Commissioners send two proposed Tabor City planned developments back to planning after residents raise flooding, cemetery and infrastructure concerns

Columbus County commissioners returned two proposed planned development (PD) rezonings for further review after hours of developer presentations and lengthy public comment about flooding, a historic cemetery and infrastructure.

The board voted to send the Coleman Tract PD on Dothan Road and the JT Service Tract PD on Peacock Road back to the planning board for additional information and a development agreement. The Coleman item was moved back by Commissioner Bullard and seconded by Commissioner Scott Floyd; the JT Service item was moved and seconded in the same way. Both motions passed on voice votes.

Why it matters: Both rezonings would allow denser residential development than the county’s one-house-per-acre expectation for rural areas and would trigger infrastructure changes — stormwater ponds, road access modifications reviewed by NCDOT and, for JT Service, extension of sewer. Neighbors said the developments could worsen historic flooding and disrupt a cemetery and long‑standing rural character.

What developers proposed

Philip Hornbeck of Development Resource Group described the Coleman Tract as “about 65 acres” proposing roughly 190 detached single‑family units plus 24 duplex units, with a planned density the team said would average about three units per acre. Hornbeck said the PD would include two access points on Dothan Road reviewed by the North Carolina Department of Transportation; NCDOT recommended an auxiliary deceleration lane for the southern entry and the developers plan to provide that in the site plans. He said neighborhood streets would be private and maintained by a homeowners association and that stormwater ponds sized to the 100‑year storm would be used to control runoff, holding water and discharging it through orifices and weirs to slow flows.

Hornbeck said the PD language includes a 25‑foot perimeter buffer (the PD minimum is 20 feet) and a requirement that each lot plant a hardwood tree. He also said the PD includes “dark sky” lighting practices and a buyer acknowledgement rider advising new homeowners that nearby agricultural, aircraft or hunting activity can produce noise, odors and machinery sounds.

Engineer and agent Jeff Malpas presented the JT Service Tract, showing soils data from the Natural Resources Conservation Service and a site topography that he said drains to the northern end of the parcel. Malpas said the project includes a small existing cemetery on the property; the developer plans a fence around the cemetery and to provide access and an easement so residents can visit it.

What residents told the board

More than a dozen residents spoke at the two public hearings. Neighbors living adjacent to the Coleman and JT Service tracts urged commissioners to delay action until county staff and developers answered more questions about drainage, sewer, school impacts and access to utilities.

Adrienne Givens, who said she lives adjacent to the Coleman proposal at 2808 Dothan Road, described repeated flooding near her home and asked whether she would be able to connect to any proposed water or sewer extension without paying large tap fees. She said high weekend traffic already makes it unsafe for children to play near her house.

Jennifer Foley, speaking for her parents, told the board the family owns farmland across the road from one tract and said a wetland and drainage channel on the properties has had to be regularly cleared of beaver activity. Leonard Steven and other speakers stressed the cemetery’s age and requested…