Title
Vote to approve a request by Meggan DeCandia on behalf of JMEST Partner, LLC for subdivision First Plat review and approval of Hickory Mountain Reserve, consisting of 48 lots on 164.20 acres, located off Pleasant Hill Church Rd (SR-1506), parcel 12006
Abstract
Introduction & Background:
Zoning: R-1
Water System: Public
Sewer System: Individual Sepic
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 Hickory Mountain Reserve, consisting of 48 lots on 164.20 acres, located off Pleasant Hill Church Road. 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 asked to keep an eye out for any grave sites, house/structure remains, artifacts, etc. during the site clearing, regrading, and excavation activities. If any artifacts are discovered to contact CCHA.
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 February 9, 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.
Taylor Burton, Stormwater Program Manager with Chatham County Watershed Protection Dept., reviewed the information submitted. Ms. Burton replied in a letter dated February 11, 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 February 13, 2025, at Agricultural and Conference Center located at 1192 US Hwy 64 West, Pittsboro. Approximately twenty-six (26) people attended the meeting. The attendees had concerns about the following:
• Per the UDO what can be built on this property? Response: Within the R-1 zoning the minimum size lot is 40,000 SF. With the “net-density calculation”, the project could development around 125 lots within the 165-acre project.
• What are the anticipated home prices within the subdivision? Response: Prices could start in the $800,000 range, but this could change due to the market conditions.
• Will the entire subdivision be a custom-built community or a national/regional builder? Response: The project is too large for a single custom home builder and too small for many of the national homebuilders.
• Well standards and what type of evaluation will be conducted to determine if wells are viable? Response: This is early in the process, the evaluation of County water or wells on each individual lot is being evaluated. Discussion has started with Chatham County regarding water access and well options.
• How can you have a single access road onto Pleasant Hill Church Road? Response: The subdivision is less than 50 lots and would not trigger a Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) nor is it large enough to require a second point of access.
• Are you aware that Fire insurance rates are high in the area? Response: We understand that without County water to the property, fire insurance may be higher in this area. The builder will evaluate the option for water service to the properties.
• What is the plan for stormwater ponds to avoid flooding? Response: We have designed the site with stormwater control structures to reduce the post development runoff to pre-development levels for certain storm frequencies (per Chatham County standards). Final location of said SCMs is TBD.
• What will happen to the existing culvert between the Bowers’ property parcel 11957 and N/F Williams property parcel 11962? Response: The pipe will be evaluated to size and integrity. It is likely that the pipe will be replaced with a larger pipe to meet Chatham County and NCDOT standards for the culvert crossing.
• Why are the lots less than 10 acres? Other properties south of this were 10 acres and can we make the adjustment to larger lots? Response: Based upon the County zoning district, the previous timbering operations, the cost of the property, and the required infrastructure improvements, 10-acre lots are not proposed for the project. With lots ranging from 2-5 acres and the project off set from Pleasant Hill Church Road, the development will fit within the area.
Technical Review Committee: The TRC met on March 18, 2026, to review the First Plat submittal. Mr. Jeff Roach and Meggan DeCandia with Peak Engineering & Design were present and Mr. Roach gave a brief presentation. Mr. Roach stated the project is just under 165 acres with 48 lots proposed. The lots range from 2- to 5-acres with individual septic and public water. Three SCMs are proposed, a network of storm pipes will manage runoff, and all roads will be NCDOT ribbon-paved with ditch sections. The following items were discussed:
• Standard setbacks for buildings will be required.
• Signage at the entrance will need a permit.
• Any street lighting will need to be approved.
• Will the public waterline need to be extended from US Hwy 64 to the site? Mr. Roach stated the waterline will extend from US Hwy 64 to the site. The developer will be responsible for extending the waterline.
• Where Landrum Loop intersects, a road name is needed.
• The mail kiosk sits close to an intersection, for safety, it may benefit to have pedestrian signage or pavement striping.
Septic: A soils report was completed by Soil & Environmental Consultants, Inc. on March 18, 2025, according to the soils report. Nathan Way, Onsite Wastewater & Wells Program Supervisor with Chatham County Environmental Health reviewed the soils report. Mr. Way stated in the email dated January 23, 2026, that everything looks okay at this stage of the project.
Water: Public water from Tri River Water. A letter dated January 21, 2026 from Nicholas Kent with TriRiver, states TriRiver has no comments on the project at this time.
Road Name: The road name Hickory Reserve Lane, Landrum Loop, and Hunters Trail Drive have been approved by Chatham County Emergency Operations Office as acceptable for submittal to the Board of Commissioners for approval.
Fire Flow: The fire marshal had concerns with the fire flow and requested a fire flow test be completed.
Water Features: Joshua Harvey and Mason Montgomery with Soil & Environmental Consultants, Inc. (S&EC) completed a site visit on February 5, 2024, and identified fourteen (14) surface waters and one (1) pond within the review area that were potentially subject to riparian buffers. Mr. Drew Blake, Asst. Director Watershed Protection provided a confirmation letter dated July 1, 2024, stated three (3) intermittent segments, two (2) perennial segments, eight (8) potential wetlands and one (1) pond. 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. The Jurisdictional Determination (JD) request has been submitted to the Army Corp of Engineers and is currently being processed. The JD will be required at construction plan submittal.
Stormwater and Erosion Control: There are three (3) 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 30, 2026, 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%3A1033 <https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/dc87c7d2da9d40bf9c3b110aa95fe895>
Planning Board Discussion:
Planning Board met April 7, 2026. Mr. Jeff Roach, P.E. was present on behalf of the developer.
Public hearing included the following concerns:
• Waterlines on US Hwy 64 are transmission lines. The waterlines were built for municipal growth and emergency water supply, not rural subdivision development
• Do you take into consideration the trash situation when approving subdivisions
• Will there be any issues with septic on other properties
• Water quality
• Increasing the parameters of the ordinance for wastewater disposal
• Light pollution
• What is the price point of these houses and how does that relate to the $94,000 median income in Chatham County?
Board discussion included:
• One access road
• Concerns with a 12-inch transmission waterline
• What’s the difference between the distribution waterline and a transmission waterline
• The Natural Heritage Program does not physically evaluate the site; it’s unknown what species may be lost during the development
Planning Board voted 8-1 to postpone the project to May 5, 2026 meeting. The Board would like to have additional information about the 12-inch waterline and if the Board has any legal authority if the water infrastructure was found inadequate.
After the Planning Board meeting staff received supplemental information from Watershed Protection Dept, Environmental Health Dept. Environmental Quality Dept, and Tri River. The information from all said departments is provided in a separate document and may be accessed online.
Planning Board Discussion:
Planning Board met May 5, 2026. Mr. Jeff Roach with Peak Engineering was present on behalf of the developer. Staff presented the information collected from Tri River Water, Environmental Health Dept, Watershed Protection Dept, and Solid Waste & Recycling Dept.
Each agency provided staff with the following information:
Tri River Water stated the 12” water main on Hwy US 64 has never operated to supply water to Siler City system. There are limitations for using the water main for that purpose without system improvements, given that Siler City is higher in elevation than Southwest Chatham system.
Environmental Health Department stated there are three options for septic.
1. Public Option - traditional local Health Dept. Environmental Health conducts physical soil evaluation with hand auger or backhoe pits to determine soil suitability. Consider landscaping, topography, available space, and setbacks. Will issue permit and inspect system installation for operations permit. If unsuitable Environmental Health will deny permit and applicant can use option 2 or 3. Applicant can go to NCDEQ for state issued permit if no subsurface soils for any system type
2. Option 2 - Hybrid Option LSS and/or Authorized Onsite Wastewater Evaluator (AOWE). LSS/AOWE conducts physical soil evaluation with hand auger or backhoe pits to determine soil suitability. Consider landscaping, topography, available space, and setbacks. LSS/AOWE submits improvement permit on state approved template. Environmental Health issues permit based on LSS/AOWE fieldwork and design. AOWE may also submit for construction authorization or EH can issue construction authorization based on LSS/AOWE improvement permit. Environmental Health inspects system installation and issues operations permit.
3. Option 3 - Fully Private AOWE or engineer option permit (EOP). AOWE issues notice of intent to construct (NOI). AOWE inspects system installation. AOWE issues authorization to operate (ATO). EOP - engineer (with soils work done by LSS) issues NOI. Engineer inspects system installation. Engineer issues ATO.
All 3 permitting options mentioned above are under NCDHHS rule/authority and include all subsurface system types (6” bury minimum). This could range from conventional gravel and pipe up to pretreatment drip irrigation or reclaimed water systems.
NCDEQ issues surface discharge (drip, spray, NPDES direct discharge) system permits. In the case of individual residential systems, only after it has been demonstrated that subsurface systems cannot be permitted.
Watershed Protection Department stated according to the existing conditions sheet of the Revised First Plat (attached), drainage from this property flows southeast, away from the Jordan Lake Watershed. Based on information from the county GIS mapper and the NC DEQ Surface Water Classification Map, the property is located within the Local Watershed and drains into Harlands Creek. From there, flow generally continues southeast across Highway 64 before ultimately draining into the Rocky River.
Solid Waste & Recycling Department stated our department does manage, to a certain extent, all waste generated in the unincorporated areas, but operationally, our collection center system is exclusively focused on residential waste in the unincorporated area (29,000+ households). Construction and Demolition (C&D) tonnage increased at our collection centers mainly due to the expansion of a pilot program offered at only 4 centers (FY21 - 467 tons) to a full program with a C&D bin at every center (FY24 -1125 tons). Collection centers only take C&D waste generated at home by residents themselves. A residential housing contractor is not allowed to bring C&D waste to a collection center even though the work takes place at home. Over the last decade, despite steady population growth, the tonnage of municipal solid waste (MSW) passing through our 12 collection centers has not changed significantly (11,995 tons in FY16 vs. 11,862 tons in FY25). According to their records, the number of households SW&R serves (unincorporated area of the county) has increased by a little over 20% since FY16.
Mr. Jeff Roach provided a brief presentation.
No public input.
Board discussion included the following:
• Lots are large enough to have well and septic without public water coming to the site. Mr. Roach stated they were bringing water to the site because of the request from the surrounding property owners who did not want individual wells to serve each lot. Are you planning to put wells on the lots? Mr. Roach stated no. Staff explained if there was a change from public water to individual wells this is a significant change and the project and project risk starting over.
• Will existing neighboring properties be allowed to tap into the water? Mr. Roach said yes but ultimately up to Tri-River Water.
• Relieved that 48 lots won’t be drawn from the same aquifer which will protect existing well users. There is a concern that the county may have effectively surrendered control over where water lines are extended, control that shapes future development, at a moment when there is no UDO in place to reinforce agricultural and conservation priorities for this area.
• Concerns about large-lot development, affordability, and questioned whether five-acre lots should remain a standard expectation.
• Concern with the recurring pattern of subdivisions staying under 50 lots to avoid an Environmental Impact Assessment.
The minority report stated the following: Our main reason for voting to recommend disapproval of these subdivision applications is because they are asking Tri-River Water to run new water lines into rural areas in western Chatham County, both north and south of Hwy. 64, between Pittsboro and Siler City. These areas are designated for agricultural use in the Future Land Use and Conservation Plan Map. Both applicants are asking for water lines to run to their subdivisions from the 12” water transmission* line built in 2008 between Pittsboro and Siler City.
Our understanding is that this is a water transmission line and was built at the time of one of Chatham County’s worst droughts, to ensure emergency potable water for Siler City and other areas during severe drought conditions. It also supplied water to Silk Hope School, Silk Hope Fire Station, and local government-owned properties, and to families with contaminated soil from the old county landfill. The pipeline was a proactive, yet expensive, measure to secure a stable, long-term water supply for Siler City, preventing the need to rely on emergency, temporary measures like hauling water by truck.
The county did not build this line for rural subdivision development. The Planning Board heard from many members of the Hickory Mountain and Silk Hope communities who believed they had been given assurances from the county in 2008 that this water line would not be used to turn their agricultural areas into suburban development, with the increased traffic, light pollution and wastewater that would bring.
Other questions relating to overarching policy decisions should be considered as well.
1. In 2024, when Chatham County transferred its water and sewer infrastructure to Tri River Water, did it cede all control of where new water lines would be run, or does the county still have a voice in these decisions?
2. If so, does the Board of Commissioners of Chatham County agree that this water line between Pittsboro and Siler City should be used for new subdivision development in areas that had been identified as part of Chatham’s remaining farmland?
3. If Tri-River Water now enables developers to fund the extension of water lines into agricultural and conservation areas, will this create conditions for subdivision development that wells alone could never sustain?
Although some of these questions may be outside the scope of the Subdivision Regulations, we believe they raise important policy questions for the Board of Commissioners concerning the direction of growth in Chatham County. Decisions on where water lines are built, and their intended purposes, are key to a local government’s ability to shape the character and pace of development in the county.
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 located in an area of the county identified as agriculture on the Future Land Use and Conservation Plan Map (strategy 5.2). The description for agriculture areas includes large-scale working farms and timberlands, related processing facilities, supporting commercial and service uses, and single-family homes.
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: The Planning Department and Planning Board by 7-3 vote recommends granting approval of the road names Hickory Reserve Lane, Landrum Loop, and Hunters Trail Drive and granting approval of subdivision First Plat as submitted 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. The applicant shall continue to work with the Chatham County Fire Marshal with the fire flow.