maaayyyybe.
yes, there are lots of maybes like who said the road improvements were any one party's responsibility. the street for 40 years has been a through street. Springdale like to keep it private. lots of people pay for their cul-de-sac.
here ya go:
http://chatham-county-nc.com/bulletinboard/index.php/topic,5339.0.htmlpage 4 is where it gets interesting:Fool's gold:
All of the people who purchased their lots on Springdale purchased from a plat that shows a through road. To oppose any efforts over the past 20 years to connect to the Justice property and subsequently the Chatham Forest community seems a bit silly since the original subdivision and recorded covenants for the HR Henderson subdivision call for a through road. All opposition in the past has been based on the the notion that the lot owners do not want through traffic, which is understandable, yet is at odds with the initial plat and subsequent plat record.
FG p.5:
Re: N&O - Road work too much, Voller says
« Reply #66 on: January 24, 2008, 02:47:54 PM »
Quote
According to the records:
1. The developers of Chatham Forest did pay for off site roadway improvements when the neighborhood were initially approved in 1998. As required they widened Thompson Street to add a turn lane.
2. No business/developer is required to make offsite improvements AFTER a project is APPROVED and AMENDED. Chatham Forest was approved in 1998 and amended 2000 and 2001.
3. If improvements are going to be required after buildout at the business owner's expense then open up ALL approvals in Pittsboro and Chatham County and RETROACTIVLEY require upgrades and RETROACTIVLEY collect various fees from ALL of these commercial, industrial, and residential projects.
4. Pittsboro illegally disallowed a connection to Springdale Drive in 1997. It is unfair, improper and not legal to push this issue TEN years after the fact.
5. Pittsboro Place is not comparable because they were required to make offsite improvements as a part of the approval process. These costs as a part of their overall development budget. Certainly they would legitimately cry foul if the same improvements were retroactivley required of them TEN years after the fact.
6. The improvements made at Lowes and Powell place on 15-501 were required as a part of their MUPD approval process years ago and only recently constructed. (Totally different than Chatham Forest.)
7. Springdale Drive is an illegal road when it was built and as it exists today. The town planning ordinances requir the road to be either a cul-de-sac or a through street. It is NEITHER and that failing of compliance has NOTHING to do with Chatham Forest. See the zoning and subdivision ordinances.
8. Respectfully, BBS posters propensity for reporting hearsay and misinformation is a diservice to the intent of this board.
and another thread:
http://chatham-county-nc.com/bulletinboard/index.php/topic,5544.msg43844.html#msg43844What did the regulations stipulate?
On page 9 of the regulations:
Public Street. A dedicated and accepted public right-of-way which affords access to abutting property and meets the standards of this ordinance and the most recent North Carolina Department of Transportation minimum construction standards for subdivision roads.
(Does the approved plat slide 96/294, the “Extension of the H.R. Henderson Subdivision” meet these requirements?)
On page 10 of the regulations:
Right of Way.
A strip of land occupied or intended to be occupied by a street, crosswalk, railroad, road, electric transmission line, oil or gas pipeline, water main, sanitary or storm sewer main, or for another special use. The usage of the term “right-of-way” for land platting purposes shall mean that every right-of-way hereafter established and shown on a final plat is to be separate and distinct from the lots or parcels adjoining such right-of-way and not included within the dimensions or areas of such lots or parcels. Rights-of-way intended for streets, crosswalks, water mains, sanitary sewers, storm drains, or any other use involving maintenance by a public agency shall be dedicated to public use by the owner of the property on which such right-of-way is established.
(Clearly explains what the intentions of a right-of-way are on the recorded plats.)
Collectors.
Those major streets used for traffic of moderate speeds and high peak volumes between minor streets and the system of arterials or serving as principal entrance streets or primary circulation routes within a neighborhood or other limited area; access at all other streets and some private ways.
(Springdale would be defined as a “collector” road.)
On page 33 of the regulations:
(3) Where in the opinion of the Planning Board or Town Board, it is necessary to provide for street access to adjoining property, proposed streets shall be extended by dedication of right of way to the boundary of such property.
(The town planning board in 1999, 2000 and 2001 clearly stated a policy and desire for road connectivity in Pittsboro and especially regarding Springdale Drive connecting to Chatham Forest.)
On page 36 of the regulations:
(5) Reserve Strips. There shall be no reserve strips controlling access to streets except where the control of such strips are definitely placed with the community under conditions approved by the Planning Board.
(A reserve strip is shown on plat slide 96, page 294)
(7) Curb and gutter is required for all residential subdivisions except as specified in these regulations. Rural subdivisions designed such that all lots are equal or greater than one acre may be exempted from this requirement…
(The new lots created are all less than one acre.)
On page 39 of the regulations:
Cul de sacs designed to have one end permanently closed shall be no more than one thousand (1,000) feet long unless necessitated by topography or design considerations. The length of a cul-de-sac shall be measured from the center of the turn around to the intersection of its centerline with the centerline of the connecting non cul-de-sac street.
(Springdale Drive is over 1,000 feet and has never shown on any plat a cul-de-sac. Obviously, a connection to the Justice property (now Chatham Forest) was always intended and was shown on the original plat in 1966.)
In blocks greater than eight hundred (800) feet in length (or at the end of cul de sacs) the Planning Board may require at locations it deems necessary one (1) or more public cross walks of not less than ten (10) feet in width to extend entirely across the block, or pedestrian easements in lieu thereof.
(Springdale Drive is longer than 800 feet. What did the Town Board do in the past?)
In 1997 Daniel P. Cummings purchased lot 22 from Mr. Schwartz. He subdivided the lot into lot 22-A and 22-B and built a home on 22-B. The Town of Pittsboro signed his plat on 7/23/1997.
Later in 1997, Richard Ellis Bullock records a boundary plat at plat slide 97, page 344. This plat becomes the basis of Chatham Forest and encompasses the old “Justice Lands” .
Bullock refers to the old “Hartsell/Henderson” line agreement and the plats recorded at plat slide 9, page 12 and plat slide 96, page 294. He also refers to the old, original map deed book CR, Page 51.
In 1999 due to the Town’s reluctance to connect Fox Chapel with Springdale Drive the June 7, 1999 masterplan shows a 30 foot wide connection from Springdale Drive to Chatham Forest and Chatham Forest indicates a cul de sac on Fox Chapel.
The amended plan in March of 2000 indicates the same set up with utilities shown.
Later in the year 2000, the properties on the Daniel Cummings Subdivision had been acquired by Meredith Voller and Lesley Landis. A new map was recorded which dedicated additional right-of-way on these lots to get around the “reserve strip” on Springdale Drive. Better access between the two properties was approved and signed by the Town of Pittsboro. This plat was recorded at plat slide 2000, page 415 on November 27, 2000.
The year 2000 also saw the approval of the engineering plans stamped and dated September 14, 2000. The plans show the designs for the connection between Springdale Drive and Fox Chapel Lane.
In March of 2001 when Hugh Montgomery was the town manager Pittsboro held a public hearing requesting a revision to the approved preliminary plats for phases 3,5,6,7 & 9. Residents from Chatham Forest and its developer approached the town board with a petition and the president of the HOA, Cori Hasty, addressed the board regarding this request. The proponents and opponents input was sent to the Town Planning Board for review. At the May 7, 2001 meeting the Planning Board the planning board approved unanimously to open the road. The planning board instructed the Town Manager to request from NCDOT consideration for a stop light and the potential need for acceleration/deceleration lanes on Springdale. The planning board gave a favorable recommendation for the amendment.
The request was voted down in 2001 by the town board 4 to 1. (No connection.)
Voting to DENY were Brooks/Bryan/Burns/Griffin
Voting to approve was Cotten
In 2003 the developer of Chatham Forest attempted to build the connection as approved by the Town Manager on the plat recorded at plat slide 2000, page 415 and the construction plans approved/sealed in August of 2000. More residents petitioned the board. The Town Board decided to stop any connection.
In 2004 Phase 5-A of Chatham Forest was approved and recorded on August 25, 2004. This plat indicates the connection between Springdale Drive and Fox Chapel Lane. It was signed and approved by the Town of Pittsboro. (See below for minutes)
The Town of Pittsboro approved the MPUD for Bellemont Station in September of 2006. This large-scale development connects to Chatham Forest at Bellemont Ridge Road. No traffic calming or other improvements at the intersection were required by the Town Board.
As of July 2007 the Town of Pittsboro has submitted all of the streets in Chatham Forest as well as Springdale Drive to NCDOT as town streets and eligible for Powell Bill funding. See current list submitted by the Town of Pittsboro to NCDOT.
As for Springdale resident, William David “Bill” Clancy, he and his wife purchased their lot on Springdale Drive on November 23, 1998. Please see deed book 776, page 732. Their deed was prepared without a title search and they purchased their home as
“Being all of Lot 14 as per plat and survey entitled “H.R. Henderson Subdivision” Pittsboro, NC, as surveyed by James D. Hunter. Registered Land Surveyor, on May 19, 1966, and recorded in Chatham County Registry Plat Book 9, Page 12, to which reference is hereby made for a more particular description.”
Obviously the plat referred to in the Clancy’s deed indicates Springdale Drive as a connector to the Justice land-the same land as Chatham Forest.
The residents of Chatham Forest brought petitions to the Town Board in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2006 to open the road. In 2003 and 2004 the Mayor, Nancy May, refused to even recognizes the petition and the residents of Chatham Forest.
The Pittsboro Planning Board
Since 1998, the Pittsboro Town Planning Board under chairmanship of Neil Flynt and Ken Hoyle has consistently supported the connectivity of Town Streets, safe roads, and the adoption of a land use plan. The Town Board has not been consistent with connectivity.
The Town Board
The Town Board stated in 1997 that it was up to the developer to “work out” a connection. A connection was worked out and recorded at plat slide 2000, page 415.
The Town Board reviewed the matter in 1998. The Town Planner, Lisa Bloom Pruitt, sent a letter to the residents of Springdale Drive informing them of the potential for a connection. The Town Board rebuked her.
Later, the Town Board said “once the water tank was installed” the connection could be made. The Water was completed and operational by 2005 and still no connection has been allowed.
The clear message is if you do not want connections to be made or rezonings to be done and you have lived in Pittsboro for a long time or have the "right" connections your voice will be heard, but if you do not qualify than your voice may not be heard. Clearly there has been an inconsistent policy over the years regarding who is heard and why.
Are you a doubter? Then ask yourself where the current wastewater plant is and WHY it is there. Wht did Pittsboro place get rezoned fairly quickly over considerable opposition from citizens and adjoining landowners yet something as mundane as this simple road gets highjacked for TEN years? The truth is much different than what has been presented....
