CMR-20210224 Ver 1_Public Notice Comments_20220221

Public Notice Comment Form
ID#*
20210224
Project Name*
Westpoint
First Name
Dane
Affiliation (if applicable)
Phone Number
9198107540
Version *
1
Number only.
Last Name
Schuckman
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
To whom it may concern at the North Carolina DENR,
I'm writing today to request that the Division of Water Resources deny the application made by Terramor Homes
for a water quality permit for their Westpoint development in Durham, on the property locally known as Black
Meadow Ridge. I understand that writing to you today is my last opportunity to be heard on this important topic.
Thank you for your careful consideration of this permit application, and of all the emails you're receiving in
opposition.
The Durham Future Land Use Map, approved in early 2018, designates this area as Very Low Density (2
units/acre or less) which is 1/3 the density approved in 1972. However this proposed development plan follows
that outdated 1972 ruling. You shouldn't play a role in approving a site plan which is wholly inconsistent with
adopted City and County transportation and land use plans. Following current density rules, only 128 units
should be allowed on this property - not the planned 400.
Also of great importance, In the past month a healthy Neuse River Waterdog was found in the Eno River at West
Point on the Eno Durham City Park — the property immediately adjacent to the proposed Westpoint development.
This freshwater salamander is an endangered species — upgraded to federally threatened this past summer -
and protections must be upheld to ensure its habitat is healthy.
"" See below re: 5A NCAC 02B .0110 CONSIDERATIONS FOR FEDERALLY -LISTED THREATENED OR
ENDANGERED AQUATIC SPECIES
See also: Summary of the Neuse River waterdog final 4(d) rule- prohibitions and exceptions. I U.S. Fish &
Wildlife Service (fws.gov)
Furthermore, Durham's recently approved Critical Areas Protection plan identifies this site as a "Keystone" parcel
that must be protected.
The reasons above are as solid as the rocks that would be blasted and graded in the construction of the
development. The reasons to deny this permit stand taller than the oaks and pines that would be clear-cut for
parking lots and luxury apartments. Still, I feel compelled to speak on the personal impact this development

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space if it were allowed to no longer exist. Have you been to the Festival on the Eno? Have you experienced
yourself how, for decades, thousands of local families have come to Durham, to West Point on the Eno park, to
appreciate the culture of this city that is quite literally built on the banks of the free -flowing and clean waters of
the Eno River? Have you been to the park on a weekday to see local students studying the ecosystem, or on a
weekend to see people playing in the cool, clear river water or hiking the trails? We, like so many of those other
families in this community, are raising our children to be good stewards of this land and water. If this permit is
approved generations of North Carolinians will have to live with the consequences of the damage caused. The
people of North Carolina depend on this land and the river for fresh, clean water and as one of the few
accessible green spaces where the natural beauty of this great state is allowed to exist unmolested. The
community around this park and the land being threatened need it to exist in as healthy and natural a state as
possible. Developing Black Meadow Ridge would bring years of construction and decades of pollution to a
landscape permanently altered in ways that will have deep consequences and cause significant harm to the
environment and the community. This isn't about being anti -development - It's about being against irresponsible
development, and I can't think of a more irresponsible plan than what Terramor is asking to be approved.
Please, deny the permit request. If after thoroughly reviewing the public feedback and all the various concerns,
you can't deny the permit, please at a bare minimum insist that the Westpoint development application be
amended as follows:
All of the stormwater from the site needs to be treated. The site plan indicates that the stormwater from the road
crossing that connects with Roxboro Road will NOT be treated. No certification should be approved unless the
plan includes sufficient treatment of the stormwater from this area, and all other areas, during and after site
construction.
The site should be redesigned to remove all roads, homes, and stormwater management areas from regulated
stream buffers, streams, or delineated wetland areas.
Since this development is occurring in the protected area of the proposed Teer Quarry and Eno River Intake
Water Supply Watershed, the developer should have to comply with all regulations for intake water supply
watershed protected areas, including 100-foot buffers on perennial streams.
"" 5A NCAC 02B .0110 CONSIDERATIONS FOR FEDERALLY -LISTED THREATENED OR ENDANGERED
AQUATIC SPECIES: Certain waters provide habitat for federally -listed aquatic animal species that are listed as
threatened or endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or National Marine Fisheries Service under the
provisions of the Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1531-1544 and subsequent modifications. Maintenance
and recovery of the water quality conditions required to sustain and recover federally -listed threatened and
endangered aquatic animal species contributes to the support and maintenance of a balanced and indigenous
community of aquatic organisms and thereby protects the biological integrity of the waters. Rules .0225 and
.0227 of this Subchapter shall apply to the development of site -specific strategies to maintain or recover the
water quality conditions required to sustain and recover federally -listed threatened or endangered aquatic animal
species. Nothing in this Rule shall prevent the Division or Commission from taking other actions within its
authority to maintain and restore the quality of these waters.
Respectfully,
Dane Schuckman
Chapel Hill, NC
[phone]
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