Action deferred on Muslim cemetery, bonds approved
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on August 4, 2015 1:46 PM
esmith@newsargus.com
The Goldsboro City Council deferred action Monday night on a rezoning request by the Islamic Center of Goldsboro that would allow the center to build a cemetery on Fedelon Trail.
In other business, Council members approved the issuance of $4.5 million in bonds by the Foundation for Affordable Housing to buy and to renovate Jefferson Court Apartments.
The decision to defer action on the cemetery was made by council members following a recommendation by the city Planning Commission that suggested taking more time to consider the request.
Council members previously said they wished to go out and visit the proposed site of the cemetery. The location on Fedelon Trail is in council member Michael Headen's district, District 1.
Council member Charles Williams Sr. said he had been leaning toward voting for the rezoning and added that he has done some research into how Muslims bury their dead.
"They don't embalm. They just wrap them in these linens and put them in the ground, and it doesn't take an effect on groundwater, either, according to what I've been Googling," he said.
A protest petition against allowing the creation of the cemetery has been submitted to the city and was signed by 60.1 percent of property owners surrounding the site. Property owners said they are worried that embalmed bodies would contaminate the ground water supply.They also cited concerns that a cemetery would lower their property values and that a Muslim cemetery negatively affecting the "integrity" of the community.
Since a protest petition has been signed, the city's four-fifths rule has been invoked and six of the seven city council members must vote in favor of allowing the construction of the cemetery for it to happen.
Council also deferred another decision until September, this one concerning Internet gaming.
Young No, owner of Increase Internet Games, asked for 18 more computers to be operated on her property, which would bring the total number of computers at the establishment to 48. Council members said they wanted to further investigate state laws regarding Internet game cafes before any action is taken.
The issuance of the bonds by the Foundation for Affordable Housing was approved unanimously without discussion. The apartments are located at 1100 N. Jefferson St.
The affordable housing complex is currently owned and operated by PK Management, which will be responsible for paying the cost of issuance on the bonds, the insurance on the bonds and will be responsible for funding a debt service reserve fund for the bonds.
The $4.5 million in bonds will not become the city's debt, and the city will not be responsible for repaying the bonds.
The purchase is part of a $75.5 million nationwide bond issuance that will see 13 affordable housing complexes in North Carolina and Missouri purchased by the organization.
"This portfolio (of purchases) happens to be in North Carolina and Missouri," said Raleigh bond attorney Mary Nash Rusher, who spoke at a public hearing at the last council meeting. "I'm not sure why those two were coupled, but they are. They (FFAH) are working with a nationwide (bond) issuer called the Public Finance Authority, which has the statutory authority to issue bonds across the country, not just in a particular state."
The reason the city is involved in the bond issuance is because the federal tax code requires that an approval be given by the jurisdiction in which any project funded by tax exempt bonds is located. Therefore, according to federal tax codes, the bond issuance requires the approval of the local city council.
"This is not your debt," Ms. Nash Rusher said. "You are not approving the apartment complex. You are not approving the developer. You are approving the fact that tax exempt bonds will be used to finance the acquisition and renovation of this affordable housing (complex)."