Save Sledge Forest
Another Continuance. More Questions.
Still No Resolution.
SAVE SLEDGE FOREST | OFFICIAL STATEMENT
Tuesday's Board of Adjustment hearing leaves us with serious questions about a process that continues to consume valuable time and resources while leaving fundamental issues surrounding Hilton Bluffs unresolved.
At the center of the hearing was a simple question: Why is Copper Builders insisting on the validity of a development plan that New Hanover County itself says cannot be built as approved, in light of the binding agreement Copper Builders made not to access the development through Marathon Colony or Wooden Shoe? A binding agreement that was accepted by the Board of Adjustment in the form of a Consent Order, and is the subject of Consent Judgment entered by a Superior Court Judge.
Both the county attorney and the Board's independent attorney identified remanding the original March 10 approved plan to the Technical Review Committee (TRC) for further review as an appropriate option in light of the changed circumstances. Yet the Board voted 3–2 to continue our appeal until November 4 rather than remand the plan for reconsideration to the TRC. {WHQR}
We respect the Board's responsibility to navigate complex legal questions. However, it is difficult to understand why remand was not even put to a vote, particularly after both attorneys identified it as a way to address the procedural complications before the Board.
Equally concerning are Copper Builders' continued assertions that the March 10 approval remains valid and could still move forward. These claims were expressly disputed by the county attorney during Tuesday's hearing and are contrary to the Consent Order and Consent Judgment. And contrary to Wade Miller's subsequent statement to the press, {PCD} the Board's vote to continue the hearing was not a determination that the original plan remains valid. { WHQR}
Meanwhile, the county manager has rejected Copper Builders' revised single-access plan, citing unacceptable public-safety risks. Yet our community is now being asked to devote still more time and resources to challenging a previous plan that the county says cannot proceed as approved.
After more than two years of revised plans, withdrawals, hearings and appeals, the question remains: How much longer will public resources and community efforts be consumed by attempts to make this development work in a location where fundamental obstacles remain unresolved?
Save Sledge Forest remains fully committed to protecting our neighborhoods, public safety and this irreplaceable forest. Throughout this process, we have remained committed to honesty, transparency and good faith. We will continue to uphold those principles with the expectation that everyone involved in this process uphold those same standards.
While Tuesday’s hearing may have resolved nothing, our resolve to protect our community and Sledge Forest from the Hilton Bluffs development remains as strong as ever.
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.
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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.
