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Some residents
concerned with
proposed changes
Planning board tables issue concerning Chapel Ridge
Hilary Caryl Russell,
Staff Writer
April 29, 2004
Last Monday, April 19, the
Apex Planning Board decided to
table an issue during a special
meeting that has residents in the
Chapel Ridge Road subdivision
concerned that their quiet neigh-
borhood is headed for some
major changes.
The meeting addressed prop-
erty owners and developer
DDR/lst Carolina Properties’
application for a rezoning classi-
ficatioń of the Planned Unit
Development (PUD) property
known as Beaver Creek
Crossing Phases III and IV.
For now, the Planning Board
has issued a series of conditions,
primarily traffic-related, pur-
suant to making a decision
before development can begin.
“The Planning Board did not
take action on this item because
they wanted the developer/peti-
tioner to tie together a lot of
additional items that need to be
taken care of including road
improvements,” said David
Rowland, planning director for
the Town of Apex.
“We will meet again May 10
to consider what the develop-
er/petitioner is’offering in terms
of the conditions that were listed
by staff.”
The Planning Board aren’t the
only one’s who have spent a lot
of time analyzing the impact the
2010 Land Use Plan will have
on the town.
Chapel Ridge Road residents
and the developer of the land
use plan gathered at resident
Mike and Jan Bishop’s home on
April 14 to lay the cards out on
the table and discuss the major
issues the Bishops and their
neighbors have with the residen-
tial and commercial develop-
ment that will be located near
their homes.
The Bishops said they’re not
disparate to development plans
as long as it doesn’t completely
alter the type of lifestyle they
sought when they originally
purchased their homes and
property.
One concern revolves around
a 45-foot piece of property that
was annexed into the town earli-
er this month.
The owner of that property,
according to Mike Wilson and
David Rowland, asked to be
annexed into Apex’s town lim-
its, but Chapel Ridge Road resi-
dents said they had no idea the
property was being annexed.
“None of the residents in
Chapel Ridge were aware that
the property was annexed
including myself,” said Mike
Bishop.
“The annexed property
adjoins my property behind and
beside my house. We have been
collecting and filing petitions
opposing the development from
the property owners adjacent to
(that) property,” he added.
Mike Wilson, Apex’s Assistant
Town Manager, said that the
town holds public hearings for
all annexations.
“What got annexed was a part
of someone’s property and if
someone has an issue then they
need to take that up with the
property owner,” said Wilson.
“Property records are kept by
the county but we do have
access to them here in Apex and
we’re glad to share that infor-
mation with anyone who is
interested,” he added.
The property in question that
was annexed into Apex, though
not set in stone, could be used as
a connection to Chapel Ridge
Road creating an access road to
the residential and commercial
development property behind
the neighborhood.
Rowland said that the
Planning and Community
Development Department has
recommended that a stub street
be placed on that property.
“We talked to our traffic engi-
neer and while it is something that
is in our subdivision ordinance in
this case we have a number of
other access points,” he said.
“So if the decision is made not
to connect the street then our
recommendation would be not
to preclude the possibility of
connecting it in the future.”
The fact that there are other
proposed entrance points into
the Beaver Creek neighborhood
is something Bishop is hoping
the planning board keeps in
mind in making their decision.
“There are six other entrances
to the area being developed and
one is not required into our sub-
division,” said Mike Bishop. “A
road would destroy the integrity
of our neighborhood,” he added.
Tern Berry Waldron said she
was concerned that the “stub
street” would pose more of a
danger than an inconvenience.
“This poses a threat to our
children, poses a threat to chil-
dren who may wander from
adjoining neighborhoods due to
environmental and natural haz-
ards such as horses and ponds.”
Rowland said the reason the
Town had considered using the
annexed property was not only
for safety reasons but utility rea-
sons as well.
“We consistently try to link
subdivision to subdivision and
the reason being is to link water
lines and electric lines,” he said.
“Here’s the thing. As planners,
we have to take a long-range
view. We believe that over time
when 1-540 is put in that if and
when Beaver Creek is developed,
because it has yet to be approved,
than the whole character of that
area is going to be changed by
these developments. And we
have to take a long-range view,
not only for vehicular traffic, but
also as a way to loop water lines
and electric lines into the area,
but I want to emphasize that no
decisions have been made.”
Rowland said that because
Chapel Ridge is on well water
and septic tanks, Olive Chapel
Road has a water line on it that
could eventually have a tap on
it, which would run along
Chapel Ridge Road linking it to
the new subdivision.
If a water main breaks in one
area that stub street would pro-
vide another access to that other
line, so linking subdivisions is
for>safety and utility reasons.
Safety issues regarding the
resident’s current source of
water was also an issue at the
neighborhood meeting.
Because Chapel Ridge Road is
just outside of town limits and
residents use well water and
septic tanks, neighbors
expressed concern that the con-
struction and shifting of soil that
takes place during construction
will result a negative under-
ground effect.
“All of us in this neighbor-
hood are on well water and con-
struction such as the Beaver
Creek Complex with many
acres of pavement, businesses of
various types, and vehicles are
likely to degrade our well water
quality and decrease replenish-
ment of the aquifer that feeds
our wells,” said John Kinney.
“We see no provision to safe-
guard our interests in this
respect, or even to establish
baseline data about well water
quality and rate of flow. The
well output... is low already,
sometimes as low as one gallon
per minute.”
Apex’s Public Works
Department’s director, Tim
Donnelly, said the flow prob-
lems Chapel Ridge residents
experience are not uncommon
in this region.
“In this area of the county,
there are a lot of pre existing
wells that have problems with
supply and the reason is because
of the natural geology around
Apex and the triassic soils,” he
said.
“Given the existing problems
with the geology and the soil it
is unlikely that the development
of the proposed Beaver Creek
Crossing subdivison would
make a marked change in the
supply of the existing well.”
Bishop and his neighbors,
concerned that the construction
might also result in contamina-
tion of their well water have
decided to pay for private test-
ing in order to baseline the qual-
ity of the water in the spring and
again in the fall to demonstrate
any variance there might be in
the quality of water for mineral,
chemical, sediment content.
David Rowland, Apex’s
Planning Director, concurred
that the town’s Unified
Development Ordinance
requires post-development run-
off not to exceed pre-develop-
merit run-off, again ensuring that
contamination has not occurred.
Wilson added that contamina-
tion of Chapel Ridge Road’s
well water is unlikely, since well
water draws from underground
aquifers that run underground.
“An aquifer is the ground
water that at one time was rain
water that has seeped into the
ground and is collected in fis-
sures and pore spaces in the
geology that is below the soil,"
said Donnelly.
“Each one of those homes in
Chapel Ridge has their~ waste
water disposed by a septic sys-
tem that returns wastewater to
the soils in their yards.”
Donnelly said the. likelihood
of contamination occurring as a
result of construction is close to
impossible.
“Contamination of their wells
is always highly unlikely
because of the design of the
modern wells, but if contamina-
tion did occur, which is rare,
there’s more risk from their own
septic system than from the pro-
posed adjacent development,”
he said.
Finally, the physical distance
between new construction and
current homes seems to be a hot
issue.
A 10-foot buffer area has been
proposed between some of the
Chapel Ridge Road properties
and the multi-family units that
are part of the proposal.
The Kinneys said they are
worried that with only a 10-foot
buffer area, their property value
might be reduced because right
now he sees horses and woods
but in a few years, multi-family
units will be mixed into that pic-
turesque scene.
Bishop had hoped to get an 8-
foot berm, which is typically a 6
to 10 foot hill covered with
plants and vegetation, between
the land designated for future
high density housing and his
subdivision.
This, he said, will “block
some of the noise during con-
struction and dust during con-
struction, create a safety barrier
for children and create a visual
barrier for the proposed mini-
mum developer setback (buffer)
of 10-feet.”
Radcliff said, having spoke to
Bishop, an agreement has been
reached in terms of what kind of
berm will be put in place.
“We’re not thrilled about it,
but it’s better nothing,” said
Bishop, about the agreement.
Bishop said the berm will be 3
to 4 feet instead of the 8 to 10
feet he was hoping to get.
“Within the 10 foQt buffer area
we’ve agreed toi izonstruct a
berm with plantings on top of in
order to minimize visibility and
protect the property,” he said.
“But realize that the berm will
be between their backyard and
the backyard of single family or
townhomes, so inherently there
is an additional 20-40 feet
before a building area.”
Due to the Planning Board’s
recommendation to table the
rezoning issue until May 10,
when another special meeting
will be held and the, developers
present the modifications the
board requested, Bishop said he
will use the extra time to contin-
ue collecting petition signatures.
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Town prepares for Peak
Fest
Hilary Caryl
Russell, Staff Writer
April 29, 2004
This year the 24th annual
street festival that brings every-
one out for a good time has a
new name. It’s not Peak Week,
it’s Peak Fest.
The name was changed
because the springtime celebra-
tion is no longer a week long
event, but a two-day one, and
calling it “Peak Week” didn’t
seem appropriate, according to
Gail Carter, with the Apex
Chamber of Commerce.
More than 190 vendors are
expected to line the streets of
downtown Apex, so grab your
wallets, put on a straw hat and
some SPF 30 and prepare to
spend this weekend outside with
your friends and neighbors.
Peak Fest begins Friday April
30 at 11 a.m. with the Apex
Methodist Men’s Bar-B-Q at
Apex United Methodist Church,
located at 100 S. Hughes St.
The Junior Firefighters pro-
vide a little dinnertime competi
tion from 5:30 to 8 p.m. when
they begin serving a spaghetti
supper at the Salem Street Fire
Station, 210 N. Salem St.
Family Bingo, provided by he
the Apex Downtown Business
Association, at the Salem Street
Fire Station begins at 6:30 p.m.
Then the night rings out in
glorious sound compliments of
the Gospel Sing, featuring the
Wells Family, Carolina Royalty,
and Full Surrender.
The concert begins at 7 p.m. at
Apex Baptist Church, 110 S.
Salem St.
The following day, Saturday,
May 1, the Apex Rotary Club
will be up at the crack of dawn
in anticipation of the crowds
they are sure to draw to their tra-
ditional pancake breakfast.
The breakfast is from 7 to 10
a.m. The Rotary Club will also
have a Bar-B-Q cook-off during
the day.
Crescent State Bank is spon-
soring a family stage where
most of the performances will
take place throughout the day.
The entertainment lineup
includes Skipper the Clown, the
Filipino-American Dance Co.
Youth Group, Cary Ballet
Company, the Egyptian
Dancers, and Jo Moore Kalat’s
School of Scottish Dance.
Also performing throughout the
day are Apex Gymnastics, Vision
Martial Arts, Danny Tighe
School of Irish Dance. Infinity
School of Ballet, Premier School
of Dance, The Academy for the
Performing Arts, and the
American Ballet School.
The numerous arts, crafts, and
food vendors lining the streets
are sure to provide a variety of
goods to those who came to
shop.
The BB&T Kids Zone has
always been a big hit in past
years and is back again to enter-
tain the younger crowd.
Wake Med Cary Hospital will
provide pony rides and the Apex Herald is sponsoring a climbing
wall for festival-goers who want
to work off those Rotary Clubpancakes.
Peak Fest is expected to wrap
up around 4 p.m. when Mayor Keith Weatherly makes his closing remarks.
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