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Home My WebLink About20211827 Ver 1_Public Notice Comments_20211221 (10)Version ID# * 1 20211827 Number only. Project Name* Bexford First Name Last Name Marjorie Fish Affiliation (if applicable) JC Rowland Farms,LLC Phone Number 9196164239 Email * marjoriebarker@live.com *** 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 would like to thank the NCDEQ, the DWR, and the USACE for allowing me to share my concerns publicly regarding the wetland permits requested by the developers & owner of the Bexford property located at 6409 Hilltop Road in Fuquay -Varina. My family and I reside at 6341 Hilltop Road, directly beside the property being developed. The development of this property will have irreversible negative impacts on the environment, wildlife, and the people living here. In The town of Fuquay Varina and surrounding ETJ, we are experiencing a rapid consumption & loss of land due to development. Rapid consumption of land could threaten the survival of nearly one out of every three imperiled species in the U.S .... Runaway development threatens the very survival of these national treasures and underscores the urgency for comprehensive habitat protection strategies and planning for green infrastructure. Upon reading the permit application for the Bexford development, I noticed many discrepancies, and I will state them as follows: the applicant listed the project address as 6409 Hilltop Rd Fuquay-Varina NC on the Pre filing meeting application from Sept 9 2021. On 12-14-2021 the applicant listed the address as Wake County, and "being near Fuquay Varina" on the PCN application. The property is in Fuquay-Varina's corporate boundaries, and has a Fuquay Varina address & zipcode. question 4i on the PCN application "explain the project in detail". The applicant stated this is a single phased project & again listed the address as being near Fuquay-Varina in Wake county. In reality, Bexford is a multi phased development, and was approved by the town of Fuquay-varina planning board & Board of commissioners in December 2019. Bexford was approved as a 10 phased project to be completed within 5 years. This is a high density residential development. The total number of homes planned is 401, and will be constructed on undeveloped farmland surrounded by multigenerational family members, and single family homes with acreage, zoned as Rural residential. The Bexford property is not bound by residential development as stated in the application. The neighboring property is family land (Rowland land) with only single family homes. We live in an undeveloped area of the ETJ in Fuquay Varina. Bexford is the first multi phased high density residential development ever to be built on this land. This development and the 400 homes/ townhomes will completely destroy everything beautiful and natural on this property. the applicant stated the stormwater program used for the project is a local government NSW program, and again listed Wake County as the local governing municipality stormwater program to be used. I have been in ,......�....a ...:14 r:.......ar..., RA-1 .--- ."— 1n1..1,— n..... — n-- ..i.......:..,. --A :..........a:..n,....,, n....:,a...... ♦"- -II- vv nll 11111VU 1y rvlalvllcy I- VVa vv 11ty v L. Nlallnu ly a IU 11 Ncwvna U11 -Vl, 1 and ✓aV1-11 1.- planning director for FV, Matt Poling the director of engineering for FV, Blake Massengill the mayor of FV, Matt Calabria Wake county commissioner, Lyle Phillips with USACE, John Ellis with US fish & wildlife, countless employees from DEQ, DWR, and NCNHP. Throughout my correspondence with these many individuals, I have been assured of one thing - Wake County has no jurisdiction over this property. The property at 6409 Hilltop Road containing the Bexford residential development is within the Town of Fuquay-Varina jurisdictional & corporate limits. Fuquay-Varina has its own delegated stormwater management program. The TOFV has a phase 2 stormwater program. the applicant failed to mention the FORCE MAIN PIPE, and it's impact to wetlands in the application. The force main location is on private property and is not included in the Bexford subdivision, but all of the homes planned for the east side of Hilltop rd will rely on this private force main pipe for sewer connection. So, the neglect in mentioning this pipes existence on the application shows a complete lack of ethics for developer & owner. In my opinion they are trying to hide its existence from the permitting process. The pipe will be connected to the public force main sewer pipe on Hilltop Road & used privately by the Bexford subdivision only. Please understand, public utilities for water/sewer are not available where we live. We all have private wells & septic systems. All of this is proposed new construction - private & public utilities will be constructed. We do not even have access to cable tv here. So I hope you can understand my concerns. The pipe is shown on page 24 in the PCN application, "Impact Map exhibit". I have thoroughly looked over the BEXFORD plan. The force main easement will be located at private residence 6475 hilltop Road. The pipe will run parallel to our family property line (center line) beginning at Hilltop Rd and Howard Farm Road intersection- which is a private driveway easement owned by our family. This is not a public utility easement. I live beside of Howard Farm Road. I have contacted the Town of Fuquay- Varina's engineering department, the town manager, and planning director several times concerning this pipe & it's location. My concerns & questions are still unresolved. The private force main pipe & it's location were not included in the first drawing at the public hearing in Dec 2019. Therefore no perimeter buffers are in place for our property, no privacy and protection of our trees, wetlands. We were not aware of its location in the plans until August 2021. The pipe will horizontally cross a natural drainage canal (ditch) which is a tributary of Terrible Creek. The area floods frequently, and the Howard's have difficulty accessing their driveway at times, due to high water. Considering the applicant used a FEMA firm map from 2006, this information would not be up to date by todays wetland determination standards. Also the field determination fit the property was completed 2 years ago & much has changed in topography since that time. We are in a critical period environmentally, and must consider climate change, precipitation, storms, flooding, sea level rise, & these are facts based on science. The pipe and utility easement in the current plan, are too close to our property line, our septic field and our well. There are NC general statutes addressing these conditions, and permitting regulations in place for the state. These are flood hazard soils and are listed as such on the deed map. This pipe cannot horizontally cross through a canal, drainage ditch, or body of water. The waters are NSW & the blue line streams shown on the maps at 6409 Hilltop Road are Terrible Creek NSW 303(d) & have federal protection. The application has many discrepancies & the applicant has stated false, and incorrect information on the permit application. I am greatly concerned about the discrepancies, and misinformation given. There is so much at stake here, and my concerns involve things money cannot buy... such as quality of water, quality of life, our natural resources, wetlands, habitat for wildlife, and the history, legacy and agricultural importance of this farmland that will soon be destroyed by development & greed. -Cumulative Impacts Per General Assembly, N.C. General Statute. 143-215.1(b)(2). The cumulative effects of approved and proposed development such as the approved Rowland's Grant subdivision, approved Bexford subdivision, and multiple approved utility allocation permits for discharge into the Terrible Creek WWTP by the Town of Fuquay Varina to developers (at least 12 multi phased developments approved for discharge allocation into Terrible creek in the past 3 months), will absolutely affect the water quality of Terrible Creek, the Rowland farm & the surrounding areas. See N.C. Gen. Stat. 143-215.1(b)(2). -Endangered species & Designated critical habitat Terrible Creek has a class C- NSW 303(d) listing with impaired stream, nutrient sensitive waters of the Neuse River Basin, with fair quality benthos aquatic life classification by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ). Currently there are no measures in place to further protect this already impaired stream. — North of Terrible Creek - identified as Middle Creek Bluff and Flood Plains is considered a NC Significant Natural Area. The same Terrible Creek and Middle Creek Flood Plains are a special aquatic habitat that supports rare threatened and endangered animal species, including mussels, Atlantic Pigtoe, Triangle Floater, Neuse River water dog, Dwarf Wedge Mussel, as well as several migratory bird species inventoried by the US fish & Wildlife and North Carolina Natural Heritage Program. (This information is documented in the permit application submitted by the the Town of Fuquay-Varina IPAC resources from the US Fish and Wildlife Service for the Terrible Creek WWTP effluent pipe & the WWTP is less than a mile from the Bexford property) I have found mussels in the creek recently & I have photos. The mussels are located less than 1/2 mile from this property. Sections of Middle Creek directly downstream of the Bexford property have been recently listed as federally protected CRITICAL HABITAT for endangered species by the US fish & Wildlife service in 2021. The applicant failed to list this critical, new information on the permit application. -Currently, the Rowland Farm is recognized as having Voluntary Agricultural District status by the Department of Agriculture. -The Farm has the only certified organic farm in Wake County, N.C. HILLTOP SUSTAINABLE PRODUCE - A forestry management plan is in place on the farm. All of the trees on our property have protection from development. - Multi generational family farm, and currently six family households reside on the farm. By virtue of the North Carolina General Assembly - such legislative body has the power to protect land owners. - "An act to make various changes to the agricultural laws of the State," Session Laws 2020-18, (short title, The N.C. Farm Act), offers protection for Voluntary Agricultural Districts from urban development - The Farm is awaiting Bicentennial Farm recognition from the North Carolina Department of Agriculture. - As mentioned previously, Federal and State government have recognized Terrible Creek and Middle Creek areas as significant, environmentally critical places for protected aquatic species. Considering the huge environmental, financial, and personal impacts faced by the recent developments, proposed developments, current and future utility plans, and utility allocations already approved by the Town of Fuquay-Varina into and surrounding Terrible Creek, I am urging the department to please implement the strictest permitting regulations possible for the Bexford development and property at 6409 Hiltop Road. I am asking the department to please look into the proposed force main pipe, and private utility easement discussed above. I am Marjorie Fish and I live with my husband Barrett and 2 daughters at 6341 Hilltop Road in Willow Spring NC. We love our home. We love this land, and our town. We are very discouraged to see it all be destroyed by development. I hope my words will somehow make a difference. I will upload supplementary files supporting my comments. Sincerely, Marjorie Fish Upload Supplementary Files Bexford utility allocation .pdf 158.27KB Bexford_Subdivision_1-6.pdf 10.64MB DFIRM_NC_3720068700K.pdf 3.55MB TOFV-Stormwater-Management-Plan.pdf 1.61 MB 2001_191 trees .pdf 120.36KB C540_Aquatic _Species _0617.pdf 6.87MB North Carolina Administrative Code, Subchapter B, 02B .0203 - PROTECTION OF WATERS DOWNSTREAM OF RECEIVING 43.87KB WATERS _ North Carolina Administrative Code _ Justia.pdf Farm act 2021.pdf 200.47KB CMadtom_NeuseRiverWaterdogFListingCH.pdf 4.57MB 20211009_16270804987_21 _Soi I_Report. pdf 1.14M B Screenshot 2021-10-14 at 4.21.25 PM.pdf 2.76MB Pdf file type only Any information (e.g., personal or contact) you provide on this comment form or in an attachment may be publicly disclosed and searchable on the Internet and will be provided to the Department or Agency issuing the notice.