News

Hearing on U.S. 64 development is postponed again

By Bill Moss, Published: December 18, 2017

The eagerly awaited and oft-delayed public hearing and decision on a broadly opposed high-density development on U.S. 64 in Laurel Park has been delayed again.

The town of Laurel Park announced on Friday that it had cancelled its December meeting on Tuesday, when the council had been scheduled to hear a developer's request for permission for the first phase of a development of 199 dwellings in duplexes and cottages on U.S. 64 (2710 Brevard Road) across from Hunters Crossing.

Developer WXZ/SG Acquisition is seeking a conditional use permit for the first phase consisting of 56 residential units in 28 duplexes.

The NCDOT notified Laurel Park town officials Friday that it had not yet received all the information it needed to finish conducting an analysis of the developer's traffic impact analysis, said Town Manager Alison Alexander. The state agency asked for more information on sight distance at the driveway leading to the Cottages at Arcadia Views, she said.

The Town Council tabled the application on  Nov. 29 at the developer's request. The developer's senior development manager, Mark Kopcienski, said then that WXZ needed clarification of the NCDOT's feedback on its traffic impact analysis.

Residents of Hunters Crossing, Hawthorn Hills and other subdivisions in the area have mounted a strong opposition movement to the rezoning, saying the two-lane U.S. 64 cannot handle the increased traffic a 200-unit development would generate.

Town officials expect the application to be heard at the Jan. 16 council meeting. The next scheduled meeting is a council work session at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 11.