Pittsboro board approves special‑use permit for Hall River Christian Academy with written conditions

The Town of Pittsboro Board of Commissioners voted Nov. 18 to approve a special‑use permit for Hall River Christian Academy (HRCA), allowing a K–12 Christian school on two church‑owned parcels along North Carolina Highway 902 north of the Loco Fuerte Church. The approval is conditional on nine written items staff and the applicant agreed to and on subsequent engineering, site‑plan and NCDOT permits.

HRCA plans a campus on parcels 0061873 and 0068572 totaling roughly 41.6 acres with on‑site septic and a deep well; the applicants say the master plan would provide capacity for about 300 students by 2030 and could accommodate further phases. Attorney Brady Herman, representing HRCA, told the board that the applicant’s exhibits and witnesses “will show that this project meets all 5 standards for special‑use permit approval outlined in the UDO.” Penny Hall, the school’s board president, said HRCA has grown from about 60 to 180 students in leased facilities and asked the board to approve the SUP as the first step toward a permanent campus.

Why the decision mattered: the hearing focused on technical public‑safety and infrastructure questions—traffic and stacking at the NC 87/NC 902 intersection, water and septic feasibility, and whether on‑site fire suppression via a pond would meet code—issues that directly affect adjacent residents and the traveling public.

Staff and expert testimony

Planning staff and the town’s development services staff flagged several items they said must be clarified or conditioned before full permitting. Chief among them was a written NCDOT review that recommends the school build a westbound left‑turn lane on NC 902 with roughly 250 feet of storage and that the NC 87/NC 902 intersection be monitored for possible signalization. Staff also said the TIA submitted with the application did not account for a recent reroute affecting local traffic patterns and that a fire‑suppression report was not included.

Ronald Stevenson, a traffic engineer with DRMP who prepared HRCA’s traffic impact analysis, summarized his findings for the board and said the site plan’s proposed ingress/egress and internal circulation can contain stacking on campus and avoid queuing onto NC 902. Stevenson testified the design can accommodate more than 2,000 feet of on‑site queuing for peak, high‑demand days and that the left‑turn lane and other DOT‑recommended improvements are necessary; he said the school must coordinate final designs with NCDOT and noted that NCDOT’s letter provides for potential reimbursement after the work is constructed. “I do have an opinion, and it will not, endanger the public health or safety,” Stevenson said in expert testimony when asked about traffic impacts.

Garrett (civil engineer) described preliminary soil evaluations as favorable for an on‑site septic solution but said percolation rates and hydraulic calculations must be completed in final engineering; he added that flow‑equalization and pre‑treatment are commonly used for congregate wastewater sources such as schools. On water and fire safety, architect Pete Bogle and engineers described using a fire pond as a viable suppression option if it passes infiltration and evaporation analysis, and they said extending a public water line is an alternate solution that would likely require annexation.

Economic and planning testimony

Nicholas Kirkland, a certified appraiser, presented a paired‑sale study and concluded the project is unlikely to substantially injure the value of adjoining properties in comparable rural locations. Planning consultant Reynolds Neely testified the use is functionally consistent with the Town of Pittsboro Unified Development Ordinance’s RA (residential agriculture) district and generally consistent with the town’s land‑use plan, subject to site‑plan technical reviews.

Public comment and contested points

More than a dozen residents spoke for and against the request. Supporters cited local education options and community benefits; opponents focused on traffic safety along NC 902, citing crash history and calling for stricter mitigation. Several residents said they were concerned about driveway access and emergency vehicle circulation during peak drop‑off/pick‑up times.

A few residents also raised a procedural point about paperwork that used the word “charter” in some documents; HRCA representatives clarified the school is a privately governed, tuition‑based private Christian school and not a state charter school. June Collins, a nearby resident, said state officials had characterized HRCA as a private school; Penny Hall confirmed HRCA is privately governed.

Board action and conditions

After questioning, discussion and a motion, the board approved the SUP by voice vote. The approval is subject to nine written conditions staff drafted and the applicant accepted; the conditions (to be included in the written permit) require, among other things, execution of a recorded shared access/parking easement with Pittsboro Baptist Church, an updated TIA to reflect the recent reroute and church impacts with NCDOT review, completion of NCDOT‑required improvements (including the left‑turn lane) per the town’s NCDOT correspondence, demonstration of water/sewer/fire solutions at site‑plan/CD review (including any necessary stormwater/flood studies), compliance with Watershed Overlay District buffer and lot‑coverage limits, stormwater and open‑space requirements, and a photometric lighting plan that limits off‑site glare.

What happens next

The board’s approval allows HRCA to proceed to the site‑plan, engineered design and permitting stage. The written conditions and technical documents (final TIA, septic/percolation results, fire‑pond analysis or water‑line extension design, stormwater design, utility permits and recorded easements) must be submitted and approved in subsequent review steps before construction permits are issued.

Quotes that reflect the record

“We will be presenting our evidence that this project meets all 5 standards for special‑use permit approval,” Brady Herman said during the applicant’s opening.

“We are here because we want to invest in our town’s future,” Penny Hall said as she asked the board to approve the permit.

“The left‑hand turn lane on NC 902 is identified as part of the traffic impact analysis; NCDOT will be involved and will reimburse the school for that work after construction,” Ronald Stevenson told the board.

“I’m going to have a nightmare getting out of the driveway,” said resident Jim Henry, who lives across the road, summarizing neighbors’ access and safety concerns.

Ending

The board’s vote allows Hall River Christian Academy to move to the engineering and permitting stage with a written set of conditions that staff will finalize in consultation with the applicant. NCDOT approvals and the final engineered site plan will determine whether the project’s traffic, water and fire‑safety measures are accepted before any construction begins.