UPDATE: Lee County: Vorbeck resigns, county rejects RN20, funds MORE hazardous waste cleanup

On July 14, Lee County Commissioner Taylor Vorbeck resigned at the end of the meeting, citing family responsibilities. Her term was to end in Dec. 2026.

The Lee County GOP has candidates in mind to replace Vorbeck, but has not made a final decision.

The board approved the planning board’s recommended Uniform Development Ordinance (UDO) changes for compliance under state laws but did not approve a recommendation for changing R-20 to RN20.

The change to RN20, as seen in the sketch, would have permitted larger homes, with less cushioning from neighbors to preserve privacy and peace. The conservative respect for R-20 zoning reflects the traditional rural living that neighbors said they expected.

Zoning Director Thomas Mierisch had said in a phone call that the recommended RN20 change would “pull development together” in and near the City of Sanford and Broadway, while preserving rural agricultural properties. RN20 would have allowed a 20k square feet lot with a minimum lot width of 80 feet, with shallow 12 feet rear and 12 feet side setbacks and preserves the front 30 feet setbacks. Mierisch said the new zoning would have affected about 50 to 55 lots of the county’s 30,000 parcels across all jurisdictions.

R-20, residential single-family, allows a 20k square foot lot with a minimum width of 100 feet, with 30 feet rear and 30 feet front setbacks and sides at 15 feet.

The change to RN20 concerned Vorbeck, and she constructed the motion that eliminated RN20.

View the UDO changes here.

RN20 has been approved by the Sanford City Council and exists within the City of Sanford and its ETJ.

UPDATE: “As a private citizen observing numerous zoning changes at the local level, I encourage giving zoning regulations applied at the county level as much flexibility as possible. If the county zoning regulations are too expensive or stringent, in my experience, the property owners will simply petition to be annexed into the Sanford municipality, which will then allow even greater housing density. One of the other proposed UDO changes that should be encouraged is the greater use of ADU’s (Accessory Dwelling Unit) which I have advocated for years. Quality ADUs , also known as “tiny homes”, not traditional trailers, can be helpful in so many ways to property owners depending on their family and financial situations. The one change I would like to see a discussion on the pros and cons is requiring those ADUs to have their own meters if they are tied into public utilities,” David Smoak writes.

Hazardous Waste at Taxpayers’ Expense

Under the Consent Agenda, commissioners voted to continue funding the hazardous waste cleanup efforts at the taxpayers’ expense of the former Magneti Marelli auto parts manufacturing plant for $128,272.50 from July 2026 through June 2027. It is the site for Central Carolina Community College’s E. Eugene Moore Manufacturing and Biotech Solutions Center.

The ongoing, unknown-duration cost of acquiring a hazardous waste site is detailed: The hazardous waste inspection meeting cost $2,500. The semi-annual sampling, with reviews, a monitoring report, labor and travel, health and safety, lab costs and purging water cost $24,832.50. Maintenance, including field time, health and safety, expendables, parts, OBC injectant, which is an injectant used for in-place remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater, and disposal of hazardous waste with weekly visits cost $100,940.00.

Despite a $7.4 million purchase and $600,000 cleanup by taxpayers in 2021, the final cost of the Magneti Marelli site remains unclear as groundwater monitoring and waste removal continue indefinitely. Prior to purchase, reports noted a leaking 10,000-gallon Stoddard solvent tank, VOCs, benzene, naphthalene, DEHP, groundwater contamination, a hazardous waste permit, and contaminants flowing toward Cape Fear River Basin waterways. Regulators still demand monitoring after the initial taxpayer-funded cleanup. Independent oversight, public input, and thorough evaluation could have mitigated expensive risks.

Read the Dec. 2025 article, NC industrial sites threaten water and soil: Why oversight committees matter to understand the complexities of investing taxpayer funds in properties with known hazardous waste violations.

Read the most recently released details on CCCC’s bio center in the article, Hobbs Architects present updates on CCCC’s E. Eugene Moore Manufacturing and Biotech Solutions Center.

Learn how the college is struggling to fund the bio center in CCCC transforms workforce training: From Howard-James sale to $104 M Moore Center.

Public Comments

Citizens expressed data center concerns about infrastructure, property rights, constant industrial noise and infrasound in residential neighborhoods and limited new jobs.

According to county sources, with the data center ordinances as they are currently written, and once the applicants meet the requirements, the county is legally required to approve their project.

July 14, 2026

Stephanie M. Sellers

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