Leland council denies conditional rezoning for Mallory Creek site, citing limited commercial land

The Leland Town Council on Monday denied Ordinance ORD24‑019, a request to conditionally rezone about 31.5 acres adjacent to Mallory Creek Plantation, finding the change "not reasonable or in the public interest" because it would substantially reduce land available for commercial development in the town.

Town planning staff presented the proposal as a mixed residential‑and‑commercial plan intended to create a neighborhood node consistent with the town's Leland 2045 plan. Planning staff member Ashley (planning staff) told the council the conditional rezoning would allow 127 townhomes (about 4.63 dwelling units per acre) and roughly 30,000 square feet of commercial space, and that the developers had increased a buffer behind some townhomes from 15 feet to 25 feet and proposed to preserve several mature trees found in an on‑site tree survey.

The nut of the dispute was how much of the site should remain commercial. Supporters — including Grayson Morgan, entitlements project manager for D.R. Horton, and Bill Cameron, a principal with Mallory Creek Land and Timber/Wilmington West — said the plan balances residential and commercial uses, provides infrastructure to make the commercial…