Residents gain partial victory

Tuesday night the Wake Forest Planning Board agreed with the Shearon Farms subdivision residents who strongly opposed the future Bobby Murray car dealership using a subdivision street, Meadstone Way, as one entrance/exit.

But it was narrow victory in that their other requests and demands, which included redrawing the dealership’s master plan, meeting with the state Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO), a second traffic study, and never using Meadstone as a connection to the dealership, were not addressed.

The residents did win some concessions. Attorney Lacy Reaves, after conferring with Bobby Murray Jr. and others, agreed with conditions that said the bay doors to one repair building will be kept closed, there will be no service check or demonstration drives on the subdivision’s interior streets and no amplified announcement system.

About 60 people were in the second floor meeting room in town hall for the public hearing and at least 10 spoke, complaining about the very heavy traffic situation for the subdivision bounded by Capital Boulevard, Burlington Mills Road and the Neuse River and the lack of response by the subdivision’s developer to their complaints about unfinished streets and lack of buffers.

One of the complications of the situation is that DOT and CAMPO have well advanced plans to make Capital Boulevard in that area a limited-access freeway. Rynal Stephenson, a traffic engineer and regional manager with Ramey Kemp & Associates, did the traffic study. Tuesday night he said that DOT will move forward to obtain right-of-way for the wider highway “within four years,” and is starting to look at the design for the interchange at the Capital and Burlington Mills Road intersection. “This is coming.”

The planned access roads on either side of the highway will balloon out east and west near the intersection, probably including the Meadstone Way location on the east side, to take local traffic to a signalized intersection on Burlington Mills Road. These plans were part of the overall Wake County transit/traffic meetings held recently around the county. Shearon Farms residents said they were unaware of the plans until they began gathering information to protest the Bobby Murray plan.

Planning Board Vice Chairman Ed Gary’s motion to approve the rezoning and master plan with all the conditions agreed to by the applicant but with the proviso that the connection to Meadstone be delayed “pending future development by DOT of the Capital Corridor plan” was defeated by a tie vote, four to four. (The ninth member, Shirley Sulick, recently resigned and no one has been appointed to her seat.) Six board members did vote for Colleen Sharpe’s motion with all the same conditions except saying Meadstone would not be connected to the Bobby Murray dealership “until the street is accepted by the town.”

A delay in connecting streets is common, and was one of the possibilities mentioned by planning board members and Planning Director Chip Russell. Russell also said just improving Meadstone, which is 18 feet wide with only a first application of paving and no drainage, would not be sufficient. “Pavement, curb and gutter, sidewalk on one side (the second sidewalk will be built by the developer of the adjoining property.) will do wonders for Meadstone but it doesn’t do anything for Urial, which is a commercial connector street. It’s mean for that, but it isn’t built for that yet. I’m going to push for it anyway whether it’s a condition or not.” Meadstone connects to Urial which leads to Burlington Mills Road.

The board voted unanimously to approve the master plan for a three-story office building on Durham Road for Nexus Global and an update in the master plan for part of the Austin Creek subdivision.

Charlie Wilson, president of Nexus Global, said he began the company in his house and now has over 100 employees around the world, including the 12 currently in leased offices in the South Forest Business Park. The new building will allow up to 50 or so employees on site, which will be the company headquarters. He hires local students and now has an NC State student parttime and will have a local high school graduate as a summer intern. “We not only care about the local economy but we care about the next generation coming up.”

Bob Zumwalt, director of the planning group for Lennar Carolina’s Austin Creek subdivision, said the rework of the original plan has reduced the density, fewer homes and townhouses, and increased the amount of open space by 56 percent. Other improvements include a linear walking park, trails, a dog park, a tot lot, picnic shelters, and a new deck at the pool.

Again, during the hearing, residents complained about the heavy local traffic inside the subdivision and adjoining Bowling Green and onto N.C. 98. One woman complained that the future park, which was intended for townhouses in the old plan, will invade her privacy.

The Wake Forest commissioners, who, with the mayor, were present for the public hearings, will vote on the three projects at their June 16 meeting.