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Council annexes 52.57 acres, approves conditional rezoning for NACC Investment Group subdivision
Summary
The Mebane City Council voted to annex roughly 52.57 acres and approve a conditional R-12 CD rezoning for a proposed Nepalese American Cultural Center subdivision that would create 106 lots, 26 acres of private open space and neighborhood amenities; neighbors raised a private easement dispute over lake access.
The Mebane City Council voted to annex about 52.57 acres and approved a conditional rezoning that will allow the NACC Investment Group to develop a clustered residential subdivision with a cultural center and a separate worship center.
Staff described the request as a conditional R-12 CD rezoning for just over 52 acres in Orange County outside the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction; annexation was required before rezoning. Development staff noted the site plan shows 106 lots, roughly 26 acres of private open space, pedestrian connections and turn-lane improvements required by a traffic impact analysis.
Balkrishna Sarma, a representative of the applicant who identified the project as a Nepalese American Cultural Center subdivision, told the council the plan includes a cultural center and a worship center, and said members expect to build homes and generate jobs and local tax revenue as the subdivision is built out. "We envision this NSCC subdivision and the community to be like a home away from home for Nepalese Americans and the visiting parents and in laws," Sarma said during his presentation.
Engineers from Earthcentric Engineering described phased construction that would require extending sewer and water from nearby Bowman Village, and said amenities such as a pool and cultural center would be constructed in a later phase. The developer offered a voluntary condition to bond certain amenities (pool and cultural center) to assure completion, a commitment discussed and clarified on the record.
Neighbors raised one substantive land-use dispute during the public hearing: property owners immediately north of the proposed lake asked for limited access to the lake across a walking trail that crosses the planned subdivision. Attorney Pearson Koss said his clients have used a grassy farm trail to access the lake "for over 30 years" and asked the developer to offer a minimal easement for occasional access. The applicant said he would work with the neighbor to find an accommodation and that the walking trail was intended as a private amenity for the subdivision; staff and the developer said they would pursue a reasonable solution during construction-planning so long as it did not remove a lot from the plan.
After discussion and motions, the council passed the annexation ordinance by voice vote and then approved the conditional R-12 CD rezoning finding it consistent with the city's MeBane by Design comprehensive land development plan. Council members recorded appreciative remarks about applicant commitments and staff work but noted that easement and access issues between private property owners remain civil matters to be resolved between the parties unless offered as a binding rezoning condition.
The council also directed staff to continue working with the developer on construction plans, signage for future-stub streets, and the draft voluntary commitments. The annexation and rezoning will allow the developer to proceed with required construction-plan reviews and to return to the city for any required final approvals.
What's next: the developer will move into construction-plan review and the city will process the annexation paperwork and associated engineering approvals.
