Williams Corner applicant postpones BOC hearings

Developer asks for pause following Briar Chapel sewage spill

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After months of delays related to the coronavirus pandemic, the developer of Williams Corner — a 118-acre mixed use walkable community that its website says will provide “a lasting legacy for Chatham” — has requested that its two public hearings, which had been re-scheduled for Aug. 17, be indefinitely postponed.

This announcement came Monday from Chatham County staff, one week before the county’s board of commissioners was set to finally hold the already-delayed public hearings on the project.

“If the public hearings are eventually placed back on the calendar, residents will need to sign up to speak again,” the county’s email notice said. “Staff is not able to move the speakers to a future meeting. The applicant retains the right to request to have the matter placed back on a future public hearing calendar of the Board of Commissioners.”

Bold Development, which has been planning Williams Corner, gave notice to the county on Monday of its desire to postpone the public hearing after recent operational issues with the Old North State Water Company at Briar Chapel.

“In light of the recent sewage spill that happened in Briar Chapel on July 26th, we believe we need to wait for that situation to achieve a higher degree of resolution before we proceed further,” said the letter to commissioners from Bold Development requesting the delay. “As a developer, we rely on utility partnerships and have faith in local providers to hold up their end of the bargain and adequately perform the services for which we engage them. Bold is not willing to gamble with the health of our surrounding community.”

Bold’s Chris Ehrenfeld — a partner in Chatham Media Group, which owns the News + Record — wrote in the letter that the Williams Corner project “has been a challenging process for all involved.”

“This project has highlighted how much civic involvement we have in the county,” he said. “Your voices have guided our decisions and outlook for the project every step of the way. I sincerely thank you for all of your time in the matter. I truly believe we all want what’s best for Chatham.”

Ehrenfeld said his company hoped to resume the project “once the available sewage processing option(s) are more reliable,” noting that the situation highlights the county’s dependence on private sewage solutuions.

“To meet the challenges of affordable housing and workforce housing along with historic growth in the Triangle, NE Chatham must be willing to invest in itself at some point,” he said in the letter. “Developers, local governing members, and citizens must work together to build a better Chatham.”

The raw sewage spill to which Ehrenfeld referred was the Old North State Water Company’s discharge of an estimated 8,400 gallons of untreated wastewater on July 26 near Great Ridge Parkway in the Briar Chapel Community. According to Envirolink Inc., the discharge occurred from the result of a split in the force main pipe. The untreated wastewater entered an unnamed tributary to Pokeberry Creek which is in the Cape Fear River Basin.

The N.C. Division of Water Resources is reviewing the spill.

Concerns about Williams Corner

Even before the spill, the Williams Corner development has proved to be controversial — concerns have been cited about the project’s environmental and residential impact on neighboring communities — and as a result, even prior to this week’s announced postponement, many residents have asked the board to further delay action until the public hearing could occur in person.

Orginally scheduled for the board’s March 16 meeting, the hearings were postponed at that time in an effort to shorten the meeting to avoid large gatherings, due to the emergence of COVID-19. At subsequent meetings, the Williams Corner hearings were delayed again — along with all other hearing items — as county staff worked to find the most accessible way to hold public hearings under the board’s hybrid-meeting model.

“Please wait and revisit land management concerns once our county has rebounded and give developers the opportunity to revisit their economic studies,” Chatham resident Anthony Curtis said at the board’s first hybrid meeting May 18. “Now is not the time to push the growth on our citizens. Now is the time to be conservative and take care of those more impacted (by COVID-19).”

During the board’s discussion July 20 on scheduling those backlogged public hearings, county staff said Williams Corner had been on the docket since January and needed to be addressed; it was eventually scheduled for the Aug. 17 meeting. The public hearings for Williams Corner would have allowed for community input on various zoning changes and text amendments. The two hearings regarding requests for a conditional use permit by Chatham County Emergency Management will still take place as scheduled.

Williams Corner was expected to be built in three phrases over seven years, beginning with apartments and retail at the Lystra Road intersection. When built, Phase 2 will feature offices and storage space and Phase 3 will see the construction of more apartments.

Williams Corner history

The first iteration of plans for Williams Corner were proposed in 2006, but various delays kept the plan from moving forward until recently. Prior to being “indefinitely postponed,” the current rezoning requests were on file since January of this year, which is longer than any other pending legislative item. During a public input session last month, developer Ehrenfeld acknowledged the controversy of the project while saying the hearing should not be delayed for “even another day” in favor of other hearing items.

“This project has undoubtedly caused a divide among neighboring residents, as the as it is the first major project that brings light to the comprehensive land use plan,” Ehrenfield said then. “The next step for Williams Corner is for the public hearing to occur.”

At the time, he added that the project would create an opportunity to fund schools, create jobs, improve roads and reduce the affordability housing gap. In regards to those asking to delay the hearing until it can be held in-person, Ehrenfeld said “it only makes sense” that government meetings would be handled similarly to other meetings now being held virtually due to COVID-19.

“There have been challenges but staff has done an excellent job of navigating those challenges. I think the system you have in place now is a great way to move forward,” he said, adding that Williams Corner should be given priority over other legislative public hearings, since it has been on file the longest. “Together, we can make progress and a positive change for our community.”

As for the project’s future, Ehrenfeld told commissioners he’d like to continue the conversation once there is more known about the spill.

“I would like to continue a dialogue with each one of you to address your concerns and keep you up to date about the future of this project,” Ehrenfeld said to the board members. “Thanks for your patience and understanding.”

Reporter Hannah McClellan can be reached at hannah@chathamnr.com.