Council approves release of remaining Weddington Glenn bond over resident objections

Weddington Town Council voted 3–1 on Dec. 8 to approve release of bond PRF9377177 tied to the Weddington Glenn subdivision, overruling requests from nearby residents to delay the payment pending a signed settlement and clearer HOA maintenance arrangements.

The council's action followed a final inspection by LeBalla Associates. Bob Wilson, the engineering representative who inspected the site, said the subdivision’s roads, stormwater controls and a sand filter were constructed to town standards and recommended the bond release. “We recommend release of the bond,” Wilson told the council after inspecting the site in recent rain and seeing the sand filter functioning.

Neighbors urged caution. “We feel it would be appropriate to hold the bond until both the paperwork for a settlement is signed and a maintenance plan has been filed with the town,” said resident John Shik, who said sediment and stormwater runoff from grading had affected his property and that settlement discussions with Beachwood had not led to a signed offer. Shik asked the council to delay release for 30 days so an agreed settlement and a recorded maintenance agreement could be confirmed.

Beachwood Homes’ land director, Scott Morrison, told the council his company had recorded the operation and maintenance agreement and that agency and engineering reviews showed no developer-caused off‑site impacts. “The engineer of record … has said through its analysis and its seal and signature that the pre-development and post-development discharge offsite of storm water is net zero,” Morrison said, adding that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had visited the site and found no impact attributable to Beachwood.

Town staff and the planner described the matter as limited to whether infrastructure built matched the bond scope. Greg, the town planner, said much of the original larger bond had already been released by prior councils and that the remaining amount under consideration represented the portion tied to infrastructure the town had inspected. He told the council his review and Labella Associates’ inspections supported release of the remaining funds.

Council members pressed for assurances the HOA would have adequate reserves and transparency after turnover. Beachwood said the HOA budget had seed reserves and that the developer would coordinate turnover and provide homeowners with plans, construction documents and contact information for the HOA management company (Key Management) to help the incoming board understand ongoing maintenance obligations.

Despite resident objections and requests for delay, the motion to approve release of bond PRF9377177 carried 3–1. The council did not identify the motion mover or seconder in the public record and recorded the vote count rather than a roll-call listing of individual votes.

Next steps noted by staff: the town will request annual HOA maintenance reports for stormwater devices and will continue to monitor compliance with the recorded operation and maintenance agreement. The residents’ request for the town to mediate a signed settlement between the homeowner and Beachwood was not adopted as a condition of the bond release.

Action at a glance: the council approved release of bond PRF9377177 (amount stated in the motion as $41,27.50 in the packet text; staff described the remaining amount as approximately $400,000 during the discussion).