20210224 Ver 1_Public Notice Comments_20211028 (15)

Public Notice Comment Form
ID#*
20210224
Project Name*
Westpoint
First Name
Elizabeth
Affiliation (if applicable)
Phone Number
9195185940
Version *
1
Number only.
Last Name
Flint
Email *
[e-mail]
*** The intent for collecting an email address is to allow us send you a receipt for submittal of this comment.
Please pick the response below that represents your stance on the above mentioned project? *
Yes - I agree with the project. No - I do not agree with the project.
Comment
I am opposed to builder Keith Brown's proposed high -density Westpoint development (278 townhomes + 101
single-family units) on Black Meadow Ridge, a 61-acre forested property immediately south of Durham's West
Point on the Eno Park.
In 2012, this property was identified as a highest -priority watershed preservation area for Durham, and the City
Council voted to zone the area as "very low density", but this zoning classification was omitted from their
comprehensive map and plan. In 2018, the City of Durham's Critical Areas Protection Plan (CAPP) Watershed
studies report designated four of the parcels covered by the proposed Westpoint development (97% of site plan
acreage) were identified as "keystone" parcels (the most critical areas most urgently in need of preservation to
protect watershed quality).
Brown wants to build this high -density development under a "minor administrative site plan" review process with
NO PUBLIC HEARINGS. This is indefensible!
Brown has said of Black Meadow Ridge, "It's a beautiful area." (CBS.com, Feb. 11, 2020).
The area will no longer be beautiful after he clear -cuts the forest, destroys the understory vegetation, blasts and
bulldozes away inconveniently located granite rock outcrops, grades the denuded land, constructs almost a mile
of townhouses along the south perimeter of West Point on the Eno Park, and squeezes as many expensive
McMansions as he can into the areas reserved for single-family homes, retaining no trees as a visual buffer
between his buildings and the Park.
The Westpoint development, if completed, will convert 70% of the 61-acre tract (42 acres) to impervious
surfaces. Two streams on the property (Warren Creek and Black Meadow Branch Creek) which flow directly into
the Eno River are already prone to heavy flooding, which will be greatly exacerbated by increased stormwater
runoff from those impervious surfaces.
Brown seeks state water quality certification under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act for development activities
which could discharge pollutants into these streams, which will be the main avenues for runoff from the
development site. The locations where these streams flow into the Eno River are heavily used by Park visitors,

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this stormwater runoff could make recreation in these locations (and downstream in the Eno River) unpleasant
and unsafe.
Pollutants in stormwater runoff could also compromise the quality Durham's water supply. The city has used the
Teer Quarry (within a mile of the proposed Westpoint development) as an emergency water supply, and plans to
incorporate it into the city water system. The current plan is to have a Teer Quarry intake that fills only when base
flow of the Eno River is high (which corresponds to times of high runoff). Thus, the Eno River would supply water
to the Quarry only when it is most polluted by runoff. [Oops. Given the likely amount of polluted runoff from a
development with 70% impervious surfaces, a contingency plan is needed.]
The Stormwater Control Measures included in the Westpoint application are inadequate; furthermore, they do
not take into account the effects on runoff during the high -rainfall events that are increasingly frequent in central
North Carolina.
The Westpoint development is therefore a threat to the integrity of Durham's water supply. The development is
also likely to exacerbate flooding in the Park and surrounding areas. Yet Brown's application for Section 401
certification does not discuss either the potential negative impact of his high -density development on the quality
of Durham's drinking water or the potential negative impact of a significant increase in the risk of flooding.
As a Durham resident who drinks Durham city water, I oppose Westpoint because I do not trust its developer to
invest the time, energy, and money needed to ensure that his activities do not jeopardize the quality of Durham's
water or the risk of flooding.
Recommendations:
• I agree with the Save Black Meadow Ridge (SBMR) group that the permit type for which Keith Brown applied
must be reviewed by the US Army Corps of Engineers, along with additional oversight and impact assessments.
• I agree also with SBMR's request for a public hearing from the Division of Water Resources per code: 15A
NCAC .02H .0503.
• Finally, I agree with SBMR's request that both the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Division of Water
Resources should review and reject the application as currently proposed.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth P. Flint, Durham resident
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