In a special meeting called to review the Pine Forest conditional use rezoning request and open up dialogue between developer, MHK Ventures Inc., and the Moore County Board of Commissioners, Planning Director Joey Raczkowski directed attention to three recurring issues of concern raised during the quasi-judicial public hearing process: traffic impact from the 1,600-acre development; environmental issues and impact on the water quality of Nicks Creek; and a proposed onsite wastewater treatment plant.
The key to addressing those issues may lie in conditions attached to any rezoning approval. Those conditions could be imposed by the County or volunteered by the developer, Raczkowski explained. Both the rezoning and any conditions attached to it would run with the land — that is, any current and future owners would be required to adhere to the site plan and conditional use permit.
“Typically, [developer] volunteered conditions are more restrictive than anything we have in our ordinances or policies,” said Raczkowski.
As presented, the Pine Forest application and site plan meet the requirements of the Moore County Zoning Ordinance, Raczkowski told the Board. He reviewed a substantial list of proposed conditions that include the location of uses on the property; the number of structures, as well as their height, density and lot dimensions; the phasing of the development; submission of a preliminary plat and erosion control permit prior to any construction; and an annual progress report provided by the developer to the County.
In addition, storm water management must meet or exceed state requirements, and the preliminary plat will not be approved until documentation of final approval is received from Moore County Public Utilities and all permits for the wastewater treatment plant are obtained by the applicant. One specific condition of approval states that no water will be removed from Nick’s Creek for the purpose of irrigation or potable water supply.
Fred Hobbs of Hobbs Upchurch & Associates, the engineering firm that designed the project for MHK, spoke on their behalf and addressed several of these key concerns.
Discussing the wastewater treatment plant, he said the facility would be permitted and regulated by the North Carolina Division of Water Quality, which required licensed personnel to operate the plant. Operational bonds would be provided by the contractor and, in addition, the North Carolina State Utilities Commission requires filing bonds that protect against operator default.
On the water quality issue, Hobbs said the developer will maintain the prohibition against withdrawing water from Nicks Creek and is willing to dedicate the required stream setbacks as conservation easements or to place deed restrictions on the buffer and wetlands areas to restrict use and prohibit water withdrawal. Such restrictions would blanket the entire property — including those areas not included in the rezoning application.
As proposed in the Planned Unit Development – Hamlet [PUD-H] rezoning request, Pine Forest would be a massive residential and commercial project that includes two 18-hole golf courses, one 9-hole short course, and other amenities, as well as a small retail center, a resort hotel and a gated community with a combined maximum density of 890 total units. Stretching along the north side of Hwy 211 from Hoffman Road near Foxfire to Archie Road, where West Pine Elementary and Middle School campuses are located, the entire property encompasses 1,799 acres.
Whither the Water?
Opening the floor for discussion, Commissioners Chairman Nick Picerno immediately zeroed in on the question of water — specifically, where will it come from?
As originally proposed, Pine Forest would receive water from Montgomery County through a new twelve-inch water line along NC Highway 211.
“I’m befuddled,” Picerno said. “The Board is not really sure where we want to go with water, so how do we have an agreement [with Montgomery County] — or do we?”
County Manager Cary McSwain explained that MHK had signed a draft contract committing to pay $3 million toward the cost of expanding Moore County’s water supply, in order to supply the development with potable water — however, that contract does not specify that the water will come from Montgomery County.
In a related water issue, Commissioner Tim Lea expressed concern that future county-level decisions on water supply issues could impact the amount the developer has agreed to pay to bring water to Pine Forest. In the current draft contracts, MHK has agreed to contribute $3 million toward that cost.
Picerno also recommended that a more broadly worded condition of approval relative to water withdrawals; and, because Nicks Creek supplies water for the Town of Carthage, questioned what assurances would be in place to protect the town’s water supply.
County Attorney Misty Leland explained that the Board is facing a two-part decision.
“There is the rezoning, and the conditional use part,” Leland explained. “If you approve the application with conditions, then the rezoning request will be approved, but the conditions will still have to be satisfied before the development can move forward.”
Picerno expressed concern that it would be unfair and convoluted to mix the rezoning request with the details of how and where water will be brought to the project. He asked that the Planning staff present their recommendation on Pine Forest at the June 21 meeting, when, potentially, a vote could be taken on the rezoning request.
Wastewater
The Commissioners also raised far-ranging concerns about the proposed onsite wastewater treatment plant.
In particular, Commissioner Craig Kennedy questioned the location of the facility and whether any consideration was given to siting it as far as possible from Nicks Creek.
Kennedy also asked Hobbs whether the intake system from the county lines could be reversed to allow excess wastewater to be pumped back to Moore County if there were an emergency event at the Pine Forest plant or exceptionally heavy precipitation.
“Can it go both ways?” asked Kennedy.
Hobbs responded that the wastewater line did allow for movement in either direction and that the system could be redesigned with an emergency failsafe return. However, he cautioned that more analysis would be necessary to determine if the existing county system could handle the additional flow, particularly along wastewater lines in the area of the Pinehurst traffic circle that are already at or near capacity.
On the question of bonding in perpetuity to protect the plant over the long term, Commissioner Lea asked whether a condition of approval could suggest an increased bond amount. He also questioned how a bankruptcy proceeding by the developer or the contracted water company would impact the project.
“My concern is not just now but fifty and seventy-five years from now,” said Lea. “I want to protect future generations as much as we can.”
Picerno asked whether there were impartial or outside agencies that could review the plans and offer a guarantee that the proposed plant will not endanger Nicks Creek.
Raczkowski said it is the responsibility of the Moore County Planning staff to develop conditions that will ensure public health and safety; and, if they determine that the final proposal does not meet that objective, such concerns would be noted in the findings of fact to be presented in June.
Fred Hobbs also responded to Picerno’s question, asserting that the proposed wastewater plant was designed in accordance with state regulations and has already been reviewed and permitted by the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources [NCDENR] Division of Water Quality.
Traffic
Raczkowski reported that a traffic impact analysis had been completed by NC Department of Transportation, which determined that roadway improvements would be required.
As proposed, the plan calls for a new traffic light at the main entrance on NC Highway 211 approximately one-quarter mile west of Archie Road. That entrance would provide access to the commercial retail area as well as Pine Forest’s resort and gated communities. A private interior road would provide access to the proposed tertiary wastewater treatment plant, which will serve Pine Forest and also Dormie Club, another major MHK golf course development.
Picerno raised concern over who would be responsible to pay for the roadway improvements and at what point they would be completed.
Conflict of interest
Commissioner Larry Caddell was not present at the meeting because he has been recused from voting on the Pine Forest application based on a conflict of interest. As a former Mayor of Carthage, he said his intimate knowledge of Nicks Creek would not allow him to review the plan without bias.
In April, questions of a conflict of interest in regards to Commissioner Melton were raised over property he owns on NC Highway 73 in close proximity to a possible route for water and wastewater between Pine Forest and the Dormie Club.
Early in the May 24 meeting, Chairman Picerno addressed another potential conflict of interest involving himself that has received some attention following a recent article in the Southern Pines newspaper.
Picerno explained that, prior to deciding to run for a seat on the Board of Commissioners, he had been a member of the Dormie Club; however, he is no longer a member and received a refund of his membership fee shortly after being sworn into office.
He said he brought the concern to the attention of Leland at that time and she said it was not a conflict of interest, a position she reiterated at Tuesday’s special meeting.
Going a step further, Picerno also asked whether his fellow commissioners were concerned over any possible conflict of interest.
Hearing none, both Picerno and Lea noted that the primary focus of discussion should remain squarely on the question of rezoning and not any single commissioner.
