This is extracted from Lora Thomas "Spotlight" newsletter of Aug 2, 2025

The difference between Zebulon and home rule is that residents actually had a mechanism--the ballot box--to STOP home rule in its tracks. Not so with Zebulon. The commissioners and Sterling Ranch plotted Zebulon in secret behind closed doors, and there is no means for We the People to know any of the deals and details of what's been planned and/or to slow/halt the approval process.

I don't even see any of the usual land use processes and approvals with citizen comments that other developers are forced to comply being scheduled for this massive project.

The truly scary part is that, if it fails like the similar Legends in Windsor did less than a year ago, the residents could be on the financial hook for YEARS!

In 2022, voters extended the sunset on the .17 of the county's 1% sales and use tax for Open Space (i.e. 17% of each penny of the sales/use tax you pay goes to fund Open Space). It's estimated that the tax will generate about $350M over the 15-year extension period, or about $20M per year. The ballot language included a 20% shareback for the county's 5 municipalities, 28% for Open Space acquisitions, 28% for parks and the remainder is divided between Historic Preservation and maintenance of property the county already owns. So, after all the earmarks were met, county staff estimated that about $4M annually would be available to fund requests for these dollars.

Several entities submitted requests to receive funding, and the Parks Advisory Board (PAB) was tasked with scoring projects to make recommendations to the commissioners. The Advisory Board is supposed to have 9 members, but the county's website only lists 6 members. This is the Board from which Teal and Laydon summarily booted the Chair, Jerrod Taylor, without affording Taylor any response or process. Taylor committed the unforgiveable transgression of asking Sterling Ranch for more justification for its request for funding at a PAB meeting. As previously noted many times, those who challenge/question Laydon, Teal or their cronies meet with swift retribution.