Residents Discuss Waterstone Growth

Waterstone is a proposed development planned for a tract of land south of Hillsborough along N.C. 86 at Interstate 40.

The 340 acres will contain apartments, stores, houses and offices.

Residents were primarily concerned about overdevelopment, which they say can cause drought, and also traffic and security issues that will increase when a proposed road connection is built to link the development to other areas of the town.

Chris Smith, a UNC sociology professor who lives in a development that would border Waterstone, attended the meeting because he wanted to ask if Waterstone is the best development for Hillsborough and if it follows town planning agreements.

"The original plan was to create some areas for office buildings that can provide job opportunities for people, and those areas will not cause too much extra water usages, unlike this master plan," he said.

Hillsborough Mayor Joe Phelps said the main problem surrounding Waterstone is financing it.

"For this development, someone has to put sewer lines in, and the town cannot afford roughly $3 million," he said.

Another major concern of residents is the effect of this development on water use. Some said once the town expands, water use will increase tremendously.

Holly Reed and other residents suggested building a water system below Fletcher Road to accommodate the potential increase in usage.

Phelps said he does not see a problem with installing a water system below the road, but he said problems could arise for residents.

"I think the residents are concerned that it will disturb the area, as well as destroying the quality of their well," he said.

"And once the well is destroyed they do not have the access to water. I think that this is one of their biggest concerns."

Residents also said they are worried that the road connection that has to be built will attract unwanted strangers.

Resident David Heilman recommended increasing buffers between houses and apartments from 50 feet to 100 feet to discourage strangers from imposing on the privacy of others.

Consultant Jack Smyre was on hand to speak with residents about the issues.

"I completely understand residents' concerns about security, buffers, difficulty of getting water and all that," he said.

"But I want to point out that they knew what they were getting themselves into, or they should have, when they moved (near Fletcher Road)."

Smyre said plans for Waterstone have been in the works for years. "This development plan was a conscious decision made by a joint committee, the board and the county, years ago, and what we've done is only modifying what is already there," Smyre said.

As discussion about the development continues into January, Reed said she appreciated having the opportunity to express her views at multiple hearings.

"We have more commitment to understand the issue," she said.

"How can we decide something so important without doing more homework?"

The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu.