Proposal for 700-plus units behind Surf City neighborhood worries residents

Abby Land moved to The Villages at Turtle Creek five years ago with her family and thought the neighborhood wasn't going to get any bigger.

There's now less than 75 homes. However, by 2030, Turtle Creek residents may have hundreds of new neighbors in Surf City.

Logan Homes is making a proposal to build a mixed-residential community with more than 700 homes. The plans for the Applewood Trace includes a 300-unit three story apartment complex, a 314-unit single and multi-family Build for Rent community, and 100 lots for a single-family neighborhood.

"We weren't aware of the original plans of the neighborhood, or anything like that," she said. "Shortly after moving, I remember people talking about all the land surrounding us. But I also remember a real estate agent, the one who helped us buy our house say 'You'll probably never see that land sold because of the cost of it.'"

The proposed area is 95 acres of land, which is about the size of 72 football fields. It was originally part of additional phases for Turtle Creek, which is made up of about 70 homes. The Great Recession and setbacks in the housing market in the 2000s stopped construction. It was originally planned as a seven-phase project, with the first two consisting of the current neighborhood. The remaining 5 phases is Applewood Trace. Developers are attempting to get conditional rezoning approval to move forward.

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Logan Homes now has ownership. But according to the neighborhood's board of directors, its ideas are going to bring additional problems. The biggest concern is the traffic from Applewood Trace coming through Turtle Creek. Another is it's becoming a shortcut for people who don't live there if traffic is bad on U.S. 17 or N.C. 210, which connects to the main entrance.

Requests by StarNews for Logan Homes to comment were not returned as of publication.

Land, president of the Villages at Turtle Creek Home Owners Association, shared a letter with Saltwater Landing and Edgecomb Estates. She emphasized Surf City has been discovered by everyone, but she wants to limit the disruption and interference growth can bring to her neighbors.

"We're not trying to stop growth, but we are trying to limit how it affects our communities," she said. "I think there needs to be a better system and a better plan in place when all of this land is being bought and sold, with the hope of developing these subdivisions. We need to think about how residents are going to enter and exit those neighborhoods. They shouldn't be able to just use our entrances. Adding 714 units near our streets is a lot."

McKim & Creed Inc., an engineering and surveying firm based out of Raleigh, sent letters to home owners in the area explaining plans, which could take seven years to develop. If approved by Surf City officials, site development and construction could start in 2023, followed by a full buildout finished by 2029.

One of the concerns was increased traffic coming through Turtle Creek. According to Richard Collier, regional growth manager for McKim & Creed, access for Applewood Trace will come from Loggerhead Boulevard, then extend Loggerhead through the developments, and connecting to Edgecomb Drive for a second way in. The plans for exits are N.C. 210 for the southern are and public streets to U.S. 17 for the north.

More traffic

In a letter on behalf of other McKim & Creed Inc. officials, Collier said Applewood Trace will be separate from Turtle Creek and will include its own amenity centers and clubhouses. Along with homes and apartments, developers would also like to add pedestrian paths, trails connecting sidewalks, and an elevated walkway from the neighborhood to Surf City Elementary School.

Turtle Creek's board said neither of the access points can accommodate the vehicles that will come from 700 living spaces, which is expected to generate 1,200 extra vehicles. They were also concerned about local schools already being over capacity.

"The roads in Turtle Creek are already in dire need of repair and won't be able to handle the increased traffic or the abuse of the construction vehicles as the project begins," the board stated. "Our schools most definitely can't accommodate the influx of students that will result from such an increase of housing being added.

"Our classrooms are already overcrowded and grade levels are being shifted to other schools to accommodate the addition of new students. We are also greatly concerned for all of our children that ride their bikes and play throughout our community when traffic increases to a level our streets were not designed for."

When contacted by the StarNews for additional comments, Collier, said McKim & Creed Inc. have no comment for the Applewood Trace plans.

Residents were also invited to a meeting at the school to answer questions. The meeting was held outside in the parking lot, which made resident Dale Eisman upset, especially since it was a hot day with several pregnant women in the crowd. He also questioned why community members weren't notified months ago if they really wanted to do a project that will work for everyone.

"I think they wanted to push this thing through the town council before anybody realized what they were doing," he said. "To me, it's just a finger in the eye to all of us. I don't like that."

Eisman was also concerned about environmental matters and felt there was a lot of unanswered questions.

According to a newsletter, Applewood Trace would draw water from Surf City and Pender County, but would have its own wastewater treatment plant near Becky's Creek. Drainage field and stormwater retention ponds would be made to hold water from major storm events, but Eisman and residents are thinking about disasters such as Hurricane Florence impacting Becky's Creek.

It was noted that "less-than-hurricane-force storms" are already flooding backyards and homes in a cul-de-sac on Leyland Way.

Eisman's backyard was flooded after Hurricane Dorian. He also asked if the Applewood Trace HOA will have auxiliary power for the wastewater treatment plant during storms.

"Again, the disrespect to this community and the Edgecomb community to me is personally appalling that they would do this, this way," he added.

Land said the growth has pushed more wildlife into their backyards.

"I had an 8-foot alligator behind my house last year," she said. "It actually came from the town municipal building because it was in their parking lot and they shooed it away. We ended up with it in a retention pod behind our house. We're starting to see things like that more and more. We have a lot of endangered birds and some of our neighbors have actually seen black bears, peacocks, and all kinds of crazy things that you just don't expect to see in a subdivision."

Concerns from nearby Edgecomb

In a letter addressed to "Surf City neighbors," The Villages at Turtle Creek Board of Directors asked for support in a stance against the development. They were also concerned about the Edgecomb community, a historic Black community being impacted.

Plans include Manhollow Church Road and Edgecomb Drive (which is currently a dead end road) being used as an entry point for Applewood Trace, bringing traffic to what Dante Murphy said is a quiet neighborhood.

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"It's got people upset," said Murphy, pastor of Manhollow Missionary Baptist Church. "This is a major development that's really going to disrupt what is now a quiet neighborhood. There is some feeling that a lot of communication wasn't done simply because it is a minority community that's going to be impacted by this."

Murphy is hoping officials will work to make sure there's adequate roads to handle the traffic if Applewood Trace is going to be developed. Up this point, he's unsure if the right people are taking the right steps when it comes to letting residents know what's coming.

"I do hope the right transportation officials and elected officials look closely at this development and really work hard to make sure everything is going to be safe and really conducive to what will now become a neighborhood that's filled with people, as opposed to the quiet neighborhood that most of the residents are used used to.

More: Hampstead subdivision plans will move forward, after being halted for disturbing a gravesite

"Growth is inevitable, and Hampstead and the Surf City area is certainly a place that's growing. So it's expected that this development is going to happen. But I think everybody needs to be respectful of the longtime residents of the community."

In addition to questions about rather the development would require the Edgecomb community to be annexed into Surf City or if additional taxes would be required for sewer/water developments, there was also concerned about a cemetery on the corner of Manhollow Church Road and Edgecomb Drive. Many generations of Edgecomb residents former enslaved people are buried there.

What's next?

Applewood Trace is expected to be discussed in upcoming weeks among leaders sitting on Surf City's boards. A Surf City Planning Board meeting was scheduled for June 9, but it was cancelled.

Kyle Breuer, town manager, said a part of the rezoning process includes steps such as hosting a community meeting and adding a traffic impact analysis to study the intersections. The results usually guide the driveway permitting process through the North Carolina Department of Transportation and other requirements. Studies for environmental factors will also be required.

More: Surf City eyes continued growth along busy N.C. 210 corridor as more residents move in

"All of those have to be submitted back to the town before they even start clearing or grading or construction of anything," he said.

The proposal will also be sent to schools, so administrators will have an opportunity to comment or to consider it for growth plans. When asked about annexation concerns coming from the Edgecomb community, Breuer stressed towns in North Carolina can't require annexation of residents or force any kind of utility connections. It has to be voluntary.

Breuer said Applewood Trace has not been presented to Surf City's Planning Board, but will probably be on the July agenda. Staff members will make a recommendation based on adopted land use plans to determine if it's consistent of the area's needs.

Applewood Trace is one of many housing, apartment, and commercial developments proposed to Surf City in recent years.

"There's consistent growth in the Cape Fear region and each one of these projects certainly need to be evaluated on their own merits and evaluated with their consistency with adopted plans for the towns," Breuer said.

Reporter Chase Jordan can be reached at cjjordan@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Proposal for more than 700 Surf City homes and apartments raises eyebrows