Currituck commissioners deny Millstone Crossing preliminary plat over heritage and drainage concerns

The Currituck County Board of Commissioners voted 4–3 on Nov. 17 to deny PB‑25‑18, the preliminary plat for Millstone Crossing, a proposed 41‑lot conservation subdivision on Tolles Creek Road.

The applicant described Millstone Crossing as a conservation subdivision with roughly 68% preserved open space and 30,000‑square‑foot minimum lots. Ashley Honeycutt Terrazas, the applicant’s attorney, told the board the application included sworn affidavits and technical analyses intended to satisfy the four UDO findings required for a special‑use permit. “We will present competent material and substantial evidence on each of the required factors,” Terrazas said during the applicant’s opening.

Expert witnesses for the applicant testified that the proposal meets local standards. Mark Bissell, the project engineer, said the preliminary plat shows sidewalks on both sides, two stormwater ponds, and nearly 9.5 acres of proposed reforestation. “It is 41 new 30,000‑minimum square‑foot lots for new homes in a conservation subdivision layout,” Bissell said.

Stormwater engineer Andy Diehl told the board that because soils in the north end of the county are poorly drained, wet ponds are the appropriate mitigation and that the project’s design would model the existing outfall ditch and upstream drainage to avoid increasing peak flows. “The stormwater systems will be designed to detain the difference between the 2‑year pre‑development runoff and the 10‑year post‑development runoff as a minimum,” Diehl said, adding the county’s peak‑flow mitigation standard exceeds state minimums.

Despite the testimony, several commissioners and many neighbors raised persistent concerns about localized flooding, septic fill requirements, and impacts to adjacent wetlands and a mapped significant natural heritage area. Neighbors described recurring flooding along Tolles Creek Road and questioned whether the proposed ponds, berms and limited grading would prevent runoff from shifting downstream. “When you correct flooding and watershed on one property… common sense says that it will go to surrounding properties,” James Mims, a Moyock resident, told the board during public comment.

The applicant said the plans include both fixed landscape berms (four feet high with vegetation) that are shown on the plat and additional, smaller “berms as needed” that would be finalized at the construction‑plan stage to route runoff to ponds. Engineers said final grading and health‑department approvals for septic systems will be addressed in later permit stages.

Commissioners also debated mapping discrepancies: county GIS layers and maps in the Imagine Currituck land‑use plan appear to show a significant natural heritage designation overlapping parts of the northern tract, while state natural heritage mapping shows a tighter area concentrated on wooded portions. Multiple commissioners said the maps’ differences warranted greater certainty before approval.

After deliberation, one commissioner moved to deny the preliminary plat, citing insufficient evidence regarding drainage and the potential impact on a significant natural heritage area. The motion carried by a 4–3 vote.

The denial closes the quasi‑judicial application for now. The applicant may seek to address the board’s stated concerns through additional studies or a revised application; any future submittal would return to the county review and hearing process.

What happened next: the board returned to regular business, approved an ordinance codifying the Parks & Recreation Advisory Board into the county code and approved a resolution to surplus two utility vehicles to Currituck County Schools. The board also directed staff to return with cost and feasibility information for lighting and installing flagpoles at selected county facilities.

The board went into closed session at the end of the meeting to discuss personnel matters.