Council approves Havenwood Phase 1 site plan and tree removals after debate over floodplain crossings

Assistant Director of Engineering Dale Crown and planning staff presented Havenwood Phase 1, a subdivision on the former Smith Tract that would place 87 single-family homes on about 172.73 acres as part of a larger planned-development parcel. Town staff and the applicant sought an exception to permit limited impacts to both FEMA-identified and town-defined fully developed floodplain in order to install private trails, retention ponds, grading, and roadway and utility crossings; no buildable lots would be located inside the floodplain, the applicant and staff said.

The applicant said the exception would allow more precise floodplain mapping (a future Letter of Map Revision to FEMA is planned) and that conceptual modeling for later phases shows the project will meet the town's drainage standards. Assistant Director Crown said bids opened in December for the related intersection work and that the project schedule contemplates a spring notice to proceed and approximately 13 months to substantial completion.

The site-plan item also included requests tied to landscaping and tree protection. The project team reported a property survey that identified about 12,933 trees on the overall site and 790 specimen trees within Phase 1 and later phases; the Phase 1 engineered plans verified 46 specimen trees would remain in place and the applicant requested permission to remove three specimen trees that staff's technical review said could not be preserved because of grading and pad impacts.

Council members raised questions about the floodplain exception and whether the proposed crossings would create off-site impacts. Planning staff and the project team repeatedly said the design meets the town's standards and that the exception does not allow reclamation of floodplain into buildable lots. One council member pressed for additional health and condition information for one specimen tree (tagged 6636) before agreeing to its removal.

Council voted to approve Item K2 (the subdivision/site-plan action, updated to include staff and Planning & Zoning recommendations) by unanimous roll call. The related tree-removal permit (Item K3) passed 4–1, with one council member voting no and requesting additional documentation on the health and grading necessity for tree 6636; the council asked staff and the applicant to provide more detailed photos and on-site measurements when the next phase returns for review.

The developer and staff said they will update the floodplain study and submit a Letter of Map Revision to FEMA in later phases; the council noted that final floodplain boundaries will be depicted on each subdivision plat and that construction within the floodplain will be limited to the infrastructure types described in the approved exception.