At its Wednesday meeting, the TRC found that changes to the Hilton Bluffs plans made since its conditional approval on March 10 constitute a “substantial departure,” meaning those plans are no longer valid. The TRC found that “any future proposal for development of the property must be submitted as a new application,” and would be “subject to the application requirements, development regulations, policies, and technical standards in effect at the time of the submittal.”
It’s the latest setback for Copper Builders, which has spent two years trying to move forward on the project.
Hilton Bluffs is a ‘by-right’ development, meaning it didn’t require a rezoning or other land-use vote by county commissioners. Instead, the development application was received by the TRC, an administrative body that reviews projects for compliance with state and local regulations.
Under the county’s regulations for ‘performance subdivisions,’ the developers received preliminary permission to concentrate housing units on a smaller part of the property, building more densely than otherwise allowed in exchange for preserving much of the old-growth forest and wetlands bordering the Northeast Cape Fear River. Developers have argued that makes their project ecologically friendly; critics have called the development regulations a “loophole,” saying it gives developers ‘credit’ for land they couldn’t legally or logistically build on.
Copper Builders has made several attempts to address criticism of the project. The company scaled back its initial proposal by dropping a planned golf course and reducing the project from 4,000 units to 1,800. Copper Builders also offered a deal to preserve 3,200 acres of the 4,000-acre property — but only if their project is approved as currently proposed. However, neighboring residents and environmental conservationists have pressed ahead with technical and legal challenges. The Save Sledge Forest group, a local nonprofit created to oppose the project, has said they’d prefer to see zero development — and the region preserved as a nature reserve or park.
In late August, a Superior Court order forced Copper Builders to remove two access roads, which would have gone through adjacent neighborhoods, from its plans. Those changes led New Hanover County Manager Chris Coudriet to administratively deny Copper Builders’ plans, citing safety concerns based on the development’s single remaining access point. Coudriet later directed the TRC to re-review the plan to see if the changes constituted “a material deviation or substantial departure from the plan upon which its conditional approval was based.”
In a letter sent to Copper Builders founder Wade Miller on Thursday, the TRC found that the plans had, in fact, departed from the original applications, sending them back to the drawing board.
In a statement, Save Sledge Forest thanked the TRC and Coudriet, saying “the process worked” and suggesting that a different use of the area be explored.
The organization said, “This decision is not about celebrating the demise of a plan. It is about gratitude for a process that required decision-makers to take another look — to recognize when circumstances have changed, listen to the concerns that were raised, and make a decision based on the plan and facts before them.”
“Our hope is that today’s decision can also represent an opportunity for a different path forward. There comes a point when it is worth recognizing what the circumstances, the community, and the land itself is saying,” the organization wrote. “Hilton Bluffs has encountered obstacle after obstacle — not because of the community that opposes it, the decision-makers charged with reviewing it, or the elected officials who have raised legitimate concerns, but because this is an extraordinarily difficult place to accommodate a development of this scale. The obstacles are not being created by those questioning the project; they are inherent in the project itself, the place where it is being proposed, and the choices made by the developer.”
Advocates told WHQR they will continue to keep an eye on the property and the project. It’s not known if Copper Builders will reapply. WHQR reached out to their legal counsel, who has provided comment in the past. If they respond, we’ll update this article.
Below: Letter from the TRC regarding the revocation.
