A development on the southeastern outskirts of Fayetteville has drawn the ire of residents who believe it will exacerbate flooding issues in their neighborhood — and are concerned their fight against its approval will be a difficult one because of Mayor Mitch Colvin’s financial investment in the project.
Located in a grassy field off of Cedar Creek Road up the street from Exit 49 off of I-95 S, the 27.2-acre property is the proposed location of a large apartment complex with three-story buildings, a pool and clubhouse. According to the preliminary plan submitted with the developer’s application, the complex would include 486 units and 875 parking spaces.
The property is located within a couple miles of the Cape Fear River, and is situated across the street from the Locks Creek neighborhood, which was hit hard by Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Florence in 2018. The city approved an $8.8 million stormwater management project for the Locks Creek area after neighbors complained of ongoing flooding problems, with construction set to begin this summer.
After the damage caused by Hurricane Florence in 2018, neighbors had similar concerns about new development in the flood-prone area. In 2020, the Fayetteville City Council considered implementing a development ban in the Locks Creek neighborhood because of stormwater issues, but the proposed ban failed.
Parts of the property being considered for rezoning are considered swampland, with standing water about two feet high on a day when it hasn’t rained, CityView observed. Though the property is not considered a floodplain, it is in a flood hazard area, along with most of the Locks Creek neighborhood across the street, according to FEMA’s flood map.
The City Council will consider approving the property’s rezoning from rural residential and single-family residential to mixed residential — which allows for the construction of moderate to high-density apartments — at its meeting Monday, following a public hearing. The rezoning request is part of the annexation process for a large portion of the property not currently within city limits, according to planning documents.
Neighbors who spoke to CityView also expressed concerns about Colvin’s financial investment in the project. The project ultimately will need the city council’s approval to move forward.
“With all that happened with Locks Creek, you'd think that they'd be more prepared than this,” said Channing Perdue, who lives across the street from the property and has experienced extensive flooding at her home. “And the fact that the mayor is involved in this makes me even more mad, that he knows that there's a freaking swamp on there.”
While Colvin confirmed to CityView on Tuesday that he is in a business partnership with Cedar Creek Road LLC, the property’s owner, and has a financial stake in the project, the mayor said he’s recusing himself from voting on the approval following the hearing for that reason.
“That's without question,” Colvin said of his plans to recuse himself.
The upcoming Monday hearing comes after Fayetteville’s Zoning Commission, a voluntary advisory board that makes recommendations to the council on rezoning cases, voted 4-1 against the rezoning on Feb.13, according to meeting minutes. The board’s motion to reject the rezoning was based on the project’s incompatibility with the city’s future land use plan and incongruity with the surrounding properties, the minutes show. The developers appealed the decision of the commission, thereby sending it to council for another vote.
Seven neighbors spoke at the Zoning Commission meeting, each of whom was in opposition to the project. Though they raised several concerns, ranging from crime to school accessibility to traffic, all but one mentioned flooding issues, according to the minutes.
Several residents reiterated to CityView concerns they initially shared at February’s meeting.
Environmental concerns
Robert Naylor, whose home is located behind the property in question, said he would never consider building another house or large structure on his property, which has a swamp on it and soil that drains poorly. He said flooding on both sides of Cedar Creek Road is “already a problem,” with several tributaries of the Cape Fear River, including Locks Creek, running through and around the properties.
“My biggest concern is when they go in to pretty much make that into a huge parking lot and have a lot of water runoff and zero water-absorbing capabilities, that it's going to affect my property next to it,” Naylor said. “It's going to affect the people across Cedar Creek Road there in the Locks Creek community, because all of that water, from even across the road, eventually works its way across fields, road and out to the Cape Fear River.”
Janene Ackles, whose home surrounds the property on two sides, also addressed flooding as her primary concern. She said a small tributary behind the property “always gets clogged up.”
“First of all, I think the most concerning part of it is going to be the flooding, the environmental hazard that we're going to have,” Ackles said.
“The tributaries from this side [of Cedar Creek Road], that's what feeds into the ones over there in the Locks Creek neighborhood,” Ackles continued. “And because it feeds into the Locks Creek neighborhood, now what's going to happen? It's going to flood there first, real quickly, and then it backs up back over here, which makes the water stand, and everybody will flood on this side.”
Ackles is running for N.C. House Dist. 43 in the 2024 election.
Perdue, who owns a farm across the road from the property, said her farm flooded during Hurricanes Matthew and Florence. She had to evacuate her livestock during Hurricane Florence.
“We were in 3 feet of water for three weeks,” Perdue said. “ … If they build those apartment complexes, now I have property across the street and that waterway feeds into my property. So if they build that crap up, then all that water is going to get backed up into my property. And then now I'm having to figure out what to do with my animals again.”
Colvin acknowledged flooding issues in the Locks Creek neighborhood across the road, but said he believes that side of the road won’t experience flooding from the development.
He emphasized that if the rezoning is approved, the development plan would be reviewed by the Technical Review Committee (TRC). The TRC, which is composed of city staff and representatives from external agencies, is in charge of reviewing and approving major subdivision plans and plats, according to Fayetteville’s website.
“This is not located where Locks Creek is, so I'm not quite sure how they drew that connection between that,” Colvin told CityView. “But any flooding issues — I'm not sure who buys property and builds anything in a floodplain — but we definitely will comply with whatever recommendations TRC has about that portion, and I understand their concerns for that. I think it's kind of putting the cart before the horse, because the TRC hadn't reviewed it yet.”
Notably, the Federal Emergency Management Agency does not consider the Locks Creek area a floodplain, despite the neighborhood being severely damaged by recent hurricanes. FEMA’s designation has previously presented challenges in the city’s efforts to mitigate flooding in the area.
Mayor’s involvement
The mayor has previously faced accusations from members of another development review committee and former City Council Member Tisha Waddell, who alleged in late 2021 and early 2022 that the mayor and his business partners circumvented city development regulations in the renovation of the Kress Building in downtown Fayetteville. At the time, Colvin called the accusations “baseless.”
Colvin said he was not going to bypass any regulations or deviate from standards any other developer would face with the Cedar Creek Road project.
“I want to do everything by the book,” Colvin said.
“I'm not asking the city for any special privileges or favors,” Colvin continued. “We're taking the same process that everyone else takes.”
Colvin said the apartments would be market-rate and would not be government subsidized or considered “affordable housing.”
“I'm more concerned with attainable housing,” Colvin said. “There are people who go to work every day who don't qualify for affordable housing. So it's no government subsidies in it, which I think was remarkable in this environment. But again, me being a public official, I didn't want to give the appearance of any conflict. So there's no government assistance given, period.”
Naylor remained unconvinced.
“I feel like the mayor is using his public office for private gain, essentially by purchasing this farmland and single family zoned area to then get the city to come in and provide services so that they can put up a large apartment complex,” Naylor said. “I just feel like that's just not right.”
Ackles said she observed workers renovating the existing house on the property, which is right next to hers, right after the zoning commission meeting. She said the ongoing work, which CityView observed on Tuesday, makes her believe Colvin and his business partners already believe the rezoning will get approved.
The Charleston Group, which is representing Colvin and his other business partner Darren Collins in the development, declined to comment on the local residents’ concerns.
The rezoning hearing will take place during the next council meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday at City Hall, 433 Hay St. Residents who wish to speak at the hearing must sign up beforehand.
Contact Evey Weisblat at eweisblat@cityviewnc.com or 216-527-3608.
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