Southern Pines Council Rejects Controversial Project

The Town Council on Tuesday voted down a controversial mixed-use development.

Pine Needles Village would have had 832 homes and 400,000-square-feet of retail and office space on about 550 acres along U.S. Highway 1.

The project divided the town, with supporters boasting of the economic impact on Southern Pines and opponents citing traffic and other concerns.

Outgoing officials tried to push a vote through the Town Council in December before they left office. But an outcry from incoming officials delayed the vote.

On Tuesday, a rezoning request that would have allowed the project to proceed, fell shy of a majority vote of the Town Council.

There was no word on whether Hines, the Houston-based developer, planned to resubmit plans for the project.