Planning board postpones Pate property decision

Tuesday evening, December 10, 2024, the members of the Wake Forest Planning Board voted 5 to 1 to postpone a decision about the controversial Pate property on Harris Road until next month.

That decision followed a two-hour meeting that was one of the strangest in recent history. The group that had fought for years against the different plans for the 56 acres backed the plan proposed Tuesday night.

The group issued a statement before the meeting: “Joyner-Harris Forest Conservation supports and applauds Church St Company’s conservation efforts. We would like to see this project approved as Church St has dedicated approximately 30 of the 56 acres of their rezoning proposal towards “Open Space” conservation.

“Unfortunately, the town of WF has initially said that they do not want this substantial land donation due to liability issues. We encourage the town to accept this donation as it would provide public access to the extraordinary bluffs and wetlands on this beautiful parcel.”

After the meeting, Angela DePaolo, the leader of the conservation group, said in an email: “The feedback we received from planning board members and other town reps this evening after the meeting include a desire to have a more defined building footprint as well as a solid commitment towards workforce and senior housing, rather than just a list of permitted usage.”

The plan the Church Street Company in Raleigh proposed in the Tuesday night meeting was verbal, not the usual master plan with delineated areas with zoning and detailed plans for roads and utilities.

Senior Planner Patrick Reidy’s staff report was based on the minimal information he had about Church Street’s plans and he recommended it be denied. But, he wrote, that if Church Street provided a reasonable plan during the meeting, he might be able to recommend it.

Michael Birch with Church Street spoke at length about the new plan his company has for the property, including setting aside a curved area on the north side that includes a pristine stream, bluffs, native plants and trees that would be deeded to the town if it is willing to accept it, which is apparently a question mark.

Birch said building would be limited to 400 dwelling units, 100 of them townhouses and the rest apartments in three-story buildings that would not be visible from the road. There would be two entrances, and between them there would be a 100-foot buffer of untouched trees. There were no drawings or plans showing the locations of the buildings.

A blue area in the southeast of the property would be for neighborhood commercial uses. Birch said there would be a road there running east to west with three acres on one side, four on the other side.

“We’re giving up a lot of developable land,” George DeLoache with Church Street said. “We are very happy to give it to the town or a conservation entity like the Triangle Land Conservancy or to anyone who wants to take responsibility for that land.” He started by outlining how they drew a plan two years ago that was denied. “We knew the (new) plan had to have staff support.” They also had to reach an agreement with DiPaolo’s group. “Neither got all they wanted,” he said, which is the essence of compromise.

Before the planning board voted to postpone a decision for a month – which the Church Street people protested – there was a public hearing.

Gary Skinner represented the Joyner-Harris Conservation group, saying it was protecting the canopy trees, the bluffs and the pristine land, and its petition has 6,000-plus signers. He thanked Jane Harris Pate for her patience, and said the group fully supports what Church Street is proposing.

Paul Nicholas lives next door to the property and said he supports preserving as much as is possible.

Loretta Humphrey asked where the cars would go and said NC 98 bypass has turned into a parking lot.

Marty Ludas did not succeed in getting his video displayed. He said he was speaking for the “largest wildlife corridor in Wake County.”

Margaret Watkins showed a video without explaining what it showed, but was apparently showing developer mistakes.

Bob Siegel asked how long it would take to add a third lane to Harris Road when it took two months to fix a sinkhole on Purnell Road. He also said the new housing would create overcrowding at Richland Creek School.

Sakinah Bush said she lives on Wall Road. “I don’t see why it is necessary to put 400 houses on that land. There aren’t enough schools to support these people.”

Mathilde Perez-Huet said geese would use the retention ponds. The construction will cause runoff and sediment in the creeks and “I’m not happy with what I’m seeing here.”

Michael Smith said something about increasing density.

Susan Stover said the plan was not consistent with the town’s Community Plan.

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