Save Sledge Forest
ACTION ALERT!
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ACTION ALERT! *
1800 HOMES ONE ACCESS
WHY THAT SHOULD CONCERN EVERYONE
Copper Builders new, modified plan eliminates both the former Tall Oaks secondary access and the emergency-only Wooden Shoe access and constructs the full 1,800-home Hilton Bluffs development with only one point of access at Sledge Road and Castle Hayne Road.
The NC Fire Prevention Code requires two separate access roads once a residential development exceeds 100 homes
However, Copper Builders is asking for an exception to that requirement that would allow 1800 homes with only a single access road.
The question is not whether one roadway can physically carry cars into Hilton Bluffs on an ordinary day. The question is whether it is responsible or safe to place 1,800 homes - and potentially thousands of residents - behind a single point of access while adding close to 15,000 daily vehicle trips to Castle Hayne Rd., a two-lane, already over-burdened, road.
A safe community needs more than a way in. It needs another way out when something goes wrong.
The good news is; this is nowhere close to a “done deal”.
This revised Hilton Bluffs plan will be reviewed by the NHC Technical Review Committee at their Sept. 2nd meeting.
Your comments & concerns can be submitted to the TRC until Aug. 19th at 5PM.
Adding your voice is essential in ensuring the county knows the citizens have serious and legitimate concerns about this development and this “exception” to the fire code.
For nearly two years, this community has questioned whether a development of this magnitude can safely and responsibly be built in this location. These latest developments only heightens those concerns
With your help, we can ensure the TRC at the Planning Dept. receives an avalanche of comments regarding this outrageous consideration to ignore the fire code put in place for the safety of the citizens.
Please send you comments in today!
The deadline for submittal is Agust 19th
Another workaround. Another exception.
Another attempt to make Hilton Bluffs fit.
Maybe it’s time to admit the obvious: this project simply doesn’t belong here.
Click here for suggestions and facts to help with your comment letter.
Protecting our last, largest expanse of
Old Growth Forest in New Hanover County.
Sledge Forest is a local natural treasure Spread across over 4000 acres in Castle Hayne.
Recognized as harboring some of the last, best examples of this ecoregion’s globally significant habitats and biodiversity, Sledge Forest is now threatened to be destroyed forever with the plan to build 4000+ homes for developer profit at public risk.
Remaining mostly untouched through 6000 years of habitat evolution, it is a biodiverse community of plants & animals, including 350-year-old pine trees more than 60’ tall and cypress dated more than 500 years, with a vast array of rare and imperiled plants and wildlife that need Sledge Forest as their home.
It is considered by the NC Heritage Program to be of National Significance.
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR CAUSE
Get information on Sledge Forest and the proposed development and how that will affect the local community.
Take Action
Ready to take the next step? You can make a difference in the battle to Save Sledge Forest
We would love to hear from you!
More About Sledge Forest and Why It Needs Protection
Sledge Forest is a 4,000-acre piece of the Northeast Cape Fear River Significant Natural Heritage Area, located in northern New Hanover County and recognized as harboring some of the last best examples of this ecoregion’s globally significant habitats and biodiversity, and now threatened to be destroyed for developer profit at public risk.
We want policymakers to ask themselves a question: “What could possibly go wrong with packing 4,000 houses into this flood-hazard area, potentially threatened with contamination from toxic chemicals at the nearby Hazardous Waste site, and adding an estimated 30,000+ daily car trips to an already congested two-lane emergency evacuation road?
Though originally zoned for Conservation, Wetland Protection, and Aquifer Recharge, Sledge Forest’s natural importance was put aside in 2016 when policymakers arbitrarily rezoned the property to allow high-density development in flooded swamp forest that supports 500-year-old baldcypress. Developing Sledge Forest could also potentially destroy one of the world’s last intact stands of old-growth, 300-year-old Longleaf Pine, the State Tree of North Carolina.
Our petition is in keeping with the First Amendment: “…the right of the people…to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
To date, no policymaker questions have been asked or answered about risk, public safety, and environmental protections. Legal loopholes in county planning excludes county taxpayers from the opportunity to have their concerns heard by policymakers.
Again, Save Sledge Forest is calling on policymakers to pause and think about consequences of adding thousands of houses in a flood prone area that’s only served by an already traffic-congested two-lane road. We also want questions answered about nearby toxic plumes of chemical compounds
Make your voice heard while you can. Sign our petition, donate to the cause, and help Save Sledge Forest—our future generation’s by-right natural heritage.
