Clayton planning board recommends approval of Hebner Mayo rezoning; neighbors press pond and traffic concerns

The Clayton Planning Board voted on Dec. 16 to recommend approval of a major modification to the Hebner Mayo Properties conditional rezoning (project 2025-94-CZM), forwarding the proposal to the Town Council with conditions and a recommendation that council discuss the possibility of pond aeration.

Robert Tate, senior planner with the town’s planning department, told the board the request would unify three parcels under a CCC district across an approximately 87-acre site, with about 58 acres of commercial use and roughly 15.9 acres of multifamily residential. Tate said an additional parcel of about 13 acres is added under the modification, increasing the commercial acreage and open-space areas. He said the application includes about 42 conditions, and staff recommended approval as consistent with the adopted 2045 comprehensive growth plan.

An applicant representative associated with the project said the revised traffic-impact analysis reviewed by NCDOT and the town’s consultant adds an additional westbound left-turn lane and preserves two new signalized intersections. The representative also described buffers that remain from the earlier approval — a 40-foot buffer adjacent to residential lots and a 10-foot buffer on the other commercial edge — and said the landscape/parking modifications aim to improve tree survivability.

Jim Clark, project manager and civil engineer with Withers Ravenel, said each of the proposed stormwater ponds is a wet pond “It has a permanent pool that’s maintained by an outlet structure,” Clark said. “During a storm, it will have the water from the land come into it. The level would rise above that permanent pool. And then over a period of 2 to 5 days, it would drop down to the permanent pool again.” He said state design standards require drawdown and that the ponds must meet state water‑quality and drawdown requirements.

Several neighbors during public comment told the board they worry the ponds and revised drainage could increase flood risk for nearby properties, produce more standing water and worsen mosquito issues, or create traffic conflicts at neighborhood entrances. Nick Perez, who lives at 780 Lightfoot Drive near the proposed ponds, said his house sits between retention ponds and that he worried "with a heavy rain with a hurricane, our house could be in danger." Jesse Dayhoff, a licensed North Carolina civil engineer and adjacent property owner, asked for clarity on where SCM 3’s controlled release will discharge and whether that routing would impact his properties at the south end of the pond.

Clark answered that the ponds are sized and designed to adhere to town and state standards, including multiple design-storm analyses, and that SCM 1–3 locations shown on the concept plan are part of the rezoning and subdivision plans. He acknowledged that larger storms will move more water and that, in such events, residents may see more water at their doorsteps than under existing wooded predevelopment conditions. Clark also said the developer is responsible for annual inspections required by state statute and that ponds will be in a remainder parcel with ongoing maintenance obligations.

Board members and an audience roadway engineer discussed traffic-safety tradeoffs from extending a right-turn lane along the project frontage versus terminating it near Fernwood Drive. The TIA calls for a dedicated right-turn lane and additional left‑turn capacity at access points; engineers said the design is intended to reduce weaving and improve safety when properly tied into existing pavement and DOT permits.

After discussion, a board member moved to recommend approval of the conditional rezoning, concept plan and conditions based on consistency with the 2045 comprehensive growth plan. A seconded amendment asked that when the item proceeds to Town Council, staff and council at least consider the potential for aeration or fountains in the ponds. The motion, as amended, passed by voice vote; the board’s action is advisory and the council will make the final decision.

The planning board also received staff updates that new written recommendation forms will be included in future agenda packets and that swearing-in of new and reappointed members and a training session are scheduled in January. The item will appear before the Clayton Town Council for final action.