Davie County commissioners take no final action on Myers Landing after residents and commissioners raise infrastructure, buffering and legal concerns

Davie County commissioners heard more than two hours of testimony and staff briefings on proposed changes to the Myers Landing subdivision on May 4 but took no final certification vote on the three site plans.

The matter began as a single Class 5 proposal for roughly 226 acres and about 161 lots. The developer, Braxton Real Estate, later submitted three smaller submissions (two Class 4 and one Class 3) that staff said met the county's ordinance criteria. At the meeting, several commissioners and residents said the split felt like a way to avoid a previously discussed curb-and-gutter requirement.

"Is my understanding developer asked if [the project] could be split apart," staff counsel Chad Beaumar told the board, adding that "those buffers are not required with the 3, but the developer told us all that he would keep those in place for the adjoining property owners only." The developer's attorney offered to honor tree and fencing buffering along Highway 64 if the Water's Edge submission proceeds.

Commissioners pushed staff and counsel for clarity on which ordinance criteria, if any, justified denying certification. Vogler, the county's legal advisor, said that to withhold certification the board must "spell out by law why it does not meet the criteria" and include that in a motion.

Commissioner Poindexter briefly moved to defer action until the next meeting to gather additional information but withdrew the motion after legal counsel explained that, absent specific findings, deferral would likely not change the substantive record. A subsequent motion to affirm that the three site plans met the legal criteria was made but failed for lack of a second. No certification or denial was recorded that evening.

During public comment, residents expressed concerns about wells, septic systems, traffic, school capacity and a broader loss of rural character. "We have to do something to allow the people of the county to be able to determine what comes into their county," said Commissioner Jones, summarizing a frequent sentiment from the public and some board members.

Staff reviewed technical points in detail: septic/well setbacks under state rules, technical-review-committee checks, and environmental reviews (DEQ involvement for well and nutrient concerns). Commissioners noted the statutory constraint known as "downzoning" (retroactive baseline set 07/01/2025), which staff said limits county ability to reduce density compared with what was previously allowed.

The board agreed to carry discussion of broader subdivision-ordinance changes and stormwater policy to a future meeting and requested sample stormwater ordinances and technical examples from other jurisdictions. The developer's single larger plan remained withdrawn from consideration that night, according to the developer's attorney.

Next steps: the Myers Landing site plans remained on the county's work list with no final action recorded; the commissioners signaled they would reconvene the issue at a future meeting after staff and counsel provide any additional technical or legal information that the board requests.