Residents push back against plan for motel near school

STALLINGS, N.C. – A proposed motel near a school is stirring controversy in Stallings. Whetstone Motel would sit on 10 acres of land on Whetstone Drive. A local developer, R.D. Harrell wants to build a three story motel with 340 rooms near Primrose School.

“This is a real concern, a real public safety risk that has to be taken into account. Everyone’s feeling everything from outraged to concerned, people don’t feel safe,” Kelly Husk, Chestnut Oaks Resident said.

Kelly Husk lives in the Chestnut Village Community he started the website stopwhetstonemotel.com and within two weeks he says more than 600 people have used the site to contact the developer and town council asking them to reconsider the plan for Whetstone Motel.

“Please consider the safety and welfare of our children, consider the impact of our community, and try to do responsible development. Lift up our community with good development,” Husk said.

People against the motel say national data shows motels increase crime like drugs and human trafficking. There are also concerns about infrastructure.

“It’s not a not in my backyard thing. It’s this neighborhood and this area can’t handle the traffic,” Garrett Williams, Chestnut Oaks Resident said.

The area is already zoned for mixed use developments but the town owns Whetstone Drive giving some leverage on development.

“We’re really asking for those elected officials to step up in a bipartisan way to protect this community,” Williams said.

Some residents want to see the developer decide to build something that better fits the community.

“They have a right to develop and we respect That right, we believe it’s just a maybe a poor planning choice,” Husk said.

The Town of Stallings says the project is currently under administrative review. Since the town owns Whetstone Drive there would need to be a public hearing before council could vote on whether to abandon that land.