Dozens of Hampstead residents urged the Pender County Board of Commissioners on Oct. 20 to halt or rethink approval of the proposed Piper Tract subdivision, a planned development of roughly 350 homes that opponents say would overload local roads, schools and emergency services and pose a public‑safety risk because it relies on a single main access.

Residents from Hampstead and nearby neighborhoods used the board’s public‑comment period to describe traffic congestion on Country Club Road and Old Point Road, to question the development’s emergency access and water/sewer plans, and to press the commissioners for a temporary moratorium on high‑density subdivisions until county infrastructure and standards can be updated.

The concerns focused on three core issues: emergency access, road capacity and public services. Multiple speakers pointed to state fire code requirements and the county’s Unified Development Ordinance that the groups cited as supporting two access points for developments above certain sizes. “This project will build 358 homes down a single access road,” said Ivan C. Blum of 267 Downey Drive, who urged commissioners to enforce existing local rules that require a second access after 30 homes. Several speakers cited Hurricane Florence and evacuation scenarios as examples of the risk from limited access.

Residents also raised traffic and school capacity. Dana Clark of 614 Ravenswood Road said a traffic signal at Country Club Road would not solve existing peak‑period congestion at Ravenswood: “I already can't make a left at 07:30 in the morning.” John Phillippe, a civil engineer who lives on Ravenswood Road, urged the board to consider water and sewer capacity, emergency response times and the cumulative impacts of multiple recently approved large subdivisions.

Commissioners pressed staff and the fire marshal for technical details during a board discussion that followed public comment. Interim Planning Director Justin Brantley told the board the project will go to the Planning Board for a master development plan public hearing on Nov. 5 in Burgaw and that the county has been discussing the proposal with the developer for several years. Deputy Fire Marshal Townsend Link and later the county fire‑code official described the project as currently meeting the state fire code’s geographic‑impossibility exception; the county’s fire official said he had taken the plan to the State Fire Marshal’s code official in Raleigh for interpretation.

County staff and several commissioners said their authority is limited by property‑rights and recent state law changes. County Attorney noted that broad moratoria are constrained by state law and by legal limits imposed in recent legislation, and said any moratorium would need to be narrowly targeted and time‑limited. Commissioners asked county staff and the attorney to prepare a written briefing on what forms of temporary moratorium or zoning change are legally available and to return with options at the Nov. 3 meeting.

Commissioners and staff also discussed moving the Planning Board hearing location or date to ensure broader local attendance; Planning staff said changing the hearing date requires a special meeting of the Planning Board but that the board could continue the hearing to another date and location after Nov. 5. Interim Planning Director Justin Brantley also confirmed the project’s density: roughly 3 net units per acre over about 150 acres; he said the application is a by‑right development if it meets the zoning and future‑land‑use category.

Why it matters: residents say the proposed density is out of scale with existing neighborhood access and county services and asked the board to prioritize safety and infrastructure planning before approving additional large subdivisions. Commissioners asked staff to clarify legal options and impacts, and scheduled further consideration at the November meetings.

What’s next: the Planning Board public hearing is scheduled for Nov. 5 in Burgaw; commissioners requested staff follow‑up memos on whether the Nov. 5 hearing can be relocated to Hampstead and on the legal scope for a limited moratorium or other interim measures.