LELAND — A project that was before the planning board earlier in the spring has received the go-ahead after being revised.
READ MORE: Leland planning board favors commercial use over townhomes near Mallory Creek
Ben Watts, a planner for the Town of Leland, presented site plans to the planning board Tuesday, for a multi-use development to bring 127 townhomes, 5,000 square feet of restaurant space, 15,000 square feet of retail and 10,000 square feet of office space to 31.5 acres near Mallory Creek Plantation.
“There’s more certainty on what kind of commercial we’re going to get. That’s not a gas station; it’s restaurant, office and retail,” Nicholas Newell, president of Mallory Creek Plantation Homeowners Association, told the board at Tuesday’s meeting. “So, that was one of the main driving forces behind why we felt this version — this rendition — of the plan was more appropriate than what we previously saw, which was just residential.”
The board approved the conditional rezoning for the mixed-use development in a 4-3 vote, with members Robert Lazaro, Christopher Berlin, and Barbara Scott Akinwole opposed.
Located near River Road and Mallory Creek Drive, the townhomes will have a density of 5.45 units per acre. It’s in line with the adjacent Mallory Creek Plantation, currently 5,400 units, or 5.40 units per acre; the town ordinance allows a maximum of 6 units per acre.
The project was brought before the planning board in April, proposing a conditional rezoning of approximately 18 acres of the land for a residential development, but it was not approved due to it not aligning with the Leland 2045 future land use plan. The board thought mixed-use would be a better fit than just residential, as the town has been trying to optimize commercial areas to create jobs, per the land use plan.
Mallory Creek Plantation residents also spoke against it with concerns of increased traffic and less privacy. The new proposal includes both residential and commercial zones, and will include street-side parking, sidewalks, and bike racks.
“One of the biggest negatives about living in Mallory Creek right now is that, other than going to a park or a pool, I have to get in a car to get anywhere,” Newell said. “I cannot walk to a grocery store, cannot bike to a grocery store. This provides a lot of bonus.”
The total 31.5 acres has two zonings. Planned unit development, PUD, is a flexible zone that allows a mix of different types of housing and commercial uses within one development. The other portion is commercial business district, C-1, and allows small-scale commercial businesses.
Developer Thomas & Hutton LLC requested 27.44 acres to become residential medium density conditional zoning district, R-6, where the townhomes can be built; 4.36 acres will be rezoned as general commercial business conditional zoning, C-1, where a small-scale commercial center will be built, primarily catering to the nearby residences.
There will be a playground and fitness area near the townhomes, a walking trail, potentially an extension of the Gullah Geechee Heritage Trail around the edge of the property, and a stage for entertainment near the commercial center.
The property already has one existing pond, and the development will add three more for stormwater management.
The town’s future land use plan maps out the property as having both natural-resource- oriented development potential and high development potential. The former means that the land’s natural resources should be preserved and utilized for economic growth and development; the latter means the area has capacity for strong development.
Lazaro recommended the board deny the proposal twice, stating it didn’t match the future land use plan and was not in the public’s best interest.
“Mr. Chair, I motion to recommend council disapprove the conditional zoning request,” Lazaro said early in the meeting.
“Before you make that, or vote on that motion, we still have other people that are speaking,” Newell interrupted. “I’d like you to hear all our input before you make a motion.”
Though Watts’ presentation was finished, the public hearing was still open, with a total of four speakers and two left to speak.
Lazaro withdrew his motion, which eventually did not pass because the majority of the board favored the project.
“I was pleased to see that there was some dialog going on between the community and the developer and the engineers,” board member Stephen Whitney said. “This is, I think, thoughtful.”
The first community meeting happened in October, after being delayed Sept. 20. No one from the community showed up, according to Watts.
“Unfortunately, a lot of residents in this town don’t get involved with these matters,” Newell explained. “I wish that weren’t the case, but that’s just the way that it is.”
Another was held Oct. 17 at the Belville Elementary School and six people attended.
Community members raised concerns about noise levels escalating, traffic increasing along N.C. Highway 133 (River Road) and Mallory Creek Drive, and the potential for clearcutting an area currently undeveloped and covered in trees. Community members also requested the townhomes be single-story and the existing 20 and 25-foot vegetation buffers along the edge of Mallory Creek remain undisturbed.
The developer agreed to keep the existing buffers rather than clear-cutting and planting new growth in their place, which will leave a natural treeline of between 40- and 50-feet-tall, Newell said. There will also be 25-foot street buffers along Mallory Creek Drive and River Road behind the townhomes, each including a 10-foot easement. Twenty-five-foot buffers will also be placed along the development’s main internal streets to separate the commercial zone from the residential, and smaller buffers for the smaller internal roads will go between the sidewalks and the edge of the curb.
“That 25-foot buffer is in addition to the 10-foot easement that’s behind all of the homeowners fences, so it will, in total, be 35 feet. That would be the largest buffer that we’ve seen anywhere in Mallory Creek,” he continued.
During public comment, Mallory Creek resident Carol Grosbier requested, in addition to the vegetation preservation, tree-burning not be allowed after being cut down.
“We were told that the new development on the other side of Mallory Creek, on the south side, would not have any burning, and they burned all of September — well, no. They burned in April, they burned in May, they burned in June, and then the rest of the summer. It was nothing but a dust bowl,” Grosbier said. “The soot went into the swimming pools; it affected three blocks of houses in any direction. So, I want you to be sure that you do not, absolutely do not, allow burning on this piece of property.”
The developer agreed to no burning on the land, also noted on the site’s master plan.
Stan Powers, another Mallory Creek resident, raised concerns about traffic and speeding along Mallory Creek Drive, worried for pedestrian safety.
“The last two days, I was almost hit,” he said. “You can’t cross the street anymore because there’s so many cars going down.”
Powers requested several more pedestrian crossing signs be put in place to help mitigate traffic.
Newell agreed with Powers, but mentioned that would have to be taken up at a town hall meeting.
“We have had multiple people — the Mallory Creek board, as well as residents — come over the years to the town council and suggest some kind of traffic-calming and mitigation,” Newell said. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like something the council wants to take on at this current time. They like traffic to flow on Mallory Creek Drive, so that is what it is.”
In a traffic impact study conducted by the North Carolina Department of Transportation, the development is estimated to create over 2,400 trips per day, with 170 trips during peak morning hours and 226 trips during peak evening hours. Due to the high volume, a traffic impact analysis is required to be completed before receiving approval from Leland’s technical review committee, which is where the project will be heading next before getting approval from the town council.
“The official position of the Mallory Creek Plantation HOA Inc. board is to approve this request for rezoning,” Newell said.
“That’s powerful,” Chair Alan Kerry commented.
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