WEDDINGTON, N.C.,None — Homeowners in Weddington are speaking out after a controversial water tower was approved to be built near a residential area.
On Monday night, the Weddington Town Council voted to change a zoning ordinance, allowing Union County Public Works to build a 198-foot water tower in the 200 block of Providence Road South, near the Rea Road intersection.
The tower will sit within several hundred feet of two subdivisions, and dozens of residents showed up for Monday night's meeting to protest the council's decision.
Union County officials said the tower is necessary to improve water pressure for homes and the fire department in the northern section of Weddington.
However, residents worry the council did not investigate alternate sites for the tower.
Craig Hurt, who lives in Providence Acres near the proposed site, worried about the safety implications.
"Having a 198-foot, one-and-half-million gallon tower less than 800 feet from my property is concerning. I have a 2-year-old," Hurt said.
Hurt and others have signed petitions opposing the tower, and asked council members Monday to reconsider the zoning change.
"They don't want it in their area, so they kind of picked on the little guy. We're middle-class people. We work for a living, and we don't have the resources to really fight them," Hurt said.
But the measure passed in a 2-1 vote. Council members Daniel Barry and Jerry McKee each voted yes. Eyewitness News contacted McKee on Tuesday, but he refused comment and hung up in the middle of the phone call. Barry was unavailable for an interview.
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