HERTFORD – The Perquimans County Board of Commissioners has postponed its scheduled meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 2.

Earlier in the day, the county posted that the meeting as to be held.

From the Perquimans County Facebook page: “Out of abundance of caution, the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners has decided to cancel tonight’s meeting. The public hearing is postponed until the March 2nd meeting.”

According to County Manager Brandon Shoaf, the board will convene primarily to open a public hearing on a rezoning request that the developer has already withdrawn. The meeting will proceed as advertised, though no action is planned.

The meeting, scheduled with the public hearing at 6:50 p.m. followed by the regular session at 7 p.m., will be held at the Perquimans County Library Program Room.

Developer Withdraws Dollar General Proposal

The public hearing concerns Rezoning Request No. REZ-25-01, submitted by Glandon Forest Equity, LLC, to rezone 2.04 acres of a parcel of almost 60 acres located along New Hope Road, about 1,300 feet northwest of the Woodville Road intersection, from Rural Agricultural District (RA) to Rural Commercial District (CR).

The developer had proposed building a Dollar General store on the site, with plans indicating a project cost of approximately $1.9 million and the creation of four to seven jobs. However, the developer has since withdrawn the request, though the public hearing must still be opened as advertised.

The withdrawal comes after the Perquimans County Planning and Zoning Board unanimously recommended denial of the rezoning request at its Jan. 13 meeting.

Community Opposition Drives Planning Board Decision

At that January meeting, residents of New Hope Township packed the Perquimans County Library meeting room to voice overwhelming opposition to the proposal. Nearly every resident present indicated opposition when asked to show their position on the rezoning request.

Community members raised concerns about the development’s potential impact on the area’s rural character and existing businesses. Residents particularly emphasized worries about how the Dollar General would affect a long-established local country store that is currently making improvements to better serve local needs.

The developer and its engineering firm were the only speakers at the planning board meeting who expressed support for the request. The property owner was absent due to a prior commitment.

Planning Board Chair Antoine “A.J.” Moore noted at the time that it had been many years since such a large number of citizens had attended a meeting, outside of hearings related to proposed solar or wind farm projects.

Tonight’s Agenda

In addition to the public hearing on the withdrawn rezoning request, the Board of Commissioners’ agenda includes several other items:

The consent agenda includes approval of minutes from the Jan. 5 regular meeting and Jan. 20 special called meeting, tax refunds and releases, 22 personnel matters covering appointments, reclassifications, step increases, merit increases, terminations and resignations across multiple county departments, a board appointment for the Town of Hertford’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, and two budget amendments.

The board is also scheduled to hear from Elizabeth Mitchell of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Albemarle.

The Board of Commissioners typically meets on the first Monday of each month.