Sound familiar? Tightly-packed housing development on J-Creek is round II for developer

Dec. 2—A new development causing a stir in Jonathan Creek shows some striking resemblances to the Queen's Farm subdivision, a controversial development underway in Waynesville.

That's for good reason, as the same developer, David Luck, is behind both projects.

Both developments pack in as many homes per acre as possible under the respective development rules in Waynesville and Maggie Valley, resulting in small lots and closely spaced homes. An exemption sought by the developer would allow houses to be spaced just 14 feet apart for the Jonathan Creek development.

The 115-home Queen Farm development on 32 acres in Waynesville was criticized by opponents for the dense nature of the housing project, with lots of just one-sixth of an acre in size. The development's official name is Valleywood Farms, with homes starting at $392,000.

The new development on Jonathan Creek calls for 155 homes on 42 acres — with some on lots as small as one-ninth of an acre.

Both were also met with community opposition.

The saga of the Queens Farm subdivision in Waynesville was met with packed public meetings and impassioned pleas from opponents who feared the subdivision along Racoon Road would destroy the character of the community.

The same played out with the Jonathan Creek development, where residents have spoken out at three different town meetings over the past two months as the development moved through various stages of approval.

Lastly, both follow the same formulaic site plan. The Queens Farm subdivision was criticized as "cookie-cutter tract housing" by the Waynesville planning board. The J-Creek subdivision got a similar complaint at the Maggie town meeting last month when the initial site plan was unveiled.

"It's not a very imaginative site plan," said local resident Joy Hearn. "It just looks very cramped to me."

Developer seeks exemptions

Residents in Maggie Valley saw the first ideas of what the new development on Jonathan Creek could look like during the town's November board of aldermen meeting.

The development had previously come before the Maggie planning and town boards for annexation and initial zoning. And like those past meetings, members of the public once again turned out to express their concerns.

"Jonathan Creek was built as an agricultural community," John Leatherwood said. "This right here is going to kill the whole dang integrity of Jonathan Creek. This is a shame. It's sad. It really is."

Warren Sugg, a hired representative for the developer from Civil Design Concepts, tried to appeal to the audience by bringing up his own youth on a farm and marrying a WNC local. He also said he lives right behind this property.

"I just wanted to give you guys the perspective that I'm not just the engineer," Sugg said. "I'm not just some guy trying to push this through. I'm not even the developer. So, I understand."

The developer is asking for two exemptions to town development rules to pack as many lots onto the acreage as possible.

Instead of a minimum lot width of 60 feet, the developer wants an exemption for lots of just 44 to 54 feet wide. And instead of 10-foot side setbacks, the developer is asking for 7-foot side setbacks — which means houses could be as close as 14 feet apart.

The development was already granted the densest allowed zoning designation of five homes per acre. While some lots are just one-eighth and one-ninth of an acre, the average number of lots per acre across the entire property falls under the threshold of five homes per acre in accordance with the R-3 zoning designation.

The Queen's Farm subdivision in Waynesville served as a wake-up call on where the town's development regulations needed to be tightened or tweaked, leading to a series of half a dozen new rules by the Waynesville planning board.

Town Planner Sam Cullen said Maggie is not experiencing that issue with the new development in J-Creek.

The developer has not come to the town meetings himself, nor did he attend the meetings for the Waynesville subdivision. Still, the Civil Design Concepts' representative has been easy to work with, Cullen said.

"They have been very straightforward from the very beginning," Cullen said. "Honestly, the questions they have asked us have been the 'what do we need to do?'"

The development itself meets or exceeds most of the town's development requirements. The street width standards, open space requirements, maximum house heights, parking area and front and rear lot setbacks are all met with most being exceeded.

The development features some open space that keeps the density at an acceptable level despite the smaller lot sizes.

The man behind the development

Luck has been behind numerous developments in Western North Carolina, including Henderson and Buncombe Counties.

In September, Luck registered an organization named J Creek Development LLC. While he has not yet purchased the property from the owners, Jack Leatherwood and Luanne Webb, this is likely the entity that will be on the deed if a sale goes through.

Luck is also behind the Queen Development LCC — affiliated with the Queen Farm subdivision called Valleywood Farms — and the Valleywood Farms Community Association, registered as a non-profit.

Many of Luck's developments, including Queen Farm, are being built by D.R. Horton, the nation's largest home builder.

Luck also joined the UNC Asheville Board of Trustees this year and is a former CEO and president of ABC Supply Supply Company and former president of Bridgestone/Firestone Retail Store Operations Company.

Just down the road is another development coming to Jonathan Creek, under the control of Jonathan Creek LLC. Billy Taylor, a real estate agent and developer out of Buncombe County, is affiliated with the LLC.

Taylor's LLCs are registered at an address less than one mile from Luck's LLCs, and the two are friends on Facebook. Taylor served as the Realtor for a home Luck bought in 2013 for $5 million, the address listed on Luck's LLCs. It is not clear any other connections they may have.

The proposed conditional zoning was not voted on yet but will be up for a vote at the December meeting.