Planning board recommends approval of Reeves Farm Phase 1 preliminary plat with parkland and $500,000 fee-in-lieu

The Town of Pittsboro Planning Board on Monday voted to recommend approval of the Phase 1 preliminary plat for Reeves Farm, a 496-acre master-planned community, including the provision of dedicated public parkland and payment of a $500,000 fee-in-lieu.

Paul Kelly, a senior planner with town staff, told the board the overall Reeves Farm master plan was rezoned to a neighborhood mixed-use center district in November 2023. The Phase 1 preliminary plat covers roughly 91.75 acres and proposes 251 single-family detached lots with an average lot size of about 6,710 square feet.

Kelly said open-space and parks calculations require 45.09 acres for the full project; the applicant is providing 50.53 acres of public recreation land within the plat area and offering an additional $500,000 in fee-in-lieu to account for acreage and amenities. Kelly explained the $500,000 was calculated at $40,000 per acre to cover 12.5 acres of additional park amenities and improvements.

Resident Davis Lindsay Weisbecker, who lives west of the proposed subdivision, spoke in support of the parks and greenways but asked whether rezoning conditions requiring a phasing plan, a development agreement and a traffic impact analysis had been satisfied before preliminary approval. "I want to check if these conditions have been met, and if so, how the public could learn more about the content of those documents," Weisbecker said.

Jody Leidock, representing Reeves Farm Pittsburgh, told the board the park layout was intended to preserve a scenic corridor along US 64 Business (West Street) and to enable early park improvements: “What happens in that park space around the pond? What is the mechanism to begin developing park space, top lot, swings, planting, actually building a beautiful park there?” Leidock said the $500,000 would help the town develop amenities immediately as Phase 1 homes are built.

Staff reported the Phase 1 impervious area at 28.42 percent and noted stormwater and erosion-control permits will be reviewed at the construction-drawing stage. N.C. Department of Transportation comments accompanying the traffic-impact analysis require a left-turn lane with storage and taper at the proposed Site Drive A along US 64 Business and other access improvements; the traffic analysis will be updated with subsequent phases.

On a motion by Alfreda Austin and a second by Alan Wilson, the planning board voted to recommend that the Board of Commissioners approve the major-subdivision preliminary plat for Reeves Farm Phase 1, including dedication of 50.53 acres of public recreation land and payment of $500,000 in lieu of additional park acreage. The board approved the motion by voice/raised hands.

The recommendation directs staff to ensure stormwater, transportation and construction-drawing reviews are complete before final plat approval. Several board members and residents asked staff to make the traffic and fiscal modeling available ahead of the town board review.