4677 - Mayes Meadow - Conservation Easement Modification Request 10-4-2023

PLANNING | LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE | CIVIL ENGINEERING | URBAN DESIGN
200 South Tryon Street, Suite 1500
Charlotte, NC 28202
Office: 704-376-1555
Bolton-Menk.com

To: Daniel Ingram, NC General Manager, WLS
From: Ben Wood, Project Manager, ColeJenest & Stone
cc: Ken Holbrooks, Bayard Development
Tim Coey, Bayard Development
Date: September 25, 2023
RE: Upper Rocky Mitigation Bank Modification Request

Project(s) Overview
The proposed plan currently under development includes the final phase of a multifaceted land concept
located on a property in Mecklenburg County, NC. The property (referred to as the ‘Mayes tract’) was
identified in 2015 as having the ideal conditions for both a residential community (referred to as ‘Mayes
Meadow’) in conjunction with the establishment of a stream and wetland restoration project. The Mayes
tract had sufficient upland conducive to residential development coupled with valuable natural resources
that had been significantly modified historically and would provide maximum uplift through restoration. A
critical quality that the Mayes tract possesses includes the portions of the land needed for both concepts
were clearly demarcated from one another. The footprint ideal for restoration could be placed into a
conservation easement, restored to maximize water quality and various species habitats, provide long term
protection on an invaluable resource located within one of the fastest developing subwatersheds in the U.S,
and that would not negatively affect a proposed residential development located within the uplands. The
remaining portion of the Mayes Tract that didn’t possess natural resource restoration value could be
developed in a manner that was conservation minded and would not negatively impact the restored natural
resources. The coexistence of these two concepts represents the primary intent of the U.S. Army Corp of
Engineers (USACE) approach to mitigating offsets within the region(s) most susceptible to impacts,
development, and growth (mitigation using the watershed approach).

Upper Rocky Mitigation Bank Project Description
The concept of the Upper Rocky Mitigation Bank (referred to as ‘Upper Rocky’) began in 2015 when the
properties were identified and reviewed for restoration potential. This restoration project had been
identified by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services (CMSWS) as a top priority restoration reach
within the Rocky River watershed. Grant dollars had been secured for the beginning stages of restoration
design but until land control could be achieved, the restoration project could not proceed. As long as the
land remained in private ownership, CMSWS would likely not be able to secure an easement for the
restoration effort. The concept of utilizing a mitigation banking model was implemented to use private
funding that would compensate the landowners for the placement of a conservation easement on their land
and identify a footprint that would not negatively affect the future development value of the property,
which was significantly higher than the mitigation value of the land. The landowners were open to

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considering a conservation easement specifically under the principle that the easement wouldn’t decrease
their land value for future development. This represents a significant hurdle to comply with the USACE
watershed goals. Convincing landowners with significant land value to enter their property into a
conservation easement is challenging which has led to most mitigation occurring well outside of the areas
where impacts and growth occur. Once the Mayes family was committed to the conservation easement
concept, the mitigation bank project proceeded forward.
Due to the need to shape the conservation easement in a way that didn’t decrease future land development
value and allowed for a residential development, proposed breaks in the conservation easement were
created to allow for a future greenway trail (already depicted by the Town of Cornelius on the greenway trail
masterplan), future sewer line connection, and future road crossing over one of the tributaries identified on
the property. The breaks in the proposed conservation easement were preliminary in nature at the time the
conservation easement was drafted because a site plan for a proposed development had not been
developed and approved. Water & Land Solutions (WLS), the sponsor for Upper Rocky, was involved with
the Town of Cornelius (referred to as the “Town”) on the future location of the greenway trail. WLS and the
Town worked together to locate, design, and construct a portion of the greenway trail on the adjacent
Beverly property while that property was in the development phase. Six breaks were established in the
conservation easement on the Beverly tract to accommodate a road crossing, greenway trail, powerline, and
multiple sewer line crossings. WLS and the Town originally agreed to an extension of the greenway trail to
the property line of the Beverly Tract and the Mayes tract. The Town could not define the location of the
greenway trail on the Mayes tract while the property was privately owned. The mitigation bank was
approved for use in 2020 and the conservation easement was recorded on the Mayes Tract in November,
2020. Unique Places to Save (UP2S) was identified as the long-term steward on the project and took control
of the conservation easement at recording. The mitigation bank was constructed in 2021/2022 and has
maintained success since construction was completed.

Mayes Meadow Development Project Description
The Mayes Meadow development tract concept was in early consideration in 2017. At this time the property
was owned by Mrs. Mayes and her desire was to leave the tract in-tact (not be developed) while she
remained alive and retained ownership. Because of this ownership position, a site plan was not developed
for the proposed development project. In late 2019, Mrs. Mayes passed away and the ownership of the land
transitioned to the three remaining heirs to determine the future of the property. After approximately 1-2
years of deliberation and negotiation between the Mayes family heirs, the Bayard Group (referred to as
‘Bayard’) was selected to proceed forward with the proposed development project. Bayard’s successful
track record of approved developments in the region, understanding of conservation minded development
projects, familiarity with the mitigation concept, and initial effort in connecting the Mayes family and WLS
concerning the conservation easement concept made them the ideal partner to proceed forward with the
proposed development. Bayard proceeded forward with developing a bubble site plan for discussion and to
receive input from the Town as well as Mecklenburg County.
Two critical requirements for a future development tract involved the capacity for sewer allocation (to be
approved by Charlotte Water) and the construction of the greenway trail connection from the Beverly
property line through the Mayes Meadow development tract and to the western property line (Bjorneboe
properties). Bayard incurred significant delays in site approval for multiple years largely related to a sewer
capacity concern with Charlotte Water (referred to as the “City”) for this region. These delays did not allow
for a site plan approval process to fully begin until 2022 which would have defined not only the location of
the future sewer line but also the location of the proposed greenway trail. Bayard has proceeded forward

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with developing a detailed engineered site plan for the Town and City. Approval and reservation of sewer
capacity based on the 154-lot site plan is pending and imminent. It should be noted that regardless of the
number of proposed lots, connection to the sewer in the northeast corner of the Mayes tract would have
been required. The remaining steps for the final approval involves ironing out final engineering drawing
details ahead of receiving a recorded and approved plat.

Project(s) Timing
The critical challenge that existed relative to the development of both the mitigation bank and residential
development proceeding forward simultaneously involved the approval timing for each project. Each project
requires completely different and unrelated processes for approval including but not limited to multiple
different agency approvals, different financial requirements, and different landowner conditions. Just the
transition of the property ownership alone following the death of Mrs. Mayes would not allow the
development site plan approval to move forward simultaneously with the mitigation bank approval process,
regardless if that was the desire of Bayard, WLS, and the USACE. These different processes led to
significantly different time periods for approval which led to the requirement that the conservation
easement be recorded well prior to a residential site plan being developed. The intent and the approach of
the proposed projects were discussed with full transparency between the different approving agencies, WLS,
UP2S, the Town, and the City (hence the reason conservation easement breaks were established when
Upper Rocky was developed). Unfortunately, the timing of those approvals were not able to coincide in
order to have the conservation easement breaks align with the approved location of the sewer line and
greenway trail.

Alternative Analysis
With the conservation easement already having been recorded and with the sewer allocation approval being
granted by the City, Bayard began going through the process of finalizing a site plan that would be supported
and approved by the Town and City as well as avoid site natural resources and the conservation easement as
much as possible. Three following alternatives were considered in the site plan development. Within each
alternative, multiple locations for both the sewer and greenway trail were considered. In all, 5 locations for
the greenway trail were considered and 4 locations for the sewer line were considered. Table 1 attached
provides a summary of these alternatives and locations. The alternatives were considered as follows:
Alternative 1 -– Complete Conservation Easement Avoidance
The initial site plan consideration involved utilizing large lots, septic systems, and not implementing a paved
greenway trail within the proposed development. An initial trail concept included a 5-foot wide natural
surface hiking trail as opposed to a paved ADA approved greenway trail. However, the Emerald Necklace
Greenway Trail masterplan that requires a paved ADA approved trail had been adopted by the Town nearly a
decade before. This plan requires a 10-foot wide paved ADA approved greenway trail through the Mayes
tract. The ADA also requires a maintenance corridor alongside the paved greenway trail (10-feet on each
side of the paved trail). Without private landowners being willing to allow this trail while they owned the
land, the trail was to be implemented when this property was proposed for private development. Therefore
the private development approval is dependent upon the design and construction of this trail.
In addition, the City will not approve a large lot septic system development because of water quality
concerns associated with the use of septic systems as opposed to connecting to the existing sewer line

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network. Where sewer is readily available, the City requires for proposed subdivisions to connect to the
sewer network, especially if the sewer is located within the property being proposed for development. The
existing sewer line is located along the northern property line of the Mayes tract. Any and all connections to
that sewer line would have always required the crossing of existing wetlands and streams based on the
location of the sewer relative the these natural resource features. Specifically, the critical manhole
connection port for the proposed sewer line is located in the northeastern corner of the Mayes tract
(depicted on Figure 1-7). At the time of conservation easement recording, WLS did not have the information
on this location so that the breaks placed in the conservation easement were not placed in the most logical
locations for the mitigation site and development. Any and all proposed development site plans for the
Mayes tract will require both the paved ADA greenway trail and a connection sewer line to the City sewer
system. Therefore, without a development plan approval, the Mayes property value decreases significantly
from the current $6,300,000 valuation (current tax value) to an estimated $509,000 (farm value).

Alternative 2 – Using Existing Conservation Breaks (Avoidance)
Once it became apparent that the sewer connection and greenway trail construction would be required for
the proposed development, Bayard began reviewing potential site plan concepts utilizing the existing breaks
in the easement that were placed prior to the development of the Mayes Meadow site plan. Figure 2 (see
attached) depicts the location of these easement breaks along with the three proposed sewer line locations
and a proposed greenway trail location that would access the existing conservation easement breaks. The
following locations were considered in this Alternative.
Greenway Location #1 was considered first that would have utilized the existing break in the easement for
the proposed greenway trail. This location would have included a total length of approximately 3,000 linear
feet of land disturbance for the construction of the trail, would have required a stream crossing, and would
have impacted jurisdictional wetlands that were delineated within the existing large easement break (0.02
acre of wetlands). This greenway trail location would have increased stormwater runoff within the protected
buffer of the mitigation bank due to steeper topographical conditions adjacent to the easement boundary
and because the trail would have been constructed parallel to the conservation easement boundary for a
considerable length in order to position the trail in-line with the original Emerald Necklace Greenway Trail
Plan on the property located west of the Mayes tract. The more linear footage of land disturbance for the
trail potentially exposes more liability for the mitigation site from stormwater runoff, foot traffic access, and
potential damage to the buffer vegetation adjacent to the trail. In summary, more wetlands, a stream
crossing, topographic challenges, and significant land disturbance impacts would have been required for this
trail location to utilize the existing breaks in the easement.
It should be noted that WLS did not provide an easement break along the eastern edge of the Mayes
property although the Greenway Trail plan was always anticipated to connect the Mayes and Beverly tracts.
There is no way to connect the greenway trail from Mayes Meadow to Beverly without an easement break
being created. Locations for this easement break are a part of Alternative #3.
Sewer Location #1 was initially reviewed to try and avoid impacts to the conservation easement. This sewer
connection from the lowest elevation of the proposed subdivision to the critical sewer connection point
would have required over 3,200 linear feet of sewer line and would have required forcing sewage uphill in
order to connect within the existing easement breaks. This sewer line would have required 3 stream
crossings, would have impacted 0.11 acre of jurisdictional wetlands that were delineated within the
easement break, and would have potentially negatively affected stormwater runoff within the protected
buffer of the mitigation bank due to topographical conditions and parallel path of the sewer line adjacent to

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the easement boundary. In addition and the most significant challenge to this location would be that this
location would require a pump station to pump the sewage uphill as well as the need for a sewer line depth
to be approximately 30-40 feet deep to access the conservation easement break. The amount of land
disturbance for this sewer line depth would be significant. The City would not approve of this proposed plan.
While this sewer location would have utilized the existing breaks, the impact to land, streams, and wetlands
would have been considered significantly more and unnecessary than the proposed alternative.
Sewer Location #2 was reviewed next to attempt to capitalize on a more direct sewer connection to the
Beverly Tract. This location would require an additional 900 LF of sewer line and sewage would need to be
pumped uphill to make this connection (pump station). This location would require no modification to the
easement and have no known wetland impacts but would have a stream crossing. An additional challenge
with this proposed location is that the adjacent landowner would have to be willing to allow access to his
land for the sewer line, which he is not. The combination of the City not supporting a pump station coupled
with an unwilling landowner does not allow this location to be considered.
Sewer Location #3 was reviewed as well to see what it would take to direct sewer flow to Mayes Road. This
location would add 2,800 LF of sewer line and would need to be pumped through the use of a pump station.
There is no existing sewer along Mayes Road in this region so in order to complete this approach Bayard
would have to pump sewage for several miles to the nearest sewer line. The City would not approve this
proposed alternate because of the presence of a sewer line within the property (critical manhole in the
northeast corner).
For Sewer locations 1, 2, and 3, one major constraint presented itself. Without being able to allow for a
natural gravity led sewer system directly from the lowest point of the proposed subdivision to the critical
sewer connection point, a pump station would be required to move sewage uphill. Logistically, pump
stations are not preferred because they require more land disturbance, introduce more mechanical
requirements for the process, and increase the possibility of failures of the sewer system, which often lead
to sewage spills during major precipitation events. Pump stations are typically avoided if at all possible. In
the case of the jurisdictional review by the City, they made it clear they would not support the use of a pump
station on the proposed development. Pump Stations are typically only allowed when there is no feasible
gravity connection point nearby.
Alternative #2 Summary
Bayard looked at multiple sewer and greenway trail locations that could utilize the existing breaks in the
easement and avoid an easement modification. Based on the City (sewer) and Town (greenway trail)
requirements respectively, the existing breaks in the easement were not located to allow for the site plan to
be supported or approved therefore rendering the Mayes tract as undevelopable. In addition, if the site plan
could be approved, utilizing the existing breaks would have had significantly more impact to wetlands,
streams, and indirect impacts from stormwater for the construction of the greenway trail and sewer line to
access the existing breaks. In order to obtain site plan approval, reduce impacts to wetlands and streams,
and construct with the least disturbance possible, Bayard considered relocating the existing conservation
easement breaks for alternative #3.
Alternative 3 –Relocating Existing Conservation Easement Breaks
Once it became apparent that the sewer connection and greenway trail construction could not utilize the
existing conservation easement breaks, Bayard began reviewing potential site plan concepts by relocating
the existing breaks in the conservation easement. This would involve closing the existing breaks and creating
new breaks (relocating the breaks) for less disturbance and impact to on-site natural resources. Figure 3 (see

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attached) depicts the location of these proposed easement breaks along with the proposed sewer line
location and four proposed greenway trail locations that were analyzed to minimize impacts to streams,
wetlands, and the conservation easement.
Sewer Location #4 was reviewed and becomes the least impactful alternate for sewer connection to the
critical manhole tie in. This alternate would add 609 LF of sewer line and is the most direct connection to the
critical tie-in manhole located in the northeastern corner of the Mayes tract. As mentioned above, the City
requires connection to sewer if sewer is located on the same property as the proposed development. This
location was designed to reduce the number of stream crossings (from 3 to 2) and wetland acres impacted
(0.28) but while maintaining the gravity flow required for the sewer connection. In addition, the
construction effort will utilize boring subsurface to avoid direct impacts to streams. Proposed impacts to
wetlands associated with this sewer line connection are considered to be temporary.
Greenway Location #2 was considered for the location of the eastern connection to the Beverly Tract’s
greenway since a break in the easement was not originally created by WLS. This +/- 1,000 foot alignment
follows the proposed easement break for the sewer line (Sewer Location #4) at the northeastern corner of
the Mayes Tract until breaking off and connecting to the greenway trail on the Beverly tract. This would
allow for a single easement break to accommodate both sewer and greenway connections on the Mayes
property. This greenway connection however would require three stream crossings and significant wetland
impacts during installation (0.41 acres). In addition, this would allow a much larger easement break within
the Beverly Tract to connect to the existing greenway trail. This alternate likely would not be preferred by
WLS nor would it be approved by the Town.
Greenway Location #3 was considered for the location of the eastern connection to the Beverly Tract’s
greenway next. This would require a +/- 400 foot connection and it would reduce significant stream and
wetland impacts. This connection will only have 1 stream crossing and would avoid wetlands all together.
The use of a bridge crossing over the stream would also allow for no impacts to streams or wetlands for this
option.
Greenway Location #4 was the approximate location of the greenway trail as proposed by the Town on their
original Emerald Necklace Greenway Trail Plan. This location was considered approximate and had not taken
into consideration the presence of wetlands and streams in this location at the time the Plan was drafted.
This location was not evaluated due to excessive impacts to wetlands, streams, and easement.
Greenway Location #5 was reviewed for the western connection from Mayes Meadow to the property to
the West. This would be the shortest greenway trail connection path feasible that avoids all wetlands by
shifting the greenway trail connection just upstream of the wetland boundary. This location also would
completely avoid impacts to the stream by using a bridge crossing. This location also limits the amount of
land disturbance by shortening the proposed trail length thereby reducing stormwater impacts. In addition,
this proposed easement modification would be perpendicular to the easement boundary and would
represent a smaller break than the existing conservation easement break therefore maximizing the
protected conservation easement area within this location. This greenway trail alternate complies with the
Town requirements to complete the trail through the Mayes tract, avoids all wetlands, avoids stream
impacts, and reduces the overall land disturbance further reducing potential negative impacts to the
mitigation bank.

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Alternative #3 Summary
In summary, Alternative 3 reviewed 4 greenway trail locations and 1 sewer line location to try and minimize
the impacts to wetlands, streams, and the conservation easement as much as possible. The existing breaks
in the conservation easement that were established for the greenway trail and sewer line were not placed in
the most feasible locations. More wetlands and streams would have been impacted by utilizing those
locations. By opening new breaks within the conservation easement utilizing the proposed locations (Figure
7), closing the existing breaks, and adding additional conservation easement, the proposed development is
actually reducing wetland impacts, reducing stream impacts, and adding more conservation easement
protection to the conservation easement then was originally proposed by WLS. The construction of the
greenway trail and sewer line within these locations would have also reduce nearly 1 mile of additional land
disturbance and maintenance.

Overall Proposed Site Plan Summary – Minimization Effort
Following the initial site plan meetings with the City and the recognition that the site would not be approved
with the presence of a pump station, Bayard begin looking at the possibility of reducing the overall length of
the greenway trail and sewer line and designing a more efficient and effective infrastructure plan that could
be approved by the Town and the City as well as limit impacts to natural resources and to the conservation
easement. The proposed plan depicted on Figures 1-7 provide the recommendation for the infrastructure
components of Mayes Meadows. These recommendations include the closing of previously established
easement breaks, adding more conservation easement to be protected, protecting more streams and
wetlands, and opening smaller breaks for the practical locations of the sewer line and greenway trail. Figure
4 depicts the overall view of the 3 areas to be closed/added for the conservation easement and the 3 smaller
sections of easement to be modified to allow for the infrastructure components. Figures 5 and 6 provide
zoomed in views of these modification recommendations. Figure 7 depicts an overall view of the
recommended and final conservation easement modifications.
The proposed greenway trail easement breaks were selected in order to limit impacts to streams, wetlands
and the easement areas. The break in the easement regarding the section of greenway trail on the Beverly
tract was already agreed to by WLS but has not been created to date. The section being proposed for an
easement break on Mayes Meadow for the greenway trail is depicted on Figures 4 and 6. This location was
selected to avoid all impacts to wetlands (greenway trail crossing was placed away from existing wetlands,
will only cross 2 streams (as opposed to multiple crossings), will utilize bridge crossings as opposed to a
culvert crossing, and was chosen perpendicular to the conservation easement to reduce land disturbance
and overall impact to the conservation easement. In addition, Bayard has agreed to the request of UP2S to
construct a decorative chain and environmental education signs along this section to remind people to stay
on the greenway trail to better protect the restored environment. The footprint of greenway trail and land
disturbance was reduced over 50% with this selected path and will allow for a future connection on the
adjacent property that will be located away from streams, wetlands, and the protected conservation
easement.
The proposed sewer line connection was selected in order to limit impacts to streams, wetlands and the
easement areas, remove the need for a pump station, and limit the overall disturbance to the landscape.
The section being proposed for an easement break on Mayes Meadow for the sewer line connection is
depicted on Figures 6 and 7. This location was selected to avoid all permanent impacts to wetlands, will only
cross 2 streams (as opposed to multiple crossings with the other options), was chosen as close to
perpendicular to the conservation easement as possible to reduce land disturbance and overall impact to the

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conservation easement, and primarily shortens the overall length of sewer line by nearly 85%. Once the
sewer line has been constructed and the corridor stabilized, the proposed sewer line project will have no
permanent impacts or loss of wetlands and/or streams on Upper Rocky. While the easement break will be
established and the stream and wetland credits within that footprint will not be available for sale, the
condition of the restored streams and wetlands will remain. The proposed conservation easement area will
increase from 43.6 acres to 44.08 acres (gain of 0.48 acres), the stream feet protected increases
approximately 481 linear feet, and the wetland area protected increases approximately 0.214 acres.
It should be noted that none of the parties involved in these projects (Up2S, WLS, Bayard, and approving
agencies) desire to work through the conservation easement modification process. In reviewing the
proposed modification, with the locations of the proposed easement breaks, less land disturbance, and more
streams/wetlands protected, we believe that the proposed modification will allow for continued long term
success for the Upper Rocky Mitigation Bank. It is the goal of all groups to efficiently complete this
modification and to not request any future modifications on the mitigation bank.
Respectfully,

Bolton & Menk, Inc d.b.a ColeJenest & Stone

Ben Wood, PE
Project Manager
704-376-1555
[e-mail]