LELAND — East Lake subdivision has been under construction in Leland in recent months after years of planning. However, the development team is back to ask for 2,060 acres be rezoned away from its five varied designations and into a planned unit development instead.
According to Criteria Development, PUD allows for greater flexibility in design and housing types. The project will bring almost 4,000 homes to the Highway 76/74 and Malmo Loop Road area.
One of its builders, New Leaf, already has broken ground and began constructing one- and two-story Charleston-style homes, priced in the $400,000s. Multiple builders, including Adam Homes, are also property owners and the site plans are at varied stages of examination within the town’s technical review committee.
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The project has gone through numerous iterations and boards for approval. Originally, it was denied by the Brunswick County Planning Board due to flooding concerns, but then the property owners asked the Town of Leland to annex 2114 acres into its borders in 2022 and zone its numerous parcels.
In addition to the subdivisions’ thousands of residential units, a commercial component will take up more than 60 acres. A 190-acre, 18-hole championship golf course is planned as well, with the development team anticipating it to be a draw for golf enthusiasts.
However, the PUD would also lift protections around 600 acres, many wetlands, currently under a Conservation District designation.
The Leland Planning Board will convene Tuesday, Sept. 22, to vote on a recommendation to town council. A public hearing will be held at 6 p.m. in town hall.
Here’s what you need to know about the project.
East Lake Subdivision
Developers: Criteria Development, also behind Bay Line in Calabash
Property Owners: Leland Landco LLC c/o Criteria Development LLC, Leland Landco II LLC, Leland Landco III LLC, Leland Landco IV LLC, Adams Homes AEC LLC, Caviness & Cates Bld & Dev Co of Greenville, Cates Building Inc., New Leaf Builders of NC, and JLM East Lake LLC.
Acreage: 2114.27, though the rezoning request is for 2060.55
Zoning: Current zoning is R-6, Residential District, Medium Density; Multifamily District; Commercial Business District, General Commercial; Conservation District; and FlexCode Zone.
If the planned unit development rezoning is approved, it removes 68 acres from the FlexCode Zone and lowers the commercial acreage at the intersection of Colon Mintz Road NE and Malmo Loop Road NE from 56 acres to 5 acres. However, the FlexZone acreage could become commercial, accessible from within or throughout the residential community. There also is a potential for future access from I-140, according to planning documents.
The PUD rezoning also removes 602 acres from the Conservation District, which has existing land use limitations and development protections in town ordinance.
Residential units: 3,800
Commercial: 66 acres, located in the southern portion of the site
Density: Staff said the PUD rezoning would lower the overall density from the multiple five zonings. However, the existing R-6 district — which takes up most of the site — is similar in density to the proposed planned unit development.
Going with a PUD will allow for more housing types, such as single-family detached, single-family attached and multi-family throughout the 2,000 acres.
Multi-family homes are currently only permitted in Multifamily District and FlexCode Zone areas, totaling roughly 89.9 acres currently in the plan.
Traffic Impact: A traffic impact analysis is not required for the rezoning, according to Leland spokesperson Jessica Jewell. Though one was approved for the first two phases of the project’s build-out of roughly 1,100 units; it will include construction of U-turns, stop controls, turn lanes, traffic signal modifications and more at U.S. 74/76 and Malmo Loop Road areas, as well as the I-140 eastbound and westbound ramps.
Open space: A PUD zoning approval reduces open space from 700.47 acres to 599.10 acres, including a reduction in passive open space from 602.20 acres to 483 acres.
116.10 acres will include the golf course, walking trails, fishing pond, parks, and a lakefront amenity.
Floodplain: Portions of AE flood zone and wetlands exist in the project boundary. According to staff, FEMA identified areas of unstudied 100-year flood zones, to establish the base flood elevation prior to development; this was conducted in April this year.
Wetlands: 428 acres, many of which are located in the current Conservation District zoning.
When the property was initially zoned and annexed into Leland four years ago, wetlands on the site were federally protected but now some have changed due to a 2023 Supreme Court ruling Sackett v. EPA.
“Not all wetland areas within the Subject Area have been studied or delineated,” staff noted.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is in the process of completing the wetland delineation. Criteria Development noted “wetlands delineated onsite will be unimpacted or minimally impacted as required for traffic circulation, primitive amenities and nature trails.”
Unique factors: The development will have a pool house, sports courts, playgrounds, dog parks and more.
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