When it came time for the vote Tuesday night on whether to approve or deny the 890-home Averette subdivision, the five Wake Forest commissioners knew there was strong opposition, including an on-line petition signed by 500 people, 20 written comments opposing the subdivision read by Mayor Vivian Jones before the vote and five speakers phoning in their comments from the neighboring Millrace subdivision attacking various aspects of the subdivision plan.
Before the vote, the mayor said there have been many misunderstandings, including the density of the proposed plan, which is 3.24 residential units per acre. “We have to stop putting houses on one–acre lots. It’s not sustainable. It is much better to have a planned development than to have a few houses built at a time with wells and septic tanks.”
The three commissioners who voted for approval – Commissioners Jim Dyer, Adam Wright and Chad Sary – explained their vote as did Commissioner Bridget Wall-Lennon, who said she was divided but voted no along with Commissioner Liz Simpers.
Wright said he ran on a platform of smart growth, but “this project is not typical.” Whether the town approves or not, the land is going to be clear-cut, and without town approval the resulting building will be “the bare minimum and no benefits for the town.”
“I have read all your comments and issues,” Wright said. “I wish I could answer all of them.” He pointed out that the developer, Tryon Investment Partners, has made concessions in 18 conditions that are worth $4 million, including cutting the number of dwelling units, houses and townhouses, from 1,000 to a cap of 890. The county school system has said it will have capacity for all future students.
As for drainage into Austin Creek, one of the neighbors’ concerns, Wright said, he has found the subdivision plan is “one of the best as far as drainage.” He added that still does not like the size of the subdivision, and “I’ve lost a lot of sleep over this.”
“There are a lot of compromises with a development like this,” Sary said. “There is a lot of misinformation out there.” He noted that Averette will take 10 to 12 years to complete.
Earlier, during the public hearing about annexing the Averette land, Sary said the town planning department, where he was the assistant director, always knew the town would grow to the east. “This property was in our services area. We knew it was an area we would eventually serve and part of the comprehensive planning documents recognized it for our residential suburban area.”
“I would personally rather see [this subdivision] in the town limits rather than take a chance on what would happen with Wake County or hodge-podge development.” Sary made the motion to approve annexing the Averette land and Wright seconded. That vote was four to one with Simpers voting no.
On the vote about approval of the subdivision, Dyer said, “It was painful. Without exception they were against this plan. We were listening. We got the point. And we understood” that if there is an investment in a home and you learn later there will be a change in the neighborhood you will be upset.
Wall-Lennon said, “I was undecided. I still am.” She had made numerous visits to the area, “I’ve talked to the residents. I’ve driven out there at night and during the day. I would like to see a win-win situation.” She talked about the residents’ concerns about turbidity and erosion control. “I want to be able to give them some assurance. We need to make sure staff is on top of the situation and will keep their feet to the fire when it comes to erosion control.”
The four Millrace subdivision speakers had three minutes to voice their telephone comments, and each highlighted difaferent aspects of the subdivision plan they were opposed to.
Calvin Hackeman said he had found no information about the Averette plan on the town’s website or in town documents up through 2018. “Without an Averette Road Corridor Plan or any mention of Averette Road in the Community Plan, it is difficult to know how this fits into the short-term or long-term plan for Wake Forest. Is it because these parcels of land are in sync with the Town’s Vision statements such as favoring open space and environmental quality, expanded parks and recreation areas, or maintaining the small town character and attractive appearance of Wake Forest? NO. Those are not the reasons.
‘The intended purpose of this annexation is to rezone the land, clear-cut it and put 900 densely situated homes on it. This violates, most, if not all, of your existing Vision statements. And because there is no Averette Rd Corridor Plan, we don’t know if this annexation fits in with that non-existent Plan. What we do know is that over the past 2 days over 500 residents of Wake Forest and the local area signed an on-line Change.org petition urging you to vote NO on this annexation. A large portion of those signers are Wake Forest voters.”
Greg Hedrick objected to the annexation and approval because, he said, “First, there is inadequate infrastructure to support this property by the Town of Wake Forest. The roads, police, fire and rescue, commercial services, and schools are not in place to support this area.” He also said over 3,000 housing units are being built or have been approved within a mile and a half of the contested land. He also asked if, given the town is about to add 115 employees with the addition of the Wake Forest Fire Department to town government, it is prudent to annex the property at this time.
James Phillips said he has a landscape architect who has been involved in land planning and development. He called the town’s planning documents for the area “outdated and insufficient” and said the town should have done a thorough environmental assessment before undertaking annexation. “The North Carolina Natural Heritage Program has broadly surveyed the Austin Creek watershed in its’ state-wide Biodiversity and Wildlife Habitat assessment. These are the leading scientists in our state and they are showing this area specifically as significant habitat. Why then are we allowing continued unwieldy annexation and development without following the knowledge that is at our disposal if we just take the time to plan it well? ”
Jack Misnick is a licensed general contractor who purchased the last lot in Millrace in 2017. Before he did so he asked the town about the land behind his home site and was told there were no plans to build there. “I started preparing our lot for construction in March of 2018 and by May of 2018 survey flags were all behind our lot and on Averette Road.
“I have since been told by one of the sellers’ agents, that development of this tract of land has been in the works for roughly 3 years. This time frame would put the discussions of possible development with the Town of Wake Forest in roughly late 2016/early 2017.” He said he had no confidence in the town because it did not tell him that plans for the subdivision had been in process for three years.
Daniel Garner objected to the process of the annexation and the later vote on the project itself.
The developer agreed to six conditions before the public hearing about proposed plan on March 4 which included agreeing to pay $300 per lot up to $250,000 to the town for use in transportation projects. The also agreed to increase the size of the buffer adjacent to the McCoy and Devries property from 25 feet to 30 feet.
After that public hearing, the developer said he would add 12 more conditions, including capping the number of overall residential units at 890 and those west of Averette Road at 150. Also, they will provide 100 feet of buffer rather than 50 feet along the streams draining into the existing ponds in the Mill Race subdivision. There will be a 50-foot undisturbed buffer between the subdivision and the lots in Mill Race with trees added if there are none.
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3 Responses
Living in Wake County means you live in a high growth area. If you don’t want growth or if it sickens you, you have moved to the wrong County. I moved here 20 years ago from a City facing population decline, and I would much rather see growth. I hear there’s a lot of well and septic lots in Eastern North Carolina and no growth. Y’all may be happier out east!
I applaud the Commissioners who didn’t turn this project down but instead worked to get concessions from the developer.
This project makes me sad. I speak from some experience after seeing what happened in our previous home in NY. We lived in Clifton Park NY, Saratoga County. Bedroom community, but no downtown like Wake Forest. Had two main traffic areas and access to I 87 Northway. When the building explosion continued, secondary roads were ignored. Traffic patterns caused delays during morning and afternoon times. Not to mention having one of the largest school districts in NY. Just try to get out on Traditions Blvd when Envisions School is in session. Yes money and power talks. We want to collect more tax money and builders fees. But large scale projects and poor roadway planning are not the way of improvement. Prime example is the new building by the Factory area. Total access and exit botched planning.
Fail to see any plusses in the continued gathering of people into densely populated communities that put severe strain on the environment, infrastructure and amenities. Regarding towns plans to accommodate growth in a timely manner I submit 1A, Roger’s RD railroad crossing, Burlington Mills & Ligon Mill intersection, One World Way & Burlington Mills, Ligon Mills & new industrial park,etc. Regarding safety the increasing number of places with left turns across heavily traveled roads as in any way leaving Publix, leaving Culver’s et all, leaving Factory/Sam’s Express, leaving HT to Roger’s Rd etc. There should be traffic light con trol before they become justified by serious accidents. Seems to be build first, fix later (or much much later in most cases). It is hard to view passage as a rational act.