The nearly 1,800-acre Pine Forest Development got a green light from the Moore County Planning Board Thursday night, December 10, despite strong opposition from conservation-minded citizens.
    Continuing a hearing that began in November, the Planning Board heard from area residents who spoke both for and against the subdivision and golf resort that will spread north of NC Hwy 211 from near Hoffman Road to West Pine Middle School. In the end, Board members voted unanimously to recommend approval — subject to conditions — of the Planned Unit Development - Hamlet [PUD-H] rezoning requested by Pinehurst developer Bob Hansen, of MHK Ventures, Inc. The rezoning request will now come before the Board of Commissioners for final approval.
    As presented, Pine Forest will include two gated communities with a combined maximum of 890 residential units, including up to 300 hotel rooms; two eighteen-hole golf courses each with its own clubhouse, plus a nine-hole course; a conference center; a commercial center near the main entrance on Hwy 211; and a small "farmer’s market" retail area at a secondary entrance to be located on NC Hwy 73. The main Pine Forest entrance would be at a new intersection, with traffic signals, approximately a quarter mile west of Archie Road.
    
Moore County’s Last, Best Longleaf Forest
    Developer Hansen had previously estimated the cost of Pine Forest at $60 to $80 million “just to get started.” In Thursday's public hearing, local and state conservationists were more concerned about the ecological value of the undeveloped tract, which they characterized as one of the last — and perhaps the largest — intact Longleaf pine forest ecosystems remaining in Moore County. [Read one state botanist’s assessment here.]
    Rob Evans of the NC Department of Agriculture testified that the tract includes a section of the Nick’s Creek headwaters and meets criteria necessary to qualify as a plant conservation preserve.
    Several members of the Save Our Sandhills [SOS] organization expressed concern over Pine Forest's impact on water and natural resources. Calling the plan "precedent-setting" and "flawed," they argued that approval of such a massive subdivision failed to meet one of the key goals of the county's Land Use Plan: "to preserve the agricultural, rural, and small town environment of Moore County.”
    
Water from Montgomery County; Wastewater for Irrigation
    The county zoning ordinance requires that developers obtain from Moore County Public Utilities a certification that water is available to meet the needs of a proposed subdivision. Hansen is working with Public Utilities on a plan that will bring up to 300,000 gallons of water per day from neighboring Montgomery County via a new $3 million water line from Candor to Seven Lakes — to be funded by the developer.
    However, MHK's first step, if the project is approved by the Board of Commissioners, will be the construction of an on-site tertiary wastewater treatment plant. Described as a cast-in-place structure, rather than a "package plant," this facility will serve Pine Forest's homes, hotels, and commercial establishments, eliminating the need for individual septic systems. It will also provide treated wastewater to irrigate the golf courses and community landscaping — a water-conservation technique common in some parts of the country, but as yet rare in Moore County.
    Because Pine Forest will need the treated wastewater for irrigation before it has the residents, golfers, and hotel guests to provide the necessary untreated waste, MHK will accept 350,000 to 500,000 gallons per day of wastewater from the county’s existing sewer system, treat it, and use it for irrigation at both Pine Forest and the Dormie Club — another nearby golf community under development by Hansen.

Too Much Development in Area A?
    Jesse Wimberly, a member of the Area A Small Area Planning committee, praised Hansen for meeting and, in some cases, exceeding criteria set forth in the land use plan developed by that group last year, but recommended the Planning Board consider Pine Forest in the context of other developments planned for the area.
    “Moore County is at a critical crossroads . . . . when you add together the Dormie Club and Stonehill Pines [developments with Pine Forest], it is a loss of 4,000 acres of critical habitat. Clearly they’ve gone out of their way to preserve open space —  but when you have this scale of development you cannot maintain the integrity of an ecosystem,” Wimberly said. “The cumulative effect of growth will not be in keeping with Area A.”
    Picking up on the comments made by Rob Evans, Planning Board member Ricky Lea asked why the state had not pursued the property during the long period it had sat on the open real estate market.
    Evans said he was made aware of the Pine Forest property only after several hundred acres nearby were purchased to protect the recently identified Sandhills lily, a rare species. That tract is home to a scattering of plants, but Evans said adding the Pine Forest tract would protect the entire population. He explained that the state could offer only fair market value for the property — less than a developer could afford — and admitted, that, in today’s economy, it would take the state a considerable period of time to accumulate the funding necessary to complete such a transaction.

More Traffic for the West Pine Area
    Traffic impact on NC Hwy 211, especially near the already congested stretch at West Pine Middle School, was a key concern for several residents who spoke during Thursday's public hearing. The NC Department of Transportation [NC-DOT] has plans to widen the roadway from West End to Pinehurst; however, additional traffic is already anticipated when West Pine Elementary opens its doors next Fall. That new school is located immediately behind and adjacent to the West Pine Middle facility and is currently under construction.
    After the Public Hearing was closed, during brief deliberations by the Planning Board, one member of the Board expressed concern over inadequate road and water infrastructure. But, when the vote was called, the rezoning request won unanimous support from Board members, contingent on nine specific conditions, including receipt of an annual progress report from Hansen, county approval of a preliminary plat for the development before any work begins, sedimentation and erosion control permits prior to any clearing, and a driveway permit from NC-DOT for the entrances on NC Highways 211 and 73.
    MHK's proposed wastewater treatment plant will need approval from the state. A second condition imposed on that facility envisions the creation of a county utility authority that would ultimately receive and operate the plant. However, if the Board of Commissioners chooses not to establish that authority, the Planning Board's conditional approval requires that a Pine Forest Property Owners Association would operate and maintain the facility according to state guidelines.
    Most significantly, project approval is contingent upon finalizing the agreement with Public Utilities on enough water from Montgomery County to meet Pine Forest's needs.
    The PUD-H rezoning request will also have to win the approval of the Moore County Board of Commissioners before MHK can move forward.
      
Too Little Time for Public Input?
    Martha Blake, who was presiding over her first meeting since being appointed to chair the Planning Board, had her hands full maintaining order during the Pine Forest public hearing. On the recommendation of County Attorney Misty Leland, Blake limited public comments to three minutes per speaker, a standard policy used by the county commissioners.
    But that decision was met with derision and complaint by opponents of the Pine Forest Development when the imposed time constraints forced many speakers away from the podium before they had completed their presentations.
    Harry Huberth, a former Planning Board chairman, asked the Board to reconsider the three minute policy for future public hearings.
    “Folks left here feeling like they didn’t have their say," Huberth said. "This is their forum to give input. Three minutes on complicated and emotional issues just isn’t enough time.”
     
Huberth, Fiorillo recognized
    Huberth and former Planning Chair Nancy Roy Fiorillo were recognized for their service, and new member Bernard Capstick was welcomed on to the Planning Board.
    A moment of silence was offered for planning member Giles Hopkins, who had died earlier in the day. His long and dedicated public career included many years as planning director for Moore County and the Town of Aberdeen, and mayor of Whispering Pines.
     
Other Business
    In other business during its Thursday, December 10 meeting, the Planning Board:
    •    Reconvened as the Moore County Watershed Review Board to consider a special non-residential intensity allocation request by First Baptist Church of Pinehurst, unanimously approving and increase of the maximum built upon area from twenty-four percent to forty-four percent. The 14.54 parcel owned by the church is located on NC Hwy 211, across from the main entrance of Pinewild. Plans submitted with the request include a proposed new, larger sanctuary building, two classroom buildings, a Family Life center, and additional parking.
    •    Approved a text amendment to the Zoning Ordinance that removed conflicting language regarding home occupations of an industrial and/or commercial nature.
    •    Heard from Planning Director Joey Raczkowski that a consultant has been selected to draft a Unified Development Ordinance [UDO] that will codify and condense all development ordinances into a single user-friendly document that will include definitions, procedures, and processes.