BURGAW — After commissioners in a Pender County farm town denied a national developer by-right preliminary plat designation earlier this month, it gave clearance to a local developer’s project that will add housing options to the area.
READ MORE: D.R. Horton development denied subdivision of 191 lots in Burgaw
Tribute Companies is slated to build 135 townhomes in Burgaw on 18 acres, located on the east side of N.C. Highway 117 and north of Annie P. Faison Road. Four parcels are undeveloped on the property in both the office and institutional district and R-20, low-density residential. It’s surrounded by similar zoning of both residential and commercial zoning.
The project requires a special use permit because the developer wants to build townhomes in O&I; permits can be granted in this district if a residential project contains nine or more attached dwelling units. Burgaw Townhomes’ build-out will comprise 26 structures, each having three to six units, and the buildings will be spaced 35 feet apart.
The zoning allows 12 units per acre, but Maynard will utilize 7.2. Each townhome will have three bedrooms and stand two stories, outfitted with parking spaces to include a driveway and one-car garage.
Open space is approximately 18%, above the required 15%. A 10-foot buffer and a six-foot fence will separate the property line from neighbors.
Water and wastewater will be provided through Burgaw. The town has been waiting on easements to build new force mains in the vicinity. According to Andy Mills with Colliers Engineering representing the applicant, a consultant said in the next few months the town will have a better idea of capacity available.
The easements have held up an abutting project, as pointed out by Commissioner William Rivenbark.
“It’s been dragging out there for six years,” he said at the meeting, claiming the town was moving “bass-ackwards” by considering another development when one approved years ago hasn’t even made headway.
“It’s frustrating to the citizens of Burgaw that we can’t get things done in a more timely fashion,” Rivenbark added. “I don’t want these guys to tie up their money for five more years. We’ve got to do better.”
Sam Potter, the attorney for Tribute, said the Maynards have owned the land in Burgaw for 20 years, so waiting another five wouldn’t be problematic.
Tribute Companies is known for developments in southeastern North Carolina, such as Wilmington’s South Front communities and Middle Sound West, along with Whitebridge Crossing in Hampstead.
The hearing for Burgaw Townhomes was quasi-judicial, similar to that of a court hearing. Commissioners were tasked on executing votes based on five criteria only:
- Location and character of the special use will be in harmony within the area it’s located and will conform to Burgaw’s land-use plan and address impacts of project
- Meets all required conditions and specifications of ordinance
- Use of property as proposed will not affect other adjoining or abutting property values
- Use will not materially endanger public health or safety as developed according to approved plan
- Increase in vehicular traffic would not pose a danger to the public
Dylan Coley, traffic engineer with Davenport, was brought forth as an expert witness to speak about proposed traffic. A traffic-impact analysis wasn’t prompted due to the project bringing less than 100 AM and PM peak-hour vehicular trips. Still, Coley estimated Burgaw Townhomes to produce 66 trips in the morning and 78 in the evening, with a total of 993 vehicles traveling through the area daily.
Coley said, given the current zoning, by-right uses would allow detached single-family homes, daycare centers and general office building space, noting each would generate more trips than the proposal. The single-family detached homes have a 73/98 for AM and PM respectively, with daycare prompting 99/100 and office use bringing in 97/98.
“It is my professional opinion that this development of 135 townhomes would not pose a danger to public safety on the basis of traffic,” he said.
The project will have a main entrance from Highway 17 and the secondary entrance from Annie Faison Road. The group has agreed to add a third entrance to the project approved on the north of the site.
All roads will be private, but still constructed to meet North Carolina Department of Transportation standards.
In addition to bringing a traffic engineer, developers came armed with an appraiser. Cal Morgan with JC Morgan Company found the project would not impact housing prices when compared to similar properties located near apartments and townhomes, such as Burgaw’s Heritage Place, or Castle Hayne’s Covenant Housing and Seaboard at Sidbury Station.
As well, civil engineer Mills said the project’s land is “basically flat.” Not located in a flood zone, impervious surface makes up 40% of the site. He added they would be designing stormwater needs to a 10- or 25-year event but they also have to analyze a 50-year event for the stormwater pond.
A quasi-judicial hearing meant residents who spoke had to prove they had “standing.” In other words, they had to put forth evidence to prove the townhomes could harm abutting or nearby properties, according to the five criteria commissioners voted on. Almost a dozen people were sworn in to speak.
“We got far field in the last hearing, let’s do our best to stick to these criteria tonight,” said attorney Brian Edes, who oversaw the hearing.
He also supervised the D.R. Horton hearing held beforehand, wherein commissioners voted down, 3-2, the parcel split for a 191-unit subdivision allowed by-right. Rather than most people speaking to or attempting to show there would be harm in dividing land itself, they instead spoke to traffic, stormwater runoff and wastewater connections being problematic.
The same issues were harangued by neighbors facing Burgaw Townhomes. Novia Labranche lives on Highway 117 South and will be next door to the proposed site. A home will be torn down next door to her to make way for the development. She approximated the site’s entry and exit would be 30 feet from her house and thought the cars it would bring initiated safety issues, particularly when backing out of her driveway. Labranche noted there aren’t stoplights or stop signs to help mitigate traffic in the area either.
“I’m not an appraiser, lawyer, architect, but I do live next door,” Labranche said. “We use one driveway to come out, but we are a three-car household. There will be more than one car coming out of that development. … I’m all for growth but we want to be safe.”
She also spoke to nearby ditches unkempt by NCDOT, calling them overgrown, with water frequently overflowing.
One resident, Mr. Armstrong, agreed but added it wasn’t a ditch anymore and referred to it as a creek. He said it washes onto his mother’s property, often taking up a third of her backyard and feared it would be worse when the house is torn down next to it.
“So where will this water go?” he asked. “And the speed limit is 55 miles an hour and there is not a light within 7 miles one way and 4 miles another way. So you’re talking about speeding traffic both ways. … That’s an accident waiting to happen.”
Resident Julianne George was most anxious over potential increased flooding. She called the incoming development a disruption to the environment and a quality-of-life plight.
“Whenever it rains, even a slight shower, there is standing water in my backyard,” she said.
Daphne Walker also took issue with the ditch near her home overflowing, located near the right-of-way of the development property. Though NCDOT once took care of it, according to her testimony, she said she was told it’s her ditch, to which she has invested money on fill to help prevent water flow as much as she could, though still faces issues.
She also said she will be hearing traffic from her bedroom.
“I just ask y’all to think about if it was you and you were in that position, how would you feel?” she prompted commissioners.
Attorney Potter clarified all flooding and water issues have existed before the development moved one shovel of dirt and said current permitting standards likely would make it better. He called back the civil engineer, Mills, who explained NCDOT may have the development extend a large pipe to facilitate water drainage. By DEQ regulations, drainage collection boxes would be added to capture runoff and move back to its treatment system, he said.
Rivenbark wanted clarity that the buffers around the development property wouldn’t impede neighbors’ issues further. Mills added fencing would not exacerbate water or creek flow and Coley said the driveway permit from NCDOT determines the buffers are set back a certain distance, so as to not create more sight barriers for motorists.
Burgaw planner Ron Meredith told commissioners during staff presentation Tribute Companies’ project fit with the comprehensive plan and met all design components on parking access, landscaping, storm drainage, and the emergency access in Burgaw’s UDO standards.
“Our project actually exceeds the standards of the UDO and that’s the point I want to make,” Potter said. “What we don’t have to do is exceed the minimum open space requirements. We don’t have to have more parking than the code requires,” noting they will exceed the recommended one-and-half per unit and providing 17 overflow parking spaces.
Commissioners were unanimous in their approval, with conditions including the developer:
- Create/maintain property connection to the east
- Create/maintain property connection to the north
- Buffer (with fence and vegetation) along entry driveway (R-20 zoned lot)
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