Mebane’s planning board gave its favorable recommendation for the newest proposal to complete the Mill Creek subdivision on the north side of the city, which was first begun in 1993.
The existing Mill Creek subdivision which partially surrounds the 18-hole Mill Creek Golf Course and would be expanded by 565 single-family homes, with three different zoning classifications, based on the plans by the developer, the national builder Lennar, and shown to planning board members Monday night.
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There would be 104 lots designated as R12 on the northern section of the proposed expansion, which is on the southeast side of the current subdivision and golf course. Those homes would be added to the current Mill Creek homeowners’ association.
The 229-acre site straddles the Alamance-Orange County line, as does the current Mill Creek subdivision. About 64 acres is on the Orange County side, with the larger portion, 165 acres, on the Alamance County side.
The largest section, R8, would have 335 lots; the smallest, R10, would have 107 lots.
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The lots will surround existing golf course holes 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 13, and 14 and be beside holes 8, 9, 11, and 18.
There have been at least two previous developers who announced, and then abandoned, significant plans to “finish” the Mill Creek subdivision – Waterford in 2006 and Taylor Morris in 2022.
The most recent plan had been for a mixed use development with some commercial space included, but the new project is entirely residential.
Amanda Hodierne, a Greensboro-based attorney who represented the developer, told planning board members that Lennar’s plans provide a “modernization and updating” of the original Mill Creek subdivision.
It’s “almost an ‘infill’ project,” she told planning board members.
Several neighbors acknowledged the “inevitability” of the completion of residential housing around the rest of the golf course. Most of their concerns focused on adequate buffers to shield existing homeowners in adjacent subdivisions or individual homes from the newer ones. Drawing special attention was the desire of several homeowners along Laramie Drive, which has about eight homes on acre lots (zoned R20) that back up to one section of the new construction.
The developer changed the designation of those new homes from R8, the smallest lot sizes being proposed, to R12, the largest. There are 19 R12 lots, 335 R8 lots, and 107 R10 lots, all in the southern portion of the new subdivision, to be named the Preserve at Mill Creek.
The R10 area would be one-story homes intended to appeal to “active adults.” The homes would be “targeted” to active seniors, the developer’s representatives said, but not “age restricted.”
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The total of 461 homes on the south side of the new subdivision would form a separate homeowners’ association, Hodierne explained to planning board members.
The plan has 23.59 acres of private open space; 3.58 acres of public recreation space; and about 66 acres would be set aside as “conservation open space.”
Some of the discussion also focused on the bifurcated nature of the infill construction. There is no direct access – neither by car nor walking paths – from the southern section to the existing (and expanded) northern portion of Mill Creek.
The southern section would also have its own pool and clubhouse.
A traffic study conducted for the developer determined that several new connections would be needed: an exclusive turning lane at the intersection of Saint Andrews Drive extension and North First Street; exclusive turn lanes at the intersection of East Stagecoach Road and North Ninth Street; a single-lane roundabout with single lane approaches and exits at the intersection of North First Street and Arendale Drive; and a traffic light would need to be installed at the intersection of Stagecoach Road and North Fifth Street before a certificate of occupancy would be issued upon the completion of the 50th dwelling unit. Internal streets in the northern section would be connected to the existing roads in Mill Creek subdivision; there are no such connections to the southern area.
All homes would have a covered porch with front facades made of materials such as hardie plank, masonry, stone, or board and batten, while siding would be limited to wood, brick, stucco, stone or similar materials.
The developers invited 65 neighboring property owners to two community meetings on August 12 and December 9, 2024 and met virtually (i.e., online) with the Mill Creek Homeowners’ Association on January 7.
A dozen residents spoke during the planning board meeting Monday night. Some – such as Rebecca Caison, Robert Reid, and Gary Linz – acknowledged the developer’s “responsiveness” to their concerns, especially by changing the zoning for the strip of homes that back to the existing Laramie Drive homes from R8 to R12; and adding or widening some other buffering.
However, Dr. Ted Robertson and another speaker expressed concerns about the lack of variety in the home styles being planned. There would be three primary layouts for the R12 houses, although external designs (colors, etc.) would vary.
Hodierne noted that the type of homes built during the decades-long construction of the first phase of Mill Creek such as where Robertson lives, typically by custom builders, simply “isn’t a model we see anymore.”
Planning board member Keith Hoover added that “it would be nice” to have more options that would match the R20 character of the Laramie Drive homes.
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Jim Tomlinson highlighted the fact that there will be no direct access to the nearby NC 119 bypass, worrying aloud about the increased traffic, particularly along North Ninth Street, which will serve as the primary entryway into the new southern portion of the subdivision. He also questioned the placement of the pool and clubhouse on the far southern end of the proposed subdivision addition.
Former city councilman Everette Greene raised concerns about construction traffic causing potholes, such as on his street, Colonial Way, which is one of the primary entrances to one of the two northern portions of the new construction. Hodierne assured that “if potholes are created, we’ll fix them back.”
When the discussion drew to a close after about two-and-a-half hours, planning board member David Scott moved to recommend the rezoning request, as presented, to the city council.
His motion passed 7-1; he was joined by Hoover, planning board chairman Judy Taylor, Colin Cannell, William Chapman, Susan Semonite, and Ed Tulauskas. Gale Pettiford voted no; vice chairman Kurt Pearson was absent.
The item will be scheduled for the city council’s next meeting, on February 3.
