WILMINGTON — Property owners in the Wooden Shoe and Marathon Colony subdivisions filed a lawsuit against Copper Builders regarding its controversial 1,800-home Hilton Bluffs development, separate from the technical review committee appeals scheduled to be heard on Monday, July 20.
The lawsuit represents 45 individuals and the nonprofit Save the Hayne who have sued Copper Builders and two property owners that have agreed to allow their properties be used for Hilton Bluffs’ roadway access.
Filed by attorney Grady Richardson, the lawsuit alleges roadway access allowance would be a violation of the Wooden Shoe and Marathon Colony restrictive covenants. The lawsuit stated the easements violated the plaintiffs’ right to the “quiet use and enjoyment of their properties,” pointing to traffic as the disruption.
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Copper Builders’ goal is to build Hilton Bluffs’ 1,800 homes on 600 acres of a 4,000-acre tract known as Sledge Forest; this was pared down from the originally proposed 4,000 homes on 4,000 acres. The first phase of the development, 580 homes, is expected to generate almost 1,000 daily traffic trips. But by full build-out, it’s anticipated to bring 14,795 daily trips.
Under the current site plan, traffic from the first phase would utilize Marathon Avenue and Indian Corn Trail in the Marathon Colony and Wooden Shoe communities. Richardson said county approval treats Marathon Avenue as a 60-foot public road, though all documentation notes it is a 25-foot road without evidence of widening.
According to the lawsuit, the documents Copper Builders submitted to the county show the roadway would utilize a house lot on Tall Oaks Drive. It’s owned by defendant Ann Hodges Willoughby Miller, related to Wade Miller, founder of Copper Builders.
Port City Daily asked Wade Miller to confirm the relation and sent other questions but did not hear back by press.
The lawsuit alleges if Ann Miller allows her lot to be used for roadway access, she would be in violation of the Marathon Colony subdivision’s restrictive covenants, which state:
- All lots shall be used for residential purposes only and no structure shall be erected thereon other than one detached single family dwelling;
- No noxious or offensive trade or activity shall be carried on or maintained on any lot or part of any lot;
- No use shall be made of any portion of said lots which may be or become an annoyance or nuisance to the neighborhood
If the lot were to be used for a roadway, the lawsuit argues that is not a residential purpose and would be considered an annoyance or nuisance due to the high volume of traffic expected.
“At all times pertinent to this action, the Plaintiffs in the Colony Subdivision purchased in reliance upon the lots and roads being largely rural, agricultural, and low density of people, vehicles, and improvements as planned and envisioned from the Colony Subdivision’s inception,” it adds.
The same restrictive covenants apply to the Wooden Shoe neighborhood. On Dekker Road, another lot, owned by defendants Nicole and Alexander Wardenfelt, is slated to be used for roadway access to Hilton Bluffs, per the lawsuit.
The lawsuit notes the Wardenfelt’s plat map has never indicated roadway access easements were present on the property. It argues that allowing Copper Builders to use the property for this purpose — even for an emergency access road, as proposed — would be a violation of the restrictive covenants.
The covenants allow property owners within either neighborhood the right of enforcement through legal proceedings.
The lawsuit is separate from a county-level appeal filed by Wooden Shoe and Marathon Colony residents. Earlier this year, the county’s technical review committee’s decision to conditionally approve 580 Hilton Bluffs homes to be built. Though residential development on the property is allowed by-right, the appealing parties contend that Copper Builders’ plan clusters units more densely than allowed under the county’s land code.
Richardson is also representing the neighbors in their appeal, which challenges the county TRC’s conditional approval for phase one construction to begin; another appeal was filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center.
Port City Daily asked Richardson why he and his clients wanted to file a lawsuit in addition to the appeal. He said Friday the property owners are seeking damages from the defendants for their “wrongful actions,” referring to the disputed easement agreements for their properties.
Additionally, he said the lawsuit was issued to ensure a path for injunctive relief outside of any decision on the two appeals before the New Hanover County Board of Adjustment.
The civil summons was issued on April 9, though the full complaint was filed on April 28, the same day the New Hanover County Board of Adjustment issued a stay on permitting Hilton Bluffs until it could conduct a full hearing on the appeals.
The hearing is scheduled for Monday, July 20.
Even more pressure is riding on the board of adjustment’s decision, as Copper Builders announced in June it would transfer 3,200 acres of Sledge Forest to the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust if the Hilton Bluffs development was approved as-is.
Richardson told Port City Daily the lawsuit would proceed regardless of the board of adjustment’s decision Monday. He said he is still awaiting the defendants’ response to the filed complaint.
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