THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 14, 1997 TAG: 9701140217
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY JEFFREY S. HAMPTON, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: 62 lines
The Pasquotank County Board of Commissioners rezoned 280 acres of farmland Monday, clearing the way for a 240-lot subdivision. It will be the third-largest in the county.
The proposed development will sprawl across open fields at the corner of Simpson Ditch Road and Body Road. The property is adjacent to the new park called Fun Junktion that commissioners plan to open this spring.
Most of the lots will be three-quarters of an acre, said E.T. Hyman, an Elizabeth City surveyor who presented a rough sketch of the plans to commissioners at their regular January meeting Monday morning. The developer is EHP Land Co.
``It will be five to 10 years before we fully develop it,'' said Hyman.
Zee Lamb was the only commissioner who voted against the rezoning.
``It doesn't seem compatible with Fun Junktion unless there is a sufficient buffer,'' said Lamb.
The park will have a woods for camping on the east side next to the proposed subdivision. Hyman said he probably would add more woods for an extra buffer.
A handful of residents from the Simpson Ditch Road area voiced concern about the additional traffic. Hyman plans to have only two entrances to Body Road and one to Simpson Ditch Road. Homes built along the busy roads will have driveway access only within the subdivision.
Once developed, only Peartree Place on Peartree Road and Mount Hermon on U.S. 17 South will be larger. Peartree Place has 378 lots with more being developed in the future. Mount Hermon has 322 lots.
Most subdivisions have fewer than 50 lots, according to records at the Pasquotank County Planning Department. Crosswinds is currently the third-largest subdivision in the county, at 102 lots.
Rezoning is the first step in a series before a developer can begin construction. Hyman must next take a sketch plan to the planning board for approval of streets and lot layout. Commissioners have to approve a preliminary plat which includes water, drainage and street plans before the developer can start building. The speed of the process depends on the developer, but normally requires several months, said Pasquotank County Manager Randy Keaton.
Hyman told the commissioners he plans to develop 25 to 30 lots per year.
The subdivision, likely to fill with young families with small children, will add to the burden of the school system. Pasquotank and P.W. Moore elementary schools sit just a few miles from the proposed site.
``One of the ideas discussed is construction of another elementary school in the southwest portion of the county,'' said Charles White, public relations director of Elizabeth City-Pasquotank County Schools. Peartree Place, a subdivision loaded with school-age children, sits just a mile east of the site of the proposed subdivision. ILLUSTRATION: THE PLANS
The proposed development will sprawl across open fields at the
corner of Simpson Ditch Road and Body Road. The property is adjacent
to the new park called Fun Junktion that commissioners plan to open
this spring.
Most of the lots will be three-quarters of an acre, said E.T. Hyman,
an Elizabeth City surveyor who presented a rough sketch of the plans
to commissioners at their regular January meeting Monday morning.