Why Sanford?

“Why Sanford?” is not just a title, but a genuine question posed to my hometown folks and transplants, especially those considering moving here. It is directed at those who have been taking a bird’s-eye view of Sanford for future growth, residentially, industrially, economically and financially.

Last week, I tiptoed into a late-notice meeting, not in the usual location. The Sanford City Council met at our Raleigh Executive Jetport on Feb. 24. I was quite interested in learning more about the city’s next steps.

After living here since 2019, I found the discussion of Sanford’s 5-20-year planning most intimidating: drastic land changes, with trees crashing and farms being bulldozed for yet another new development. 

This meeting was convened after the city’s first work session on the Growth Framework and Policy.

As attendees and council members alike closed sandwich boxes, the meeting agenda rolled along just as planes moved into position, taking flight or safely landing. 

As this compact, fully functioning airport was going through its checklists and FAA procedures, I thought of the sign at the airport’s exit that welcomed passengers and guests to North Carolina, specifically Sanford. Sweet, unassuming Sanford, just like the airport, who knew to ask Why Sanford?

The Principal-in-charge, Charles Archer, led the project overview of the City Council-led effort, providing guidance on growth questions and annexation requests.

While the questions and suggestions volleyed back and forth, and the last cookie crumbs were brushed off the table, my mind slipped back into the Why Sanford, and the foreboding fear of encroachment and the demise of the small-town feel Sanford has.

I wondered what had become of the Sanford Area Growth Development meeting I’d attended a year or so ago, where we discussed cityscapes, a cultural center, and more. 

We are now back to reviewing the city map and discussing annexation. New industries and plans for even larger developments are being evaluated. Again, I thought of sweet, unassuming Sanford, with its downtown and main street feel changing and evolving, not at a fast pace, but gently, with a few varied grocery stores, one or two big-box retailers, and a mix of entertainment venues. 

Add these establishments? Sure, maybe we could fill the void where folks head to Cary and Raleigh, or to Pinehurst and Fayetteville. But at what costs?

I discovered “well-centered Sanford” unexpectedly, and in this city, I found cherished friends, a church home, fulfilling employment, and a palpable sense of community that welcomed me in. 

It’s hard to find all of this in one town. 

Now the challenges come from officials, executives, and developers discussing fracking, data centers, annexation, rezoning, rising property taxes, and everything else rising faster than is affordable. 

Challenges and changes from big-box retailers seem to be driving the demise of mom-and-pop shops and small businesses trying to find their niche and stay afloat for more than a year. Expansive developments raze croplands and forests with seemingly no concern for the wildlife and flora we share with Sanford. 

Why is Sanford building a brand-new Farmers Market, while from one county border to the next, farmlands are dotted with For Sale signs or splayed with survey stakes? With bulldozers roaring their engines, ready to strike at the trees, dredging through grass and weeds, I have to ask: Why Sanford?

Executives and council members are discussing plans that some of us may not live to see come to fruition, if that marker is truly 20 years away. As a frequent guest, rather than flyer, of this airport, I enjoy its ample observation deck, watching planes take off and land while sketching and rocking in the chairs. It’s quite a difference from the surrounding airports, and I long to hold on to this ruralness for years to come. 

While we cannot close Sanford or stop progress, we can make wise decisions and choices for its future before it becomes another Holly Springs or Cary. We can slow this Raleigh wave to a manageable pace and give its inhabitants a chance to catch their breath.

Why Sanford is becoming a Why Not Sanford?

Yes, change and progress are inevitable, but the focus needs to shift to ‘What’s going to happen to Sanford?’ 

I listened to Mr. Church, Mr. Dunn, Ms. Rhodes, and our mayor discuss Jonesboro and other blighted areas, wondering what had happened and how to revitalize them. I thought about how distinct Sanford is, with its charming towns of Broadway and areas like Lemon Springs and Tramway, and how they are at risk of being swallowed up, like the backroads that lead to Holly Springs and Fuquay Varina, and the forests that used to flank those roads, disappearing. 

Council members will convene again to solidify Sanford’s direction, from Growth and Community Visioning to Improvement pathways and finally, decisions, where officials are asked to keep in the center of their minds what a successful Sanford would look like. 

I ask, Why Sanford, too. Why are you here? What would make you stay or leave? Family? Housing? Employment?  

I believe Sanford should be focused and intentional about the direction the city takes in its growth and development so that “Well-Centered Sanford” can remain sweet, unassuming, and not an insignificant dot on the map, with no distinction or character, where its borders simply roll into the next town or city. 

I would prefer to support Sanford’s growth and development sustainably and responsibly, so that even if I’m not here to see the 20-30-year plan come to fruition, residents and visitors can still say it is well-centered, worth stopping through for shopping or dining, and, even better, calling it home.

March 4, 2026

Dr. Dadriane Ethel

Dr. Dadriane E. Davis Townes, affectionately known as “Dr. DeeDee,” has more than twenty years of experience in education. She is the visionary behind The DEE Approach and creator of the ETHEL Methodology and SCHEMA Original Curriculum. A native New Yorker with a North Carolina heart, she has taught students from preschool through high school, as well as in religious and scouting programs.

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