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BERMUDA RUN – The town council approved the rezoning of a 71-acre tract of land off NC 801 just north of Wake Forest Baptist Health – Davie Medical Center at the request of Shugart Enterprises for a 150-lot subdivision for single-family and patio homes.

Shugart applied to rezone the property from Open Space (OS) to Residential Mixed (RM), which received unanimous approval from the council, with the conceptual plan showing 79 single-family homes, 71 patio homes and a proposed 33 acres as open space/common areas.

In the public hearing, Greg Garrett, vice president of land acquisitions for Shugart, said what he refers to as “move-up” single-family homes for families ready to transition into larger homes would start at $250,000.

Garrett said the patio homes, which he said are geared toward retirees and would start in the $230,000s, would be mostly one-level floor plans with two-car garages and yard maintenance being provided by the HOA.

“As we’ve studied the market, these are the two different segments that we see tremendous demand here in Davie County and specifically in Bermuda Run,” Garrett said. “My job is to scout out sites for development. This is one that we’re real excited about.

“This property has actually been on the market for several years. “One of the big issues has been the access for the property, which owned by the Moravian Church. There’s only one point of ingress and egress, and that’s on Claybon. Our team been able to assemble another tract that gets it out to 801. We have an entrance into the project by doing that and tie into two stub roads that have been planned for connectively a long, long time ago.”

Garrett said that Shugart, one of the largest home builders in the area that has been in business for more than 50 years, wanted to be thoughtful with the way this property is being developed.

“We’re trying to respect some of the environmental areas that the site has,” Garrett said “There’s a big pond, several streams, and we’re wanting to work around that and not come in and bulldoze those areas.”

Vera Williamson, who has lived on neighboring Haywood Drive for 22 years, was the only other speaker during the public hearing. She asked about the difference in the proposed Residential Mixed usage and the impact of traffic on NC 801 with 150 homes being built. Williamson requested that the council defer taking any decision at the June 11 meeting, saying many of the neighbors weren’t aware of the hearing.

However, the council gave its approval, stating the proposed general use is consistent with the town’s Comprehensive Plan, specifically the objective to support steady, managed growth with additional residential and retail development.

Mayor Ken Rethmeier said that this was just the first step in the process for the proposed development, which will be named Brayden.

“This public hearing is about a change in zoning,” Rethmeier said. “The Town of Bermuda Run historically has been probably one of most strict in terms of its ordinances around the design and look and feel of any town. The council has been steadfast in ensuring that we look toward controlled growth. We don’t want to become like some of our neighbors who have rampant and wild growth out of control.”

Rethmeier said that adding residential developments like this is an important part of a constant evaluation of the town’s approach to orderly growth.

“When you look at studies that have been done in Davie County and around Bermuda Run in terms of retail, the county of Davie is experiencing a leakage of about 52 cents on every dollar that is earned here,” he said, “and so our efforts have been trying to work toward growth in a balanced way so that we have more rooftops that generate greater demand for the retail that would support the population that we look to have.”

• The council also officially approved the 2019-20 fiscal year budget in last Tuesday night’s meeting following a public hearing where no one spoke. The budget is balanced at $1,840,300 for the General Fund, $513,000 for the Gate Operations Fund and $532,550 for the Utilities Fund.

The General Fund, which is the basic operating fund for town services, remains unchanged at the level of 15 cents per $100 of valuation. The town charter has capped the maximum rate at 15 cents and any increase would require a vote of the residents through a referendum.

In the mayor’s comments, Rethmeier wanted to make everyone aware that the Bermuda Run Farmer’s Market would return to its original site on Peachtree Lane off NC 801 each Friday from 3:30-6:30 p.m. after a year being located in the parking lot at Wake Forest Baptist Health – Davie Medical Center.