Rolesville commissioners continue Scarborough Village rezoning after traffic and EMS concerns

The Rolesville Board of Commissioners on Jan. 6 continued a public hearing on a rezoning and voluntary annexation for a roughly 13.15-acre project called Scarborough Village after several hours of questions about traffic, emergency access and neighborhood impacts.

Planning staff opened the hearing with a summary of revised materials and a trip-generation letter based on 63 townhome units. Michael Ellebarger, planning staff, told commissioners the applicant’s trip letter estimated 430 weekday daily trips and AM/PM peak trips “in the twenties and the thirties,” and that those numbers did not meet the town’s thresholds to require a full Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA).

Worth Mills, an attorney for the applicant, said the revised proposal substantially reduced density from a previously denied plan for 240 apartments to 63 townhomes and that the applicant is coordinating with town engineers on the new collector road alignment. “We came back with an updated concept plan… which again calls for 63 townhomes,” Mills said, noting plans to dedicate right-of-way to preserve future access for adjacent homes.

Residents and commissioners pressed both the applicant and staff over whether the reduced residential count and the proposed small commercial parcel at Main Street could nonetheless generate traffic that would push the site over the town’s TIA triggers once a commercial tenant was proposed. “Every morning and every afternoon, it’s a parking lot,” resident Charles Buchanan told the board, urging a more comprehensive transportation approach. William (Will) Green, another resident, said new development could disrupt recently opened Main Street businesses and increase congestion during construction and operations.

Multiple commissioners asked whether the collector road would actually relieve pressure on Main Street and whether left-turn restrictions, signalization or other mitigations would be required. Staff and applicant representatives said earlier larger projects in the same area had triggered TIAs and that the current, smaller residential proposal produced far fewer trips than the earlier apartment scheme. Staff also said the town’s forthcoming work on the municipal campus and connector roads factored into the transportation picture but acknowledged commissioners’ request for expert review.

After extended discussion the board voted to continue the hearing to the board’s Jan. 20 meeting and asked that the town’s traffic engineer review meeting video and be prepared to answer specific questions about access geometry, TIA triggers and mitigation options. The continuance was supported by several commissioners who said the additional technical input would help the board decide whether the applicant’s proposed layout and conditions are consistent with the Rolesville comprehensive plan.

The hearing will resume Jan. 20 with technical input from the town’s transportation engineer and any supplemental materials the applicant elects to provide.