It came down to 15 feet ? enough to stall the start of a building that would house four businesses lost in the three-alarm fire in downtown Mount Airy.
The town?s planning commissioners debated 90 minutes Monday night, but couldn?t settle on whether the building to replace the razed Bohn building should be set back 15 or 30 feet from the sidewalk.
The seven businesses destroyed by fire stood as the center of Main Street, whose revival propelled a downtown renaissance.
Getting the businesses reopened as soon as possible should take precedence over the debate about mere feet, said Dalia Schulman, head of the Mount Airy Main Street Association.
“I look at this as hair-splitting; it?s political posturing,” she said. “I think people need to understand the urgency, and I don?t see that here.”
The six commissioners split the vote on the setback ? three favoring 30 feet; three, 15.
Commissioner Ken Estabrook said he wanted the 30-foot setback because the facade would align with another planned building designed to house a cafeand shops.
But the large courtyard created by the 30-foot setback would overwhelm the small Main Street, argued Oscar Baker, another commissioner. A staggered approach with one building at 15 feet and another at 30 would give each its own character and contribute to a nice mix on Main Street, he said.
Property owner Rob Scranton had hoped to gain an unofficial consensus Monday, so he could begin more detailed plans Tuesday. His cafe building was to break ground two days after the fire.
Schulman said sales at Knittin? Chicks, her Main Street knitting store, are down more than 50 percent because the attractions in the Bohn building are gone.
WHAT?S NEXT
The planning commission will meet Monday at 7 p.m. where the Bohn building stood to decide how far back to build its replacement.
