Commissioners table Riverbend Estates first-plat after residents and archaeologists raise concerns about Native American sites and road easements

Summary

After extended public comment from local residents, archaeologists and planning board members about the proximity of the historic Mitcham site and questions over private easements on Rock Rest Road, the board deferred action on the Riverbend Estates first-plat and asked staff to return with additional materials and options.

Chatham County commissioners paused consideration of the Riverbend Estates at Laurel Ridge first‑plat on Oct. 20 after a long public comment session that raised archaeological, traffic and private‑road easement concerns.

The 622‑acre subdivision application (proposed 107 lots) prompted multiple residents, tribal representatives and professional archaeologists to urge additional study before the county approved any final plats. Speakers said the Mitcham site — a documented palisaded Native American village investigated by university archaeologists — and other unrecorded cultural deposits in the Haw River corridor deserve more detailed survey work than was included in the developer’s environmental impact assessment (EIA). Several speakers asked the board to require a full phase‑1 archaeological survey rather than rely on the reconnaissance…

Commissioners table Riverbend Estates first-plat after residents and archaeologists raise concerns about Native American sites and road easements

Summary

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