Developer Robert Wright presents 66‑lot Black Welder subdivision; neighbors press town on traffic and flooding

Shelly DeHart, assistant planning director for the Town of Harrisburg, opened the neighborhood meeting and said it was informational only: “There’s no decisions tonight. This is simply an informational meeting,” she told attendees.

Developer Robert Wright said the Black Welder parcel has been in his family for more than a century and is annexed into the town. He described the proposal as a by‑right medium‑density residential development and said the plan calls for 66 single‑family lots with a 15,000‑square‑foot minimum. “This is a by right project we’re submitting according to the town’s ordinances,” Wright said, adding that the plan shows required open space, storm detention and road connections to neighboring subdivisions.

Residents focused questions on traffic and safety at nearby intersections. One attendee asked whether the planned connection at Lakeland and Blackwater (Roberta) would be made safer; the developer and town representatives said they are coordinating with the town and NCDOT on that intersection and would follow up with more detail. A resident asked whether the road could be limited to emergency vehicles only; the developer answered that the connection and any traffic control would be studied and that the team had requested a traffic circle to slow traffic through the connection.

Several residents raised school‑bus safety because a bus stop sits near the proposed access. Town staff said they would notify the school district and have the engineering team review the location. On drainage, a neighbor who lives on Cambridge and Waterloo said she regularly sees flooding and asked how cumulative runoff from multiple developments would affect the Rocky River. Town staff said detention and stormwater requirements would be addressed in construction plans and that public works and engineering staff would inspect the river and creek conditions and follow up.

Neighbors also asked about buffers and HOAs. The developer said lots backing to existing neighborhoods would be deep and that the plan includes a landscaped berm; he also said the new subdivision would form its own HOA. Attendees questioned wetlands and historic ponds on the site; residents said Army Corps records previously showed natural ponds where building was restricted. The developer said the team is working with wetlands consultants and the Corps and will comply with any restrictions.

Shelly DeHart urged residents to use the Town of Harrisburg development map on the town website to view plans and to sign up for email notices; staff said the project will go to the planning and zoning board in March and to the town council in April, and the developer estimated, contingent on approvals and permitting, that construction work would likely not start until 2027.

What happens next: the town will post the meeting minutes and plans on its development map, engineering and public works staff will review drainage and intersection concerns raised tonight, and the planning board will take public comment at its March meeting before the council’s April public hearing.