
LELAND — A 127-townhome development rezoning subsumed almost all of Thursday night’s two-and-a-half hour council meeting, with the board hesitant to vote on the proposal. Instead, it suggested hosting a third community meeting to serve as the end-all-be-all for public input.
READ MORE: Revised 31.5-acre development approved in Leland, Mallory Creek HOA on board
Prominent homebuilder D.R. Horton and engineering firm Thomas & Hutton LLC are proposing the residential development mixed with 30,000 square feet of commercial space adjacent to the massive Mallory Creek Plantation subdivision. The commercial space includes 5,000 square feet of restaurant space, 15,000 square feet of retail and 10,000 square feet of office space.
The development team has been working on rezoning 31.5 acres of land fronting North Carolina Highway 133 for more than a year. A similar proposition was denied earlier this year due to the town’s concern over losing commercial property.
For most of Thursday’s meeting, the council’s cause for hesitation was a perceived lack of communication with the public about the development and opportunities for feedback. The developers had completed the town’s requirements in community meetings; it held two, and president of the Mallory Creek HOA, one of the property owners, said the HOA has brought it up at multiple meetings, as well as seen dozens of neighbors discuss it online.
Eventually, Mayor Brenda Bozeman suggested council postpone its decision on the rezoning to give time for another community meeting, this one hosted by the town and presided over by the development team, after several constituents reported not having knowledge of the proposal.
“I want to know that the people have had one more chance — if they show up they show up, if they don’t they don’t,” Bozeman said.
Before the group could vote, council member Bill McHugh put forth a motion to deny the rezoning request based on the loss of commercial land, as the commercial zoning of the property will be reduced 17 acres, though only he and council member Veronica Carter were in favor and it failed.
“[It is] not reasonable nor in the public interest because it is the last piece of commercial property on [Highway] 133 already has significant traffic and significant use, and this simply doesn’t live up to what we’re trying to do in that corridor,” McHugh said.
The Leland council has been protective of its commercially zoned land after town staff reported most of the town’s land was residential in early 2024. The town has considered amending its code of ordinances to ensure no more homes are built in commercially zoned areas in an effort to diversify its town offerings and grow its job (and tax) base.
The original version of this development, the one that was denied in the spring of 2024, had 123 townhomes without a commercial component; council was not a fan of the conversion.
“Unless we want to become a bedroom town for Wilmington, I think we need to give strong consideration to make sure that our commercial base is improved,” planning board member Barbara Scott Akinwole said of the proposal in April 2024.
On Thursday, town manager David Hollis said the idea that the town does not have enough commercial space may have been overstated by staff.
“We have a lot of commercially zoned land that’s being underutilized, that has not been used for commercial, that sits vacant and has sat vacant for a long time,” Hollis said, adding the town could also acquire more commercial land through growth, i.e. expansion of the town limits.
Still, the planning board barely approved of the proposal with the vote being 4-3, and council members McHugh and Carter aren’t sold on the commercial loss either.
Even with the new plan, the property will lose most of its commercial acreage, going from 21 acres to around 4. The subject property, made up of four parcels, has two zonings: planned unit development, a flexible zone that allows a mix of different types of housing and commercial uses within one development, and the commercial C-1. The developers are looking to retain, yet reduce the commercial zoning and rezone the PUD to the purely residential R-6 zoning.
“It’s not like we have hundreds of acres out there,” Carter said. “I don’t think 20 to four is a good sell for me.”
The councilwoman also asked the developers to consider rezoning other parcels owned from residential to make up for the loss of commercial space. Though Hollis told her to make this a condition for approval would tread contract zoning territory, which is not allowed.
Carter was also critical of the developers’ communication with the community and governing groups that have been part of the project. She called out the team for touting how the proposed Gullah Geechee Heritage Trail will run through the property. The corridor is intended to highlight the Gullah Geechee, African descendants who were enslaved on the rice, indigo and Sea Island cotton plantations of the lower Atlantic coast and contributed much to Cape Fear’s history, cuisine and culture.
The councilwoman, who has a seat on the trails’ nonprofit board, said she reached out to the project’s president asking if the development team discussed the trail intersection with their property. According to her, the president said no.
“The idea is not just to have a bike-ped trail, we have bike-ped trails all over the place, and we have plans for them to reach our communities; the idea is to capture the history and the culture,” Carter said. “Quite frankly — and this is a point of personal privilege here — for you to say that we’re running the Gullah Geechee trail through something that’s named plantation — that’s troubling.”
The perceived communication issues also extended to Mallory Creek neighbors, the chief concern of Mayor Bozeman. Several people mentioned not feeling their voice was heard on the development.
Mallory Creek resident Scott Raymer said he and his neighbors have “never been consulted or pulled.”
“I don’t know much about this, other than what I hear from the developers tonight,” he said.
Resident Stan Powell said he didn’t think the Leland council was being told the whole story.
“We have our board representing basically DR Horton. Why? Because they want them to merge with Mallory [Creek Plantation]. Now what? What that’ll mean is Mallory Creek will get money, so we’ll get the HOA fees… it looks like a pretty good deal,” Powell said. “Problem is it’s going to add about another 250 to 293 people to Mallory Creek. So any amenities that we have? So yes, the money looks good. It’s great for DR Horton. It’s great for the board because they’ll be getting monies and they can build us a couple more amenities. Problem is, by the time this is built, we’re going to need a third pool. We’re going to need a bigger clubhouse. We’re not going to get enough money from DR Horton to build those things.”
However, some of Thursday’s speakers thought the joint use of the property was a good compromise: “ I would love to see it, and I hope that it comes around, because I can’t wait to have a little restaurant right there, or coffee shop or whatever it might be,” said Susan Parker.
The development team agreed to another meeting and postponing the vote, though they said they were confident in their marketing of the development and expected feedback to be much like it was Thursday night — a few people that don’t want it to happen, but a majority that are in support or indifferent.
The vote to postpone passed 4-3, with Bozeman, Bob Campbell and Richard Holloman voting for it. The council has not yet set a date for the community meeting.
Tips or concerns? Email info@localdailymedia.com.
Want to read more from PCD? Subscribe now and then sign up for our newsletter, Wilmington Wire, and get the headlines delivered to your inbox every morning.