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They came armed with a list of 100 ways
to use water wisely, and by the close of
the comprehensive planning committee
meeting Tuesday morning they were
agreeing to plant drought-resistant
grass on the lawns, install water-saving
appliances in the homes and tie any lawn
irrigation to a source other than the
town’s drinking water system.
“We’ve listened to the
concerns of the commissioners about
water,” David Williams Jr. said. “We
want to be part of the solution instead
of part of the problem.”
Williams and his partners in
Willfair, a newly-formed corporation,
plan to build a single-family
as-yet-unnamed subdivision on 19 acres
on Rogers Road across from the future
Heritage South subdivision. It will have
60 to 65 lots with homes that cost
between $325,000 and $400,000.
“We want to be
environmentally friendly,” David
Faircloth said. “It’s obvious we are the
first ones even offering some of these
things. Are there going to be
requirements on others if the future?”
“If you embrace this, I will
be quick to put it to anyone: what are
you going to do?” Commissioner Frank
Drake said. “You will have established a
benchmark that I will be happy to
uphold.”
As planning board chairman
Bob Hill said, the town does not have a
conservation ordinance or policy but a
town committee is working to develop
one. Hill and the others on the CPC
agreed to add water conservation as one
of the public benefits they consider
when deciding whether to send projects
forward to the town or planning board.
Hill’s motion to send the
Willfair project to the planning board
with the provisions noted above was
unanimously approved.
Committee members said the
water conservation plans – which will
also save money on water and sewer rates
– will be a wonderful marketing tool for
the subdivision.
Williams plans to build
about 40 homes the first year, putting
the project below the threshold at which
it would require prior town board
approval of the water allocation.
The next step for the
subdivision is to request contiguous
annexation. Asking for rezoning to
residential R-8 and approval of a master
plan would follow in July or August.
The water-saving appliances
discussed Tuesday were ways to conserve
with hot water, either a pump that
recycles the hot water or an on-demand
system that heats it instantly. Planning
Director Chip Russell said the pump
system, which would cost about $200 to
$400 during construction, would save the
most water and money. The on-demand
system would cost more, up to $1,000,
and would save less because the cold
water between the spigot and the heater
would be wasted.
Williams said he did not
foresee their being a lot of demand for
lawn irrigation in this subdivision
because it is below the price point
where it is almost a necessity. Home
buyers could choose either a cistern for
the water supply for the irrigation or a
well with the cistern preferred because
it would use rain water rather than
pulling water from the aquifer. Mike
Crowley of Crowley & Associates, the
project engineer, said to the committee,
“You’re right on target in saving the
aquifer.”
By using an alternate source
for irrigation, homeowners will avoid
the fees for the water availability, the
meter and the split meter, a total of
$2,443, and the monthly water and sewer
bills. There was also the suggestion the
town could adjust the water availability
fees for the homes that do not use Falls
Lake water.
Williams is the fire chief
with the Wake Forest Fire Department and
heads up Williams Custom Building where
David Faircloth is a superintendent.
Steve Faircloth, no relation to David,
is the third partner in Willfair with
Williams and David Faircloth.
Crowley said they will
extend Clear Springs Drive to Rogers
Road, making a connection between it and
Chalk Road that will meet the entrance
to Heritage South. In their first
meeting neighborhood meeting, Clear
Springs residents had asked for speed
bumps. They intend to save some specimen
oaks that are 24 inches and larger in
diameter. There are no wetlands, no
floodplains and no streams on the 19
acres.
Proposed floodplain ordinance praised
Speaking of floodplains was
the next order of business Tuesday.
Commissioner David Camacho, who said he
had read the proposed Flood Damage
Prevention Ordinance at least three
times, praised its provisions that
proscribe any development in floodplains
but allow for limited exceptions such as
already approved projects and minor
intrusions.
If this ordinance had been
in place in 2004, Camacho said, “one of
the Durham Road projects would not have
been approved, not with the evidence
that was presented.”
Camacho was referring to
Paschal Townes, a plan for 63 townhouses
partly in the Richland Creek floodplain.
Camacho and Commissioner Velma
Boyd-Lawson voted not to approve the
development requested by Steve Gould and
Bob Neeb as Horsecreek Associates, but
the other three commissioners approved
it.
After the meeting, Camacho
said it was his understanding Gould and
Neeb have decided not to proceed with
the project.
There will be a public
hearing about the proposed ordinance on
May 2. The Federal Emergency Management
Agency and the state of North Carolina
require towns and cities to adopt the
minimum ordinance, and town staff has
made a few additions to meet local
conditions. The ordinance is tied to the
new flood hazard maps which will be
constantly updated.
For water conservation tips,
go to
http://www.wateruseitwisely.com/100ways.
The CPC generally meets
every third Tuesday at 7:30 a.m. at The
Forks Cafeteria to discuss growth issues
and hear development requests. |
