Burke County approves phased MOU for Chestnut Springs housing project tied to limited sewer capacity

The Burke County Board of Commissioners on March 16 approved a memorandum of understanding with local developers Travis and Scott Mann (doing business as Pisca Brothers Developments) that sets a phased path for the Chestnut Springs mixed-use and housing project on Miller Bridge Road.

County Manager Brian Epley told the board the roughly 31.6-acre site is proposed for conditional zoning and could ultimately include about 85 homes priced at an estimated $250,000–$300,000, plus commercial frontage. Epley said the county has identified a critical constraint: the Indian Hills pump station’s limited sanitary-sewer capacity, which he described as roughly equivalent to service for about 150 single-family homes and would require an estimated $10 million lift-station replacement and roughly 36 months to design and build if fully funded today.

"That pump station has a limited capacity of about 150 something that would be equivalent to 150 single family homes," Epley said, and noted the timeline for design, permitting, and construction could be about 18 months for design/permitting and another 18 months to build. He said the MOU is intended as a nonbinding, phased approach that allocates remaining sewer capacity deliberately so projects further along the pipeline can proceed without overcommitting the system.

The MOU approved by the board allows the developers to advance in phases tied to the county’s ability to manage sewer allocation. Commissioner Barry moved approval; the board voted 4–0 to adopt the MOU subject to county attorney review.

Why it matters: the county recorded a spike in single-family permitting in 2025 and managers said most of that growth is concentrated in eastern Burke County — the same area served by the constrained pump station. Epley told commissioners the county completed a multiyear asset inventory of water and sewer infrastructure that identified Indian Hills as a pinch point; without phased management, rapid approvals could exhaust available capacity before large infrastructure upgrades are possible.

What’s next: the MOU is nonbinding and will be reviewed by the county attorney as directed at the meeting; the developers anticipate an early start to delivery of a first small batch of homes as early as July, with additional units phased over subsequent years depending on capacity and permitting.

The proposal and the county’s approach highlight a broader trade-off officials said they must manage between supporting new housing and preserving system reliability while the county pursues long-term infrastructure investments.