TITLE
Vote on a request to approve Mark Ashness, P. E., CE Group, on behalf of Keith Brown, Sun Forest Systems, for subdivision First Plat review and approval Stonecrest at Norwood Crossing, consisting of 49 lots on 107 acres, located off Mann’s Chapel Road, SR-1532, parcel # 1693.
ABSTRACT
Action Requested:
Request by Mark Ashness, P. E., CE Group, on behalf of Keith Brown, Sun Forest Systems, for subdivision First Plat review and approval of Stonecrest at Norwood Crossing, consisting of 49 lots on 107 acres, located off Mann’s Chapel Road, SR-1532, parcel # 1693.
Introduction & Background:
Zoning: R-1
Watershed District: WSIV-PA
Water Source: Public, Chatham County
Septic: On-site septic and repair areas
Floodable Area: Yes. See First Plat
Minimum Lot Size: 0.92 acres
Maximum Lot Size: 8.52 acres
Average Lot Size: 1.90 acres
The subdivision process is a four (4) step process: Concept Plan, First Plat, Construction Plan, and Final Plat. The applicant has completed the Concept Plan review along with the community meeting.
Discussion & Analysis:
This request is for First Plat review and recommendation of Westview at Norwood Estates, consisting of 49 lots and located off Mann’s Chapel Road, SR-1532. A vicinity map showing the property location is included in this packet, attachment # 2. Per the Subdivision Regulations, Section 5.2C (4), during a First Plat review, the first Planning Board meeting shall include a Public Hearing to receive comment on the proposed subdivision. Item (b) states that following the Public Hearing, the Planning Board shall review the proposal, staff recommendation, and public comments and indicate their recommendation for approval, disapproval or approval subject to modifications. The Planning Board has two (2) meetings to act on the proposal.
Community Meeting: A community meeting was held on October 20, 2016 at the Mt. Pleasant UMC Church. The purpose of the meeting was to receive input from the community on the project. Fifteen (15) people attended the meeting. A copy of the meeting report is included in this packet, attachment # 3.Questions were raised regarding the road alignment / stream crossing and lot line adjustments in order to place homes closer to the street when possible.
Septic: A soils report and map, attachment # 4, were prepared by G. Christopher Murray, Piedmont Environmental Associates, PA. Mr. Murray stated in the report “In this instance there does appear to be soils for conventional and/or drip type septic systems.” Per the soils map, there is adequate soil for individual on-site septic systems for each lot, except for lot 1 that is proposed to have an off-site septic systems which will be on Lot 1A. A buffer authorization from Chatham County may be required for installation of the septic systems for Lots 1/1A and Lot 49. Thomas Boyce, Chatham County Lead Soil Scientist, reviewed the report and map and found them adequate.
Water: County water will be utilized. The utility/waterline layout is shown on the First Plat. A Water Plan Permit and Authorization to Construct will be provided with the Construction Plan submittal.
Roadway: Roadways are proposed to be public, state maintained roads. There is one proposed stream crossing that will require a buffer authorization from Chatham County.
The subject property is adjacent to two developed subdivisions, Heartland Grove and The Settlement. Heartland Grove received final plat approval in 2003 for 34 lots. There was discussion about the developer of Heartland Grove providing a dedication of public right-of-way to the Norwood property. However, due to objections by the developer and the Norwood property having sufficient state road frontage on Mann’s Chapel Road, the Board of Commissioners did not require a dedication of public right-of-way for a future interconnecting roadway. The Settlement consisting of 47 lots was approved in 1999/2000. Wilkinson Creek is a boundary between The Settlement and the Norwood property and since there was floodable area along the creek, no interconnecting roadway was required. Parcel #1717 consist of 22.25 acres and has state road frontage on Lamont Norwood Road. The boundary between the subject property and parcel #1717 is also Wilkinson Creek. Staff does not recommend any dedication of public right-of-way to parcel #1717 due to having to cross Wilkinson Creek and floodable area. Per the engineer, NCDOT will require a right lane deceleration lane. A road plan approval for both the subdivision road and the deceleration lane will be provided with the Construction Plan submittal.
Road Names: The road names Stonecrest Lane and Kenwood Way have been approved by the Emergency Operations Office for submittal to the Board of Commissioners.
Historical: In January, 2017, the applicant hired TRC Solutions to perform a limited background research and field survey for two small family cemeteries located on the subject property. The primary goals were to document the cemeteries and to establish a 15 foot buffer zone around each for preservation purposes. There are two cemeteries and their locations are shown on the First Plat. Each cemetery will be on an open space lot. Cemetery 1 appears to have 13 graves and cemetery 2 appears to have 5 graves. Bev Wiggins with the Chatham County Historical Association visited the two cemeteries. Mrs. Wiggins was able to do more in-depth research on the families buried in the two cemeteries. From her research, it appears the graves belong to the R. L. and Carrie Fearrington family and Lester and Martha Cotton family and that the families may have been sharecropping or renting the Norwood property. See attachment # 6 for the full report. The developer plans to install fencing around the cemetery areas as designated by TRC Solutions. The cemeteries will be left in their natural state.
Stormwater and Erosion Control: Two stormwater ponds are proposed and will be placed on lots designated as Community Space. A Stormwater Permit and an Erosion Control Permit will be obtained from Chatham County prior to submittal of the Construction Plan. No work can commence on the property prior to obtaining the Erosion Control Permit and Construction Plan Approval.
Riparian Buffers/Wetlands: A wetland Delineation and Stream Evaluation report was prepared by personnel from Sage Ecological Services, Inc. Drew Blake, Environmental Officer with Chatham County Land & Water Resources Division and Sean Clark with Sage Ecological Services made a site visit to the subject property on November 21, 2016 to verify the previous determinations made by Sage Ecological. Per Mr. Blake’s report, attachment # 7-A, there are three (3) ephemeral segments, four (4) intermittent segments, four (4) perennial segments (including Wilkinson Creek), and twenty-one (21) potential wetlands on the property. Andrew Williams, Regulatory Project Manager, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, made a site visit on January 27, 2017 to verify the existence of the wetlands. See attachment # 7. All features identified will have the required buffers that range from 30 feet per side to 100 feet per side, measured from the bank of the stream or edge of the wetland, landward. There is floodable area along Wilkinson Creek as shown on the First Plat. See attachment # 9 for the stream legend.
Environmental Documentation: Section 6.2 A of the Subdivision Regulations states “Any proposed subdivision of forty-nine lots or less shall be required to submit Environmental Documentation to the County. The Environmental Documentation shall include the information required by the General Environmental Documentation Submittal
Form developed by the Environmental Quality Department.” Mark Ashness, P.E., CE Group prepared the Environmental Documentation, Attachment # 8, and submitted the document to Brian Burkhart, Environmental Quality Director for review and approval. Mr. Burkhart review and approved the Environmental Documentation.
School Notification: The developer has notified the Chatham County School system regarding the proposed 49 lot Subdivision, located off Mann’s Chapel Road and provided a vicinity map and site plan.
Technical Review Committee: The TRC met on March 15, 2017 for staff review of the First Plat. Staff, including Tom Bender, Fire Marshal; Larry Bridges, Utilities Director; and Drew Blake, Environmental Officer, discussed the project. There were no issues of concern at that time.
Site Visit: The Subdivision Regulations, Section 5.2 C (3-c) requires two dates for site visits for county staff, advisory board, and elected officials. The site visits were held on March 14 and 16th. Ms. Emily Moose was present for the March 14th site visit. On March 16th, the developer, Keith Brown, and the engineer, Mark Ashness conducted a site visit for Planning staff along with Planning Board members George Lucier, Caroline Siverson, and Bill Arthur. The property has been logged in the past and now consist of pine forest, hardwoods, and small regrowth trees. Per Mr. Ashness, the developer will only clear necessary area for the roadway and stormwater ponds and the lot clearing will be done by the owner/builder on a per lot basis. Those attending the site visits were shown the general lay of the land, the location of the proposed roadways, the cemeteries, and various water features, including Wilkinson Creek.
It is Planning Department staff’s opinion that the First Plat meets the requirements of the Subdivision Regulations.
The Planning Board met on April 4th to review the request. Keith Brown, Sun Forest Systems, developer and Mark Ashness, P.E., CE Group were present to answer questions. A public hearing was held on the request. One person spoke, Ms. Cindy Norwood Marshall. Ms. Marshall stated that she was speaking on behalf of the Norwood family; that the land had been in her family for more than 100 years; and that her family is in support of the proposed development. A copy of Ms. Norwood’s comments are on file in the Planning Department. The public hearing was adjourned. Mr. Ashness spoke and stated that the developer wished to change the name of the subdivision to Stonecrest at Norwood Subdivision and change the road names to Stonecrest Lane and Kenwood Way; and that the Emergency Operations Office had approved the names as suitable for submittal. Mr. Ashness also stated that the Planning Board had been provided a copy of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Notification of Jurisdictional Determination and the signed Jurisdictional Determination Wetland maps dated March 30, 2017. Discussion by the Planning Board followed. Questions/comments included comments received at the community meeting being addressed in writing; appreciation that the cemeteries were going to be fenced and ongoing maintenance of the cemeteries; roadway crossing of the stream and steepness of stream; the Environmental Documentation report information from older data; Conservation Subdivision possibility; and access to off-site septic areas. Mr. Brown stated that he planned to put a placard on the cemetery fence regarding the information known about the families buried there. Mr. Ashness stated that the stream crossing would be less than the allowed 150’ of disturbance; that the information provided in the Environmental Documentation was taken from data previously provided on the County GIS site; that a Conservation Subdivision was not feasible because the small number of lots did not support construction of a waste water treatment plant; and that the pockets of suitable soil area did not allow for a community septic system; that the stream crossings on Lot #’s 1/1A & 49 would be made by a bore under the stream bed as allowed by Chatham County Environmental Health. The Board had no other questions/comments.
Recommendation:
The Planning Board by unanimous vote and Planning Department recommend granting approval of the road names Stonecrest Lane and Kenwood Way and approval of the First Plat with the following conditions:
1. The Construction Plan shall label the cemeteries as Cemetery 1 and Cemetery 2
2. The Construction Plan shall state the width of riparian buffers.
3. The Construction Plan and all related permits shall reflect the subdivision name “Stonecrest at Norwood Crossing” and the road names Stonecrest Lane and Kenwood Way.
4. The two cemeteries shall be fenced with a placard placed on each.