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By a six to two vote, the Wake Forest
Planning Board Tuesday night recommended
the town commissioners approve the plans
for the town’s first traditional
neighborhood development, Holding
Village, with 1,350 homes.
Two planning board members,
Ward Marotti and Chris Kaeberlein,
questioned a number of points in the
plan and voted against the motion to
recommend. Peter Thibodeau, who had
wide-ranging questions when the project
was discussed last month, was absent
from the meeting as was Stephen Stoller.
Most of Marotti’s questions
had to do with how the open space and
the usable open space in the plan were
calculated. He said parking lots were
included. “I’d like to recalculate the
amount of open space and see if enough
was required.”
Marotti also questioned who
would determine what open space is
usable, how pocket parks will be
buffered, whether stormwater collection
ponds were included in the open space
and whether outdoor seating at
restaurants could be included.
Commissioner Frank Drake had
a similar question. The total amount of
open space in the plan is 83 acres of
the 256 total acres. “Eighteen acres has
to be usable. What is the total actual
usable open space?”
“They’ll have to meet the
minimum requirements,” Planning Director
Chip Russell said. “A minimum of
eighteen acres is required for usable
open space.”
Kaeberlein questioned Roger
Perry of East West Partners, who is
planning Holding Village and developed
Meadowmont in Chapel Hill, about the
comparisons between the two.
“Holding Village will be
more of a traditional neighborhood than
Meadowmont was,” Perry said.
Kaeberlein said a school was
included in Meadowmont. “What was the
reason it was left off” in Holding
Village.”
“Meadowmont was larger. We
didn’t find room to put a school here.”
Perry said. Meadowmont was 435 acres
versus Holding Village’s 256.
Kaeberlein also said he is
concerned about the density, and Perry
said it will be similar to Meadowmont’s
although there will be more residential
in Holding Village, whereas Meadowmont
had more commercial. “There is so much
commercial around Holding Village we
didn’t feel a need to place a lot of
commercial here.”
Planning board chairman Bob
Hill addressed the question of schools.
In his experience, he said, “The school
system will approach the developer. It’s
not just a unilateral decision by a
developer.”
Bill Andrews, who represents
Entrust Holdings, the property owner,
has said he filled out a form required
by Wake County Public School System for
residential developers, listing the
acreage, number of homes and other
information.
Mike Martin had concerns
about the project’s access on
Forestville Road directly across from
the Air Liquide US gas plant entrance
and suggested moving it farther south.
Russell noted the road was a heavily
used local road until about five years
ago when the grade crossing at the CSX
rail line was closed.
The planning board did
include a condition that homeowners in
Holding Village in the vicinity of the
plant be informed in advance about the
noise from the compressors which run day
and night.
Martin also questioned
outdoor seating for restaurants and
possible encroachment on pedestrians on
the sidewalks.
“A lot of those
[restaurants] develop their buildings to
accommodate those type of things,”
Russell said. There will have to be 42
inches of clear space for walkers.
Holding Village will be on
the town board’s agenda for its May 15
meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. |
