Tuesday the five Wake Forest town commissioners will be asked to consider and vote on two large requests that have had some opposition – the amendment to a special use permit that would allow Sam’s Real Estate Business Trust out of Bentonville, Arkansas, to build a 139,000-square-foot Sam’s Club and request to rezone 131.49 acres along Copper Beech Lane south of Oak Grove Church Road to conditional use GR 10 for the proposed Tryon subdivision with 279 single-family houses and 136 townhouses.
The Tryon plan has been changed since the public hearing in May when several neighbors spoke against the plan, citing problems with stormwater drainage, potential damage to in and near the subdivision and the lack of assured sewer service for a large portion of the subdivision. The commissioners will also be asked to annex the four properties which will become the subdivision. Tryon WF LLC from Knightdale is the developer.
Sam’s Club would be built on 13 acres of the 36 acres which were to make up the Shoppes at Caveness shopping center approved in 2004 but never built. The land is now owned by Weingarten Realty in Atlanta; four outparcels were sold several years ago. The store and parking lot would lie along Caveness Farm Avenue, but access would only be from the unnamed street running behind Texas Steakhouse, Chili’s, Red Robin and a commercial building.
The plan does call for substantial construction and changes in the traffic on Capital Boulevard and the two streets to be used for access, Caveness Farm Avenue and an unnamed driveway. Rynal Stephenson, the traffic engineer with Ramey Kemp & Associates who did the traffic study, told the planning board and town board members on July 1 that the plan will accommodate all the traffic when the shopping center is built out in the future.
There will be new and extended lanes for right turns into those two streets and others across Capital Boulevard, double left-turn lanes into and out of the area and synchronized traffic signals at both intersections. Stephenson said the plan will reduce queueing and stacking of traffic on Capital Boulevard.
The only speaker opposing the plan at the quasi-judicial public hearing was David Bissette, who had many of his statements ruled inadmissible by town attorney Toby Hampson because Bissette is not an expert witness.
There will be a public hearing at the beginning of the meeting for comments on the proposed orders for the fall referendum where voters can decide if they want $6.3 million in street and sidewalk improvements, $14.2 million for parks and recreation and $4.6 million for greenway improvements. With the grants the town can count on receiving, the town will be able to do $56.6 million worth of projects.
There will also be a presentation about the eligible capital projects for the public art. There will be proclamations recognizing the local Purple Heart recipients, naming the week of Aug. 3 as Purple Heart Week and recognizing National Night Out on Aug.5.
The commissioners will accept a petition to annex three parcels totaling 29.562 acres owned by Iris Stoutt in the 4100 block of Rogers Road. Her property lies just east of Heritage and south of the Clearsprings subdivision.
The commissioners will appoint members to the Youth in Government Advisory Board and approve a resolution of appreciation of the members who served during the past school year.
They will consider amending the fee schedule for wireless telecommunication towers and for fees for the use of the Renaissance Centre annex.
They will go into a closed session, but there was no explanation of why.
