Town closer to goal of new dam...

Commission OK's lower Rocky River reclassification

By Melissa Ledgerwood

The town of Siler City is one step closer to assuring a good quality of drinking water to its residents, according to Siler City town manager Joel Brower

The Environmental Management Commission (EMC) approved September 9 Siler City’s request for reclassification of the Rocky River.

“This is a positive step for the reservoir,” Brower told the Siler City Board of Commissioners Monday.

The reclassification comes after a public hearing conducted by the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources on behalf of the EMC last November.

The reason for the proposed reclassification is to allow a new dam structure to be placed below the existing dam.

The new dam will raise the normal water level above the spillway of the existing dam.

The town wishes to have a new dam constructed and the resulting reservoir created to meet water demands through 2030.

The next step for the town is to obtain a 401 water quality certification, which is required for the water supply project.

“We’re hoping to have permits in hand by the end of the year,” Brower said.

The town of Siler City has also applied for financial assistance from the Rural Development Center to help defray some of the costs associated with the Lower Rocky River Reservoir Expansion Project.

more- See Thursday, September 14 paper: Vol 84, No.42

Residents concerned over plan

By Randall Rigsbee

Pittsboro attorney Nick Robinson told Chatham County commissioners Monday that his client’s plan to develop the 180-lot, 294-acre Booth Mountain in north Chatham is “not a monumental project.”

But Robinson and a handful of consultants spent more than two hours Monday night reviewing plans for the development and answering questions posed by commissioners and county residents; and the list of residents signed up to speak at the public hearing was so long – more than 50 signed up in advance – that commissioners continued the hearing until Oct. 4 at 6 p.m.

And the developer, Cary-based MacGregor Development Company, which developed MacGregor Downs in Cary in the between 1967 and 1981, plans to conduct an informational meeting on the project Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. at North Chatham Elementary School.

Booth Mountain, which is planned for property off Lystra Church Road and Jack Bennett Road in the Williams Township, as proposed would be one-tenth the size of Governor’s Club and one-seventh the size of proposed Briar Chapel, said Robinson.

“This is not a monumental project,” Robinson said.

The property is zoned RA-40, which allows for one-acre lots. The current zoning would allow the developer to build 275 residences on the property, but the developer is asking the county for a conditional use permit to create some lots less than an acre.

Rather than seeking an increase in the number of residences, Robinson said, “We’re asking you really for permission to jack it down” to roughly 100 fewer residences than current zoning allows.

The developer plans to build Booth Mountain in three distinct “neighborhoods,” including a gated  “estate” section consisting of 88 lots; 39 “neighborhood” lots; and 53 “village” lots.

more- See Thursday, September 23 paper: Vol 84, No.43

By Randall Rigsbee

While the county Fire Marshal’s Office was on hand in anticipation of a large crowd, no one had to be turned away from entering the Chatham County Superior Courtroom last Wednesday for the first of two forums held by the developer of Briar Chapel to discuss plans for the proposed large-scale mixed-use development.

The audience on Wednesday was, nevertheless, large, with most seating spoken for during the Wednesday night session, which ran longer than its scheduled three-hour time and provided developer Newland Communities an opportunity to review their proposal and offered many county residents an opportunity to ask the developer and its large team of consultants questions about what is aimed at being the county’s largest-ever mixed use development.

A second session was conducted the next evening, Thursday, Sept. 16, at Jordan-Matthews High School in Siler City. While the second session followed a similar format as the previous evening, the session drew a smaller crowd.

more- See Thursday, September 23 paper: Vol 84, No.43