Elliott Farm - A Subdivision In Flux
The development is still in the planning phase by Toll Brothers. It is a project everyone agrees is necessary but it is also one that still needs work.
If you head down Piney Grove Wilbon pass Duncan Cook Road and look to your right you will see farmland and trees. In the future, it could be the site of 300+ single family homes and duplexes designed for the 55+.
During the June 20th, town council meeting there were several issues brought up by the town and those living nearby. I’ll do my best to break down each issue.
A small piece of land
If you look at the map for the 149+ acre development, there is a notch cut out of it.
That notch is for a piece of property not acquired by Toll Brothers. According to the developer, the homeowners have not been easy to reach. Why is this notch so important? It affects how the land gets developed.
For example, per town requirements the road in front of the development would have to be expanded. Toll Brothers plans to make it a four lane road with a median everywhere except in front of the notch. Basically creating an hourglass figure. The council all agreed this is a bad idea and would cause more problems down the line.
Also due to this notch of land, the sidewalk that would be built along the edge of the development would have to go behind the non-purchased property.
Traffic
Per the town traffic study, the roads near the property (Burt and Academy) would not need to be altered because its study finds that most of the traffic would head north and not south. This is something those who attended the hearing and spoke out disagreed with completely. One man became emotional retelling the story of his wife’s accident at Burt Road.
If you are not familiar with the area, Piney Grove Wilbon is a two lane road without a right turn or left turn lane at this spot. Burt Road is also two-lanes and doesn’t have any turn lanes. There’s also no traffic signal.
Councilman Dan Berry and Tim Forrest spoke about traveling through that area as well and agreed that traffic is already a problem and doesn’t see how there’s no traffic impact at the intersection.
Environment
This concern was mostly brought up by the homeowners who live nearby. This area is considered ETJ (Extraterritorial Jurisdiction) so while it is a part of Holly Springs, the neighbors who live nearby are not connected to the town’s water or sewer system. Toll Brothers would bring water and sewer lines to the area but the neighboring people would still be using their wells. They are concerned about possible changes to their water if the project is approved.
Residency requirement
This 55+ aged adult community isn’t the first Toll Brothers project in Holly Springs. The other one is called Regency at Holly Springs.
Starting at $500,000, it will be a single family home complex attached to 12 Oaks. 100% of the Regency complex will have a 55+ residency requirement. Only 80% of the Elliott Farm will have that requirement. The requirement discrepancy was something questioned by the council.
The hearing went for more than an hour with emotional testimony and lots of questions. Each council member admitted to the developer the project was not going to pass that night and it didn’t. The council ended up passing a motion to table the project. It could be brought up in a future agenda as early as August.