02 Sep Congruous Proposal: Planning Committee Action
Here We Go Again – Fearrington Preserve Update
Posted October 11
At their October 5th meeting, the members of the Chatham County Planning Board again heard a presentation from Congruus LLC, developers of the proposed Fearrington Preserve, as well as testimony from county residents, including several residents of the Village. The good news is that the Planning Board voted against the Congruus application to include the additional 186 acres in the Compact Community Ordinance map. The vote was 8 – 3. The bad news is that the Planning Board only makes a recommendation to the Board of Commissioners (BOC), who will make the final decision.
We do not yet know if the BOC will hear this matter at their next meeting, which will be held in person on Monday, October 18 at the Old Court House in the circle in downtown Pittsboro. Unfortunately, they will not post their agenda until later in the week. Nevertheless, it’s a good time to email your comments and concerns to Lindsay Ray, Clerk of the Commission, for distribution to the Board. Her email address is: lindsay.ray@chathamcountync.gov
Of course, our concerns still focus on the lack of a wastewater solution. Unlike Vickers Village, Congruus has not submitted a plan showing just what they plan to build and where. Rather, they want to be approved to be a compact community, which doubles the density they can seek. Before the last Planning Board meeting, they suddenly said they would donate land for a wastewater treatment plant on their property. This was a move to try to gain support. They did not say they would build the plant. They had not determined whether the site was big enough or approvable by the state. Moreover, they said that their intention was to use Fitch’s discharge permit to dispose of the effluent the wastewater plant would generate. They then said that if they could not get approval for such a plant, they would connect to the Briar Chapel plant, which is not desired by either the Briar Chapel residents or by Old North State, which currently owns and operates the current Briar Chapel plant.
At their August meeting, the Commissioners indicated by a 3 – 2 vote that they were likely to approve the Congruus request. Let’s make our voices heard right now.
Rose Krasnow, vp@fhaboard.org.