Despite a valid petition signed by 28 Stonegate at St. Andrews residents, concerns about the extension of Greenville Loop Road and a resident complaining about stormwater, sidewalk and street paving issues, the eight members of the Wake Forest Planning Board voted to recommend approval of the rezoning of one area from 153 townhouses to 71 single-family homes.
The petition means that that four of the five town commissioners, a super majority, must vote for the rezoning for it to be passed.
There were reasons for the vote that came to light during the meeting Tuesday night.
Planning board member Steve Stoller said he has a bias against single-exit subdivisions, which Stonegate appears to be with one exit on Forestville Road.
Molly Lukes, who lives on Greenville Loop almost next to the affected tract, said she had no trouble leaving the subdivision to go to work because she can get to either Ligon Mill Road or Forestville Road using Coach Lantern Avenue. Greenville Loop has not been extended to Ligon Mill yet. She also said, “I would much rather have cars from 71 houses than 153 going by my house.” She also said the serious problems with stormwater and flooding are caused by the rock and dirt a previous builder dumped on the tract in question after it was graded.
Both the applicant for the rezoning, Stonegate Partners from Jacksonville Beach, Florida, and the engineer, Bob Zumwalt with the McAdams Company of Durham, said efforts had been made to extend Greenville Loop to Forestville Road to meet Lillie Liles Road, which the state Department of Transportation wants.
Matt Kilpatrick with the owner/applicant said they had had an appraisal done of the property three or four years earlier and submitted an offer based on that amount but the owner wants his mother, who is elderly, to continue to live there. Senior Planner Charlie Yokley said certified mail about offers to purchase was never picked up from the post office.
Stoller asked about the emergency exit to Forestville Road that was part of the plan for the townhouses. When it seemed that Zumwalt and Kilpatrick were lukewarm at best about that, planning board member Steve DeRosa asked if the safety of the residents of 71 homes was not as important as the safety of people living in the 153 townhouses, and Zumwalt agreed to install the emergency exit “until Greenville Loop is connected [to Ligon Mill Road] or build-out.”
Daniel Wilson signed the petition with his wife, but they were almost the only petition signers at the meeting. Wilson laid out a number of problems: storm runoff being shunted into a stand of trees instead of a retention pond, roads that have not received the final coat of asphalt, holes around a manhole, lack of proper grading at the clubhouse and tennis courts, and retention ponds that do not work. He said he has repeatedly complained to the homeowners association with no response and no fixes.
He was asked if he should complain to the builders, and Joshua Lukes said, “There’s no use going to the builders. They are out of business.”
The motion to approve was with the condition that there be the emergency exit until Greenville Loop is connected to Ligon Mill Road.
There was no opposition to Stanley and Irma Kearney’s request for highway business zoning for their car sales lot on Capital Boulevard. “We need the water and sewer. The town’s been really nice,” Stanley Kearney said.
The property, just north of Crossroads Ford, is in the town’s urban services area and the Kearneys have applied for annexation.
Before the meeting ended, Planning Director Chip Russell asked the board members their opinion about an application from part of the Traditions development that would require removing a small piece of land from the drinking water watershed area around Smith Reservoir. Russell said the land would be graded to divert any runoff from the watershed.
“It is not a large intrusion,” he said. “Do you want to entertain this on a case-by-case basis?”
After some discussion, it was agreed they would hear the request on that basis.
2 Responses
This board will give in to the builders just like they allowed traditions to dictate the means of turning onto Wait Avenue from Jones Dairy or Rt 98 with that stupid u-turn circle to make that turn.
My husband spoke at this meeting and I am truly disappointed in our Town. They seem to be more interested in their tax revenue then the citizens. Our safety concerns are legitimate and we were hoping the Town would defend us as they are designed to do. This reminds me of the phrase “taxation without representation”!