Save Sledge Forest raises concerns over proposed Hilton Bluffs development

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A group opposing the proposed Hilton Bluffs development says newly obtained public records raise questions about the project’s fire access plans and communications between the developer and the New Hanover County Fire Marshal.

Save Sledge Forest released a statement Wednesday outlining what it describes as a timeline of events involving Copper Builders and the proposed development, which would include approximately 1,800 single-family homes off Sledge Road.

The group says the records were obtained through a public records request.

At the center of the dispute is the number of roads that would provide emergency access to the development.

According to Save Sledge Forest, the North Carolina Fire Code generally requires developments with more than 100 one- or two-family homes to have two separate and approved fire apparatus access roads, unless a second access is determined to be “technically infeasible.”

The group argues Hilton Bluffs is significantly larger than that threshold and says the development could generate nearly 15,000 vehicle trips per day.

Timeline of access plans

New Hanover County’s Technical Review Committee conditionally approved Copper Builders’ preliminary plan for Hilton Bluffs on March 10.

According to Save Sledge Forest, that plan included three connections to Castle Hayne Road: a primary entrance on Sledge Road, a second full-access road through Tall Oaks Drive and Marathon Avenue, and an emergency access through the Wooden Shoe neighborhood.

Two groups subsequently appealed the approval.

The group says that while Copper Builders continued defending those access points during the appeal process, the developer separately met with the New Hanover County Fire Marshal in June and sought a determination that a second fire access road was not feasible.

According to a July 23 letter from the Fire Marshal cited by Save Sledge Forest, the developer told the office that surrounding property owners had denied easements or access and that other potential areas were impassable or wetlands.

The Fire Marshal issued a June 24 determination allowing the project to use an exception to the fire code’s two-access requirement, according to the group.

Save Sledge Forest says the determination was not disclosed to the county or other parties at the time.

On July 20, Copper Builders and one of the groups challenging the development announced a settlement. As part of the agreement, Copper agreed not to use the Marathon Colony and Wooden Shoe access points.

Three days later, on July 23, the Fire Marshal rescinded the June determination.

The Fire Marshal wrote that information provided in June “did not fully reflect the circumstances” at the time the determination was requested and said the previous decision was “premature” because the developer had not exhausted the potential for two additional fire access roads.

Copper Builders subsequently requested a new determination and appealed the Fire Marshal’s rescission to the State Fire Marshal’s Office, according to Save Sledge Forest.

On Aug. 3, the developer submitted a revised preliminary plan to New Hanover County that includes only the Sledge Road access point, according to the group.

The State Fire Marshal’s decision on Copper Builders’ appeal is pending.

What happens next

The revised Hilton Bluffs plan is scheduled to go before the New Hanover County Technical Review Committee on Sept. 2.

Save Sledge Forest says it is concerned about the potential for an approximately 1,800-home development to rely on a single access point, particularly given the site’s coastal location and surrounding conditions.

The group points to portions of the property being in a FEMA floodplain and says the property is surrounded on three sides by tidal waters. It also raises concerns about the site’s proximity to a designated hazardous waste site.

Save Sledge Forest is urging residents to contact members of the Technical Review Committee and New Hanover County commissioners ahead of the September meeting.

The group said the newly released records raise questions about “transparency, accountability” and whether the developer has earned the community’s trust.

The statements and timeline released by Save Sledge Forest represent the group’s position on the development. The allegations concerning the developer’s communications and the circumstances surrounding the fire access determination are subject to the county’s ongoing review and Copper Builders’ appeal.