This month, Copper Builders, the proposed developers of the Hilton Bluffs project in Sledge Forest, filed a lawsuit in Superior Court against New Hanover County, alleging due process violations and that the County Manager has “ill will” toward them.
The suit is just the latest chapter in the Charlotte-based developers' attempts to develop the large property in the northwest corner of New Hanover County, which has seen pushback from neighbors and environmental advocates over traffic and ecological concerns.
Objections to and negotiations over project scope
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 offereda 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.
Lawsuit details
As first reported by StarNews, the suit follows several moves by County Manager Chris Coudriet, including an administrative denial of Copperer Builder’s plans to build 1,800 units on roughly 4,000. Following a court ruling prompted by neighbors who didn’t want traffic going to Hilton Bluffs through their communities, the developer reduced the number of access roads to one, which Coudriet cited as a safety risk. Coudriet later directed the county’s Technical Review Committee to reassess the developer’s plans; the TRC then revoked its conditional approval of those plans in early October.
Copper Builders argues Coudriet’s efforts were inappropriate and unprecedented.
The lawsuit states, “Upon information and belief, no other subdivision applicant has had a TRC-reviewed plan administratively denied by the manager, and the manager acted out of ill will, as shown by his refusal to meet before acting, his curt and hostile conduct at the September 22, 2026 meeting, his repeated statements that he would allow no plan to proceed without a second access regardless of compliance, and his directive that the TRC review the validity of an approval the Board of Adjustment had not revoked.”
Copper Builders’ plan was conditionally approved in March of 2026 with three access points, but neighbors appealed two of the access points to keep the development’s traffic away. Copper Builders claims it had written agreement in June from county planners, NCDOT, and the Fire Marshal that they could proceed with only one access point. In July, the Fire Marshal rescinded his earlier approval, which the lawsuit claims was “based upon direction or pressure from county management.” Going on to say that the manager has used his powers of hiring and firing TRC members “improperly to influence and control the TRC’s actions, including by directing or pressuring the Fire Marshal to rescind his June 24, 2026 single-access determination.”
On September 2, the TRC wrote a letter to Copper Builders requiring that the single-access plan include extra safeguards like sprinklers in every home, 26-foot roads, and a siren-activated gate. Copper Builders agreed, but on September 16, Coudriet administratively denied the plan based on public safety issues, including the difficulty caused for emergency responders and flood risks. In October, the TRC concluded that the March approval was no longer valid because a single access point was a “substantial departure” from the original plan and that a new application would be required for the project to move forward.
Copper Builders has six main arguments. First, they argue that the county manager didn’t have the authority to deny the plan. Secondly, the manager’s denial didn’t cite any ordinances or codes and was only based on his personal opinion. Next, regulations (guided by Session Law 2021-183) includes a provision that allows fire marshals to be flexible on the requirement for two access points if the developer determines it’s “technically infeasible.”
Fourth, the change to access doesn’t meet the requirements for “substantial departure,” the TRC doesn’t have the power to decide if an approval is valid, and the county didn’t follow the required process for terminating an approval. Fifth, Copper Builders gave up two of their access points because the county said they could move forward without them, and then the county went back on their word. Lastly, Copper Builders says their constitutional rights to due process and equal protection under the law were violated, in part because of the ill will of the county manager toward the company.
The lawsuit cites two past instances where the county lost lawsuits after the courts found they had failed to follow procedural rules. The first, Sanco of Wilmington Serv. Corp. v. New Hanover County, stems from a 2001 decision by the county to hold a public hearing allowing appeals from neighbors. At the time, local ordinances didn’t give neighbors the right to object to subdivisions, so the courts ruled that the county had illegally instituted a new procedure without permission (the state’s Court of Appeals upheld the ruling in 2004). It also cited a more recent case of a special-use permit on Lendire Drive, where the courts found that county commissioners ruled against a development based on political considerations rather than the evidentiary ones explicitly required by the SUP process.
The lawsuit hopes to void the denial letter and revocations so that the March approval remains valid. Copper Builders would like the second access road requirement to be dropped. They are asking for the TRC to review the August plan within 30 days and only use ordinances and state law in the process, while barring the county manager from being involved in the review. They also want $25,000 in damages plus attorney’s fees and costs.
Responses
As a general policy, New Hanover County does not comment on pending litigation.
In a press release, Kayne Darrell, director of Save Sledge Forest, said the lawsuit seeks to place “an additional financial burden on the very taxpayers whose safety concerns have been at the center of this controversy.”
“For more than two years, this community has stood together demanding that public safety come before the ambitions of a developer determined to build a massive residential subdivision in one of the most environmentally sensitive and challenging locations in New Hanover County,” Darrell wrote.
“When County Manager Chris Coudriet recognized the serious risks associated with a single access point for this 1800+ home plan, he had the courage and conviction to act. His willingness to take action reflects the seriousness of concerns that residents have raised for more than two years.”
“No legal challenge can erase the legitimate questions about what happens when a single access road becomes impassable during an emergency,” Darrell said.
Darrell closed the statement by asking, “Is the problem everyone standing in the way, or is it the vision itself?”
Benjamin Schachtman contributed to this reporting.
