BY DEBBIE PAGE
debbiepage.iredellfreenews@gmail.com

At the conclusion of a marathon meeting on Monday night, the Troutman Planning & Zoning Board failed to make a recommendation on the rezoning request for the 778-acre Wakefield project in Barium Springs.

Developers plan to ask Troutman Town Council to annex and rezone the property to mixed use on September 8. The property is currently zoned Iredell County suburban residential and rural agricultural.

After a brief presentation of the proposed Wakefield project, Town Planner Lynne Hair said the staff recommended approval of the project because it is adjacent to commercial, office and residential uses and seems appropriate to a “primary growth area” as designated in the town’s Strategic Master Plan.

The Future Land Use Map also labels the area for “employment center uses,” which would occur in the 600,000 square feet (57.3 acres) of commercial space that is expected to provide 1,500 new jobs, according to Prestige Development President Steve Bailey.

Wakefield must also meet Troutman’s Unified Develop Ordinance safeguards to ensure the development’s quality and would also be subject to any conditions recommended by the board, Hair said.

After a visual of Wakefield by SeamonWhiteside engineering firm director Taylor Critcher, board chair Randy Farmer opened the public hearing to 19 in-person and write-in speakers, most of whom expressed reservations about the project.

Concerns included the additional 6,000 residents that almost triples Troutman’s population, 5,000 to 6,000 additional cars added to already congested traffic on Highway 21/Main Street, and the strain on schools with the influx of new families.

Jane Getsinger expressed worry about the project’s high density and the impact on the small-town atmosphere and charm. “Help us retain what sets us apart,” said Getsinger.

Former Town Council member Paul Bryant noted the August 18 addition in the project’s conditions of “duplex lots” being allowed in two areas previously presented as single-family homes. He warned that duplexes should not be allowed in these single-family areas.

Cass Karbo protested that the incomplete traffic impact analysis (TIA), which cannot be completed until traffic data is collected on days schools are in session, left the board without important information to make a decision.

Though he did not oppose planned development, lower property property taxes with more commercial development, and reduced water rates with more buying power, Karbo said development must be tied to road improvements, which NCDOT proved to be woefully inadequate to complete.

Referring to this project and the over 4,000 homes already on the books to be built, Karbo said, “If all these scheduled developments go in and roads are not improved, it will be a mess.”

Aimee Combs said she appreciated the additional retail opportunities but stressed the need for thoughtful planning for residential and commercial growth.

Greg Peterson noted that the project map was much like a Krispy Kreme donut, with too much attention on the “hole” and not enough thought about the effect on the people in the donut who already live in Troutman. He said the zoning should remain in its current suburban residential/rural agricultural designation.

BOARD DELIBERATIONS

When the public hearing closed at the two-hour mark, board members began 2.5 hours of questions and negotiations with developers, deliberation of each development section’s components, and debate about procedures to table the decision until the TIA could be examined.

The TIA is not due to be completed until September 8, the day of the Town Council meeting, at which time a final decision on the development could be made.

Board members first questioned the actual numbers of residential units possible in Wakefield. After adding up the additional possible 400 units for the “flex” space once designated for a school and another possible 400 units over retail spaces in the commercial area discussed in the development’s conditions, board member Mark Taylor came up with a possible 3,150 residential units instead of the 2,350 shown on the concept map.

When asked if the TIA being conducted reflected that number, the developers conceded the number was based on 2,350, not including the possible flex space and the commercial area residential units above retail spaces.

Traffic engineer Mike Surasky said the TIA numbers could be updated to delineate traffic impacts for each possible use scenario, such as flex space commercial traffic impacts versus residential use.

Bailey noted his intent and desire was to market the flex space for commercial use, including company headquarters or medical facilities. He also said developers will start development in each section simultaneously and grow each section gradually instead of completing one section at a time.

Surasky also said the scoping document on internal traffic capture trips for the whole development were a little over 14,000 daily trips, with about 760 morning and 700 afternoon rush trips. He also noted that these are trips only within the development and include counts of trips from store to store as well.

Home to grocery store to coffee shop to dry cleaner to home again, for example, would count as five trips on this internal traffic capture.

During the discussions, the developers agreed to a number of additional board requests, including having a mixture of one- and two-car garages in the townhomes, limiting duplexes to no more than 100 in both single-family sections, placing no duplexes against Barium Seasons Village, and limiting buildings to five stories in commercial areas (town fire trucks are eight-story capable) and four in multifamily homes.

The developers also agreed to a minimum of eight acres for amenities on each side of the development, limiting commercial area apartments above retail to 250, limiting flex area residential to 300 units if it does not get commercial interest, and starting on each section’s amenities after the sale of the 100th lot in that section.

Other concessions included paying for the construction of a soft surface extension of the Carolina Thread Trail instead of making it the town’s financial responsibility, leaving 50 feet of 100-foot buffers undisturbed, adhering to the UDO tree caliper of 2.5 inches instead of the 2-inch diameter stated in the conditions, and agreeing that stream buffers would be 50 feet from top of the bank instead of center of stream.

The developer also agreed that the Old Mountain Road connection to the development, near the South Iredell High School bus entrance, would be completed and signalized, if agreed to by NCDOT, before the traffic connection to the development is made.

After two hours of discussions, the board wanted to table the request until after they could study the TIA, but Hair noted they would have to hold a special meeting before the statute mandated 30-day deadline of September 21.

Tabling would also require the Town Council to hold a special meeting for a final decision to accommodate some of the developers’ October 1 contractual deadlines for the project.

After tabling was deemed unfeasible, Karen Van Vliet made the motion to deny, which was supported by Farmer and Darryl Hall. Barry General, Mark Taylor and Mark Michel voted against denial, leaving the board in a 3-3 tie and thus no recommendation to the Town Council.

In her statement of consistency, Van Vliet cited the missing TIA and the inappropriate project density for the town as reasons for her motion to deny.

Van Vliet also requested that the developers’ concessions and the board’s main discussion points be conveyed to the Town Council as it considers the Wakefield project on September 8 at 7 p.m.

Residents will again have a chance to share their thoughts on the project at a public hearing before the council takes action to approve, deny, or table the project for 30 days.

PROJECT DETAILS

♦ The “village concept” commercial buildings would be roughly three times that of Birkdale in Huntersville, with 600,000 square feet of commercial space planned on 57 acres (about 20 percent more land area than Birkdale).

The shopping area would be anchored by a major grocer; a 51,000-square-foot Publix anchors Prestige’s Village at Sherrill’s Ford commercial section.

♦ The total buildout will take eight to nine years, with developers making substantive improvements at their expense in the town’s public utilities and affected roads as directed by the traffic impact analysis.

♦ The developers are also honoring the history of the site, preserving the Gracie Building, now housing the Heartstrings program, and Little Joe’s Church as part of the village. Historical names will be used for streets and other parts of the development.

The “Wakefield” name comes from the last name of the first pastor at The Barium Springs orphanage.

♦ Children’s Hope Alliance is retaining 70 acres of campus area to continue its services to the community.

DEVELOPMENT SECTIONS

♦ In the Springs at Wakefield, developers are planning 800 age-restricted (over-55) homes on 300 acres circling behind the CHA campus, stretching from Old Mountain Road to the northwest of the campus.

Homes in this area are estimated to be in the $400,000 to $500,000 range. All the homes will have garages. Possible amenities include such perks as a club house, pool, pickle ball or tennis courts, and walking trails.

♦ On the east side of Highway 21, the Brook at Wakefield plan includes 700 single-family homes on 220 acres bordering Moose Club Road and Duck Creek Roads. Possible amenities include a clubhouse/pool, dog park, and walking trails. These homes’ costs are estimated to be in the $350,000s to 500,000s.

♦ The Grove at Wakefield plans 400 townhomes on 84 acres and will share some amenities with adjoining Brook development.

♦ The Flats at Wakefield plans 450 apartments on 41.5 acres with its own pool and amenities.

♦ Fifty-seven acres are dedicated to the village core commercial area with a limit of 300 apartments above retail spaces, 42 acres for Barium Commons, 17 acres for community amenities (trails, ballfields, etc.), 47 acres of improved natural open space, and 13 acres donated to the town to create a community amenity.

♦ Thirty-seven acres of flex area, once planned for a school, could be a commercial development or hold up to 300 residential units. Instead of donating the 37 acres to the school system, the developers are considering contribution toward the building of the new middle school at another site. Discussions are ongoing with I-SS.

♦ Wakefeld will include roads and sidewalks constructed according to town ordinances, cohesive signage in all sections of the project, and green spaces emphasizing existing natural conditions.

♦ Facade materials are limited to brick, stone, hardy board, cementitious siding, wood siding or shingles, or stucco. Vinyl can only be used on windows, soffits, and trim.

♦ Utilities will be installed underground.