Title
Vote to approve a request by Clay Matthews on behalf of Chatham Timber Holdings, LLC for subdivision First Plat review and approval of Conservancy Estates, consisting of 45 lots on 57 acres, located off Conservancy Parkway, parcel 5263
Abstract
Introduction & Background:
Zoning: R-1
Water System: Public
Sewer System: Wastewater Treatment Plant for The Conservancy at Jordan Lake
Subject to 100-year flood: No floodable areas within the development.
General Information: The subdivision process is a four (4) step process: Concept Plan, First Plat, Construction Plan, and Final Plat. The applicant has completed the community meeting and the Concept Plan review. The minimum lot size requirement for the project is 40,000 square feet of usable area. The Planning Board has two (2) meetings in which to act on the proposal.
Discussion & Analysis: The request is for First Plat review and recommendation of Conservancy Estates, consisting of 45 lots on 57 acres, located off Conservancy Parkway. Per the Subdivision Regulations, Section 5.2C(4), a Public Hearing shall be held at the first Planning Board meeting to receive comments 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. As stated above, the Planning Board has two (2) meetings to act on the proposal.
Roadways: The road is to be built as a 20-foot-wide travel way with a 60-foot-wide public right-of-way.
Historical: The applicant received comments from the Chatham County Historical Association. CCHA requests a baseline survey to indicate the locations of houses, structures, and other features that are noteworthy. This parcel included land owned by the Holt family, whose family cemetery is located to the west of the parcel. CCHA asks that the Holt family name used in secondary streets or communal facilities. Look for unmarked graves and artifacts during construction activities.
Schools: Notification of the proposed development was provided to the Chatham County School System.
General Environmental Documentation: The developer submitted the General Environmental Documentation, and a letter dated January 19, 2026, from North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources Natural Heritage Program to Chatham County Land & Water Resources Division for review. The letter states “A query of the NCNHP database, indicates that there are no records for rare species, important natural communities, natural areas, and/or conservation/managed areas within the proposed project boundary. Although there may be no documentation of natural heritage elements within the project boundary, it does not imply or confirm their absence; the area may not have been surveyed. The results of this query should not be substituted for field surveys where suitable habitat exists. ‘Potential Occurrences’ table summarizes rare species and natural communities that have been documented within one-mile radius of the property boundary. The proximity of these records suggests that these natural heritage elements may potentially be present in the project area if suitable habitat exists.” The elements occurrences documented within a one-mile radius are Red-cockaded Woodpecker and Dry Oak -Hickory Forest.
Taylor Burton, Stormwater Program Manager with Chatham County Watershed Protection Dept., reviewed the information submitted. Ms. Burton replied in a letter dated February 5, 2026, that the requirement has been met. Additional comments included any Allowable uses and Allowable with Mitigation uses in the protected riparian buffer will require a Buffer Authorization from Chatham County, all permits with wetland and stream impacts from NC Division of Water Resources, and the US Army Corps of Engineers will need to be obtained prior to receiving approval from Chatham County for a Grading Permit and Land Disturbing Permit.
Community Meeting: A community meeting was held on December 17, 2025, at Chatham County Public Library located at 197 NC HWY 87 N, Pittsboro. One (1) person attended the meeting. The attendee had concerns about the following:
• Has there been logging activity on the site?
• When will construction start?
• Will there be access to Mitchell Landowner?
• Will this project have access to Rush Road?
Technical Review Committee: The TRC met on March 18, 2026, to review the First Plat submittal. Mr. Clay Matthrew and Mr. Mark Ashness with LJA Engineering, Inc., were present. Mr. Matthews gave a brief overview of the project. Mr. Matthews stated this is a traditional single-family subdivision with a minimum of 40,000 sq. ft lots, public water, and sewer with 60’ wide NCDOT roads with shoulder and ditch section. There are a couple of shared driveway easements.
The following items were discussed:
• Confirmation the shared driveways are 30’ wide.
• Add a note to the plat identifying buffers on lots 9, 10, and 18-24.
• NCDOT’s ability to add the subdivision roads to its maintenance system will depend on when they can officially take over Conservancy Parkway, which must occur first.
• If lot 22 decides to share the road with lots 23 and 24 the road will need to be named.
• Taps for the meters for lots 23 and 24 be placed at the beginning of the shared driveway near the right-of-way.
Septic: This project will use the wastewater treatment plant in The Conservancy at Jordan Lake. A letter from Andrew Ross, Manager of The Conservancy Real Estate Group, LLC states, “The Conservancy Real Estate Group, LLC will accept flow from the Conservancy Estates subdivision that is proposing 45 single-family lots with an anticipated maximum flow of 13,500 GPD.
Water: Public water from TriRiver Water. A letter from TriRiver Water dated February 17, 2026, states “TriRiver Water will take into account the projected capacity requirements for the Project and the timeline for the project. This is not a guarantee regarding future capacity as system demands and conditions are subject to change. However, final allocation of water capacity will be issued once construction drawings for the Project have been reviewed and approved by both the local municipality and TriRiver Water.”
Road Name: The road names Conservancy Estates Drive and Carex Court have been approved by Chatham County Emergency Operations Office as acceptable for submittal to the Board of Commissioners for approval.
Water Features: Rhiannon Graham with Terracon Consultants, Inc (Terracon) completed a site visit on October 7, 2025, and identified five (5) surface waters within the review area that were potentially subject to riparian buffers. Drew Blake with Chatham County Watershed Protection completed the on-site riparian buffer and confirmed the findings with Rhiannon Graham. A confirmation letter dated October 7, 2025, stated one (1) ephemeral stream segment, one (1) intermittent stream segment, two (2) perennial stream segments, and one (1) potential wetland on parcel 5263. A 30-ft buffer from top of bank landward on both sides of the feature for all ephemeral streams, a 50-ft buffer will be required beginning at the flagged boundary and proceeding landward on all wetlands, a 50-ft buffer from top of bank landward on both sides of the feature for all intermittent streams, and a 100-ft buffer from top of bank landward on both sides of the feature for all perennial streams. On-site determination expires five years from the date of the riparian buffer report.
Stormwater and Erosion Control: There are two (2) proposed stormwater devices and as part of the stormwater permitting process additional information will be provided to the Watershed Protection Department during the permitting process. A Stormwater Permit and Sedimentation & Erosion Control Permit will be obtained from the Chatham County Watershed Protection Department prior to the Construction Plan submittal. No land disturbing activity can commence on the property prior to obtaining Construction Plan approval.
Site Visit: Site visits were scheduled for March 31 and April 2, for Planning Department staff and various board members to attend.
Pictures of the site visit can be viewed on the Planning Department webpage. Link: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/dc87c7d2da9d40bf9c3b110aa95fe895#data_s=id%3AdataSource_2-Subdivisions_and_Rezonings_366%3A1035 <https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/dc87c7d2da9d40bf9c3b110aa95fe895>
Planning Board Discussion:
Planning Board met April 7, 2026. Mr. Clay Matthews with LJA Engineering was present on behalf of the developer. Mr. Matthews gave a brief presentation. No one spoke during public hearing.
Board discussion included the following:
• Explain the language from TriRiver’s Will Serve Letter. “TriRiver Water will take into account the projected capacity requirements for the Project and the timeline for the project. This is not a guarantee regarding future capacity as system demands and conditions are subject to change.” Mr. Matthews said that is a standard note we receive on every project we apply for from TriRiver. Because they are a service provider, they acknowledge there could be a subdivision in the future and they will serve it, but they will not allocate the amount of capacity until the subdivision has completely gone through the approval process. Once that is completed we will get the allocated capacity and the flow demand required for the subdivision.
• What does the developer provide the homeowner, letting the homeowner know about Shearon Harris that is approximately 10 miles away? Mr. Matthews stated the developer will comply with what’s required by law for common real estate practices.
• Evaluation of the existing stream crossing or cross at a different location. Mr. Matthews said the stream crossing on the plat is about 50’ away from the existing stream crossing. If the pipe at the existing scream crossing can stay, we will shift the road, but if it must be replaced, we will keep the road as planned and repair the existing crossing back to natural state by revegetation and forest.
• Board asked if they would consider using bottomless culverts for the driveways crossing. Mr. Matthews said, generally NCDOT does not like the bottomless culverts and takes a lot more infrastructure to build one. We have been successful with submerging the pipe 6 inches to a foot into the ground to allow for aquatic passage and normally causes us to upsize the pipe to have the correct flow.
• Some Board members had concerns with the wastewater treatment plant and some Board members expressed that the system is properly sized for the wastewater for Conservancy at Jordan Lake which has been approved and is monitored properly. This project creates responsible density and prevents other rural areas from being developed.
After the Planning Board meeting, the members voting against the First Plat provide a minority report which is posted online with the other materials related to this project. The report included concerns about the proximity of the project to Shearon Harris, use of spray irrigation from the wastewater treatment system, no secondary emergency vehicle access, and where the streams from the project flow.
How does this relate to the Comprehensive Plan: Plan Chatham was adopted by the Board of Commissioners in November 2017 and is a comprehensive plan that provides strategic direction to address the most pressing needs in the county. This project is in an area of the county identified as agriculture (stagey 5.2) on the Future Land Use and Conservation Plan Map. The description for agriculture is mix of uses that includes large-scale agriculture, related processing facilities, supporting commercial and service uses, single family homes, farm buildings, and large-scale working farms and timberlands. The proposed conventional subdivision meets the adopted riparian buffer and stormwater control standards of the county. The developer also contacted the NC Natural Heritage Program to review their database for any rare species, important natural communities, natural areas, or conservation/managed areas within the project boundary, and no rare species were identified in their records. It should be noted that Plan Chatham is not intended to be used as a regulatory tool but is a policy document. When reviewing subdivision applications, the boards can use the plan as a tool to identify future regulatory changes.
Budgetary Impact: N/A
Recommendation/Motion: Motion to approve a request by Clay Matthews on behalf of Chatham Timber Holdings, LLC for subdivision First Plat review and approval of Conservancy Estates, consisting of 45 lots on 57 acres, located off Conservancy Parkway, parcel 5263.
The Planning Board by 5-4 vote and Planning Department recommend granting approval of the road names Conservancy Estates Drive and Carex Court and granting approval of subdivision First Plat for Conservancy Estates with the following conditions:
1. Approval of the First Plat shall be valid for a period of twenty-four (24) months following the date of approval by the Board of Commissioners and the Construction Plan approval shall be valid for a period of twenty-four (24) months from the date of approval by the Technical Review Committee or Board of Commissioners.
2. The county attorney shall review and approve the contract and performance guarantee prior to final plat recordation.
3. Shared driveways shall follow the road standards in the Subdivision Regulations Section 7.4(B).
4. All shared driveways shall be a minimum of 30’ wide, the entire access.
5. A note shall be placed on the final plat, all lots adjacent to Rush Rd shall have no ingress or egress access.