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Wake Forest board rejects contentious Harris Road Subdivision



Resident Angela DiPaolo addresses the Wake Forest board about her concerns on the rezoning. DiPaolo is responsible for creating a petition against the rezoning with almost 3,500 signatures. Laura Browne | The Wake Weekly

WAKE FOREST —The Wake Forest Board of Commissioners has voted to deny a rezoning request to create the Harris Road Subdivision. A public hearing during a work session Tuesday, May 2 drew a large group of residents, who spoke out against the proposal.

The residents brought up environmental concerns over developing the 68.28 acres near E. Carroll Joyner Park for a residential community — land they has important ecological value they don’t want to lose. 



Opposition to the proposed subdivision generated a petition on Change.org filed by resident Angela DiPaolo, which got almost 3,500 signatures.

“Change will not happen unless we as residents band together to voice our opinions and concerns,” DiPaolo said in the petition. “Wake Forest officials, planners, and developers must stop reckless development of natural areas and instead focus on preservation of trees and wildlife in order to maintain the character and distinctiveness of our neighborhoods and town,” . 

Both Wake Forest town staff and the Planning Board recommended denial of the rezoning, which would have created a community of 128 single Family units and 98 town homes. 

Jennifer Currin, assistant planning director, said the town’s recommendation came from inconsistencies with the project and the Wake Forest comprehensive plan and 2009 community plan, and not environmental worries.

The proposed rezoning doesn’t use a mix of housing types not already provided in the area, and using the land for residential purposes would mitigate the town’s efforts to recruit and retain new businesses in that area, a staff report on the rezoning said. The proposal lacks a high enough density of units and isn’t deemed compatible with future transit services, Currin said. The town has concerns with having a single family residential community adjacent to a service road.

A higher-density community would allow for future transit service around the area, which includes Joyner Park. The only way to meet the transit goal would be to have more housing in the area, Currin said. 

Residents present at the public hearing, such as Mary Kircher, referenced the unique environmental qualities of the property, including its Piedmont bluff.

“I believe the natural features of this property should be preserved and the quantity of housing reduced to create a stronger natural connection between minimally developed green space in this part of Wake Forest,” Kircher said.

Kircher emphasized her desire to preserve green space.

“Our growing town of Wake Forest is so much more than housing. We need these intangibles to keep our small town feel,” Kircher said.

Karl Warkomski, a biologist and resident of Youngsville, said preserving the area would help mitigate effects of climate change by providing habitats for organisms and allowing the tree canopy to sequester carbon.

“We really need to have those areas of refuge that exist today intact so that we can maintain as much biological representation (as) possible,” Warkomski said.

Wake Forest Resident Margaret Watkins said she thought commercial use would be a better fit.

Michael Birch of Longleaf Law Partners, representing the applicant the Church Street Co., said the developers made efforts to match the town’s desires for a higher density development and the community’s concerns in favor of lower density.

“We wanted to do all that we could to kind of thread the needle and balance all those competing priorities,” Birch said.

Birch said the developers sought to deliver a high quality, walkable neighborhood with multiple housing opportunities along with proximity to parks, businesses and schools, while also protecting environmental features.

About 10% of the proposed subdivision would be designated as what Birch called affordable housing based on the local area median income, currently $110,000 a year for a family of four. Birch said 7.5% of units would be affordable for those making between 80% and 110% of the AMI, and 2.5% would be affordable for those making between 80% and 100% of the AMI.

Commissioner Nick Sliwinski motioned to deny the rezoning, and Commissioner Adam Wright seconded it. A chief concern for Sliwinski remained the increased traffic the subdivision would bring.

“I honestly can’t in my mind understand how that traffic’s going to be handled,” Sliwinski said. “It’s already not good.”

Tuesday’s hearing came after it was postponed twice, in January and March.