections would be synchronized and would begin to change faster.

“The most impact our site would have on an intersection is a 3 percent increase in traffic,” he said.

A public hearing scheduled for March 27 will be one of the final chances for residents to make suggestions to CVS and town officials, who will vote this spring on whether to allow the project.

Contact the City Editor at city@dailytarheel.com.

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