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Boone Board of Adjustment Denies Special Use Permit For Proposed Walgreens Development Thursday Night

By Jesse Wood

May 2, 2013. Citing, among its ruling, language in the “Community Character” section in the Town of Boone 2006 Comprehensive Plan, the Boone Board of Adjustment, on Thursday night, denied a special use permit for a proposed two-story Walgreens on King Street:

Boone Adjustment
The Boone Town Council Chambers were packed with people opposing the Walgreens development at the edge of downtown Boone on King Street. Photo by Jesse Wood

“New development, redevelopment and rehabilitation of structures and sites shall occur in a manner which is consistent with the neighborhood and architectural context of the immediate area, and supportive, whenever possible, of Boone’s original community character as a High Country small town.”

From New Orleans, Matt DeMeyers of Avenue D Company, who represents Walgreens developments in the Southeast, applied for the special use permit for the piece of property at the edge of downtown Boone that is owned by Dale Whisenant. During the public hearing, former N.C. Superior Court Judge Forrest Ferrell out of Hickory represented DeMeyers and Whisenant, who have been in the planning stages for the past 15 months.  

So many people showed up to the hearing in opposition to the development – which was planned for the property where Green Mother Goods currently operates – that the fire marshal escorted folks out of the Boone Town Council Chambers to come into compliance with the 99-person maximum occupancy limit.

When the meeting opened for public comment, many spoke against the development while no one spoke in favor of a potential 15,450-square-foot Walgreens operation next to Earth Fare and catacorner to the intersection of U.S. 321 and U.S. 421. 

After the five-hour meeting ended, DeMeyers and Whisenant declined to comment on whether they planned to appeal the Boone Board of Adjustment ruling. 

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