Save Sledge Forest
copper builders
sues
new hanover county
SAVE SLEDGE FOREST STATEMENT
For more than two years, this community has stood together demanding that public safety come before the ambitions of a developer determined to build a massive residential subdivision in one of the most environmentally sensitive and challenging locations in New Hanover County.
When County Manager Chris Coudriet recognized the serious risks associated with a single access point for this 1800+ home plan, he had the courage and conviction to act. His willingness to take action reflects the seriousness of concerns that residents have raised for more than two years. We are grateful for his leadership.
Now Copper Builders is suing New Hanover County, seeking to overturn the county’s decisions and recover damages and attorney fees – despite the unacceptable operational and life safety risks that prompted those decisions - while potentially placing an additional financial burden on the very taxpayers whose safety concerns have been at the center of this controversy.
How many more obstacles must this project encounter before its developer seriously reconsiders whether Hilton Bluffs belongs here at all?
The North Carolina Fire Code requires a second access for developments exceeding 99 homes, subject to exceptions. Hilton Bluffs proposes 1,800 homes. No legal challenge can erase the legitimate questions about what happens when a single access road becomes impassable during an emergency.
We stand with our community in demanding answers, accountability, and a future in which public safety is never treated as an obstacle to development. And, while a lawsuit may challenge the County Manager's authority, it cannot answer the question of how 1,800 homes can safely rely on a single access point, especially in this challenging location.
There comes a point when even the most determined developer must confront a difficult question: Is the problem the people standing in the way, or is it the vision itself?
NHC County Manager Chris Coudriet, county staff & government officials stood up for our community when it mattered most - putting public safety first
A petition has been started to let them know the community recognizes and appreciates their fortitude when making decisions of this magnitude that are neither simple nor without consequences.
Let them know you stand with them by adding your name on this petition.
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 1800+ 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 thousands of homes into this flood-hazard area, potentially threatened with contamination from toxic chemicals at the nearby Hazardous Waste site, and adding atens of thousands of 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.”
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.
