Staff Report
A newly proposed subdivision on Holly Grove School Road in West End is set to be heard before the Moore County Board of Commissioners now in February.
The hearing to review existing laws and ordinances in relation to the project was originally scheduled for the Jan. 6 commissioners meeting but will likely be rescheduled after the applicant requested to postpone the hearing until Feb. 3.
County commissioners have the final say on whether the hearing will take place or be pushed out further.
This proposed project, consisting of 68 lots, would be located west of Seven Lakes North subdivision, east of McLendon Hills subdivision and north of N.C. 211 along Holly Grove School Road.
The land is currently owned by Weyerhaeuser Forest Holdings Inc., which owns over 12.4 million acres of timberland in the United States.
In October, commissioners unanimously rejected an amendment that would allow the development of major subdivisions within the Seven Lakes and Woodlake gated communities. While the gated communities were included in the proposed development ordinance update, it was the residents of Seven Lakes who felt the change in the ordinance would affect them the most.
There are parcels in Seven Lakes that could have been eligible for subdivision. A local builder and resident of Seven Lakes, Bob Van Houten, made the request to the county to update the ordinance, with the goal of developing some parcels to fit with the character of the area. No actual subdivision was created nor was there an application made for the county.
Ultimately, commissioners decided that updating the ordinance as proposed was counterintuitive to the communities as they exist today.
This newest subdivision proposal, however, is located on property outside of Seven Lakes and McLendon Hills. How much of an impact the subdivision makes on the surrounding area will be left up to a quasi-judicial decision wherein evidence is presented, witnesses may testify under oath, and the final decision must be based on the evidence and applied standards, not on public opinion.
