A public hearing about the first item on the Wake Forest Planning Board’s agenda Tuesday night, a subdivision planned by former mayor George Mackie Jr. and Mackie family members, was tabled on the request of the applicant, Marty Bizzell with Bass, Nixon and Kennedy engineers, and continued to the June meeting.
Several possible future neighbors protested the project and promised to return in June.
The planning board members had a more difficult time with the second item, the proposed Glen Oaks subiivision, which would have 68 townhouses and 228 single-family houses on 74 acres in Franklin County. The land has a cemetery which will remain. Access will be from Capital Boulevard across the 20 or so acres the Holden family corporations will retain and could develop with commercial uses later. Another access will be to the Richland Hills subdivision, part in Wake and part in Franklin, through Ripley Woods Street.
The land is also immediately south of the large-lot Rolling Acres subdivision, and that is the rub though the speakers showed more concern than anger.
Mary McCarey said the Rolling Acres residents have known for almost two years about the planned subdivision. They had been told by the family members, she said, that there would be a 50-foot buffer between the two subdivisions but now there is nothing like that.
Sandy Kennedy explained that he and his wife had to buy an extra lot next to theirs because of the well and septic tank. “Most people here have two or three lots.” He said he wanted some protection against the high density.
“I’m against this entire development,” Brenda Thorne said. The east side of Capital Boulevard is primarily commercial, she said, and the easement which connected Rolling Acres directly to Capital Boulevard instead of using Fish Stallings Road to get there is owned by her and her family and they still pay taxes on it. “Still I get all the townhouses completely behind me.” In a long statement, Thorne also said she would be willing to sacrifice more if there was going to be affordable housing on the land. “Franklin County is a poor county and this is just not a proper use of this land.”
After the public hearing was closed, no one wanted to offer a motion so Chairman Ed Gary opted for discussion until Al Hinton made a motion to approve and Karen Kuropas seconded.
Thad Jusczcak questioned no buffer between the two subdivisions and Brendie Vega, the assistant director of the community development department, said a buffer is not required between two similar developments.
Grif Bond wanted to make sure no construction traffic will be allowed in the Richland Hills subdivision, and Kuropas was concerned about houses planned along a stream, wondering if the setback is far enough away from the water. Assistant Town Engineer Scott Miles agreed streams can change course but the 50-foot buffer required by the state should be enough to make that not a problem.
“My reservations with this project include the stub to nowhere,” Joe Kimray said. In an effort to provide other access if/when Capital Boulevard is transformed into a freeway in that area, the planners had provided three or four stubs. One is aimed directly at house. Vega said they could make that a declared row without paving.
“I’m not against annexation but if it wasn’t for water and sewer we wouldn’t be seeing this,” Gary said. The subdivision plans to tap into a Franklin County waterline in Capital Boulevard but tap onto the Raleigh sewer system in Richland Hills, which also uses Franklin water and Raleigh sewer.
The vote to recommend approval to the town commissioners was five to three with Colleen Sharpe, Al Hinton, Chuck Mosely, Kimray and Kuropas voting yes, Jusczcak, Bond and Gary voting no. The commissioners, who also heard the speakers and staff, will take up the rezoning request and master plan on May 15.
