Agenda - 08-03-1992 - Laserfiche WebLink

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15 Mr. Marvin E. Collins April 2¢x,21992 Page Two Conditions exist, just now, which will permit the development of the site as a rural village. and secure the above benefits. These conditions include (a) options on the land (the last large site in this part of the county which. can be assembled for such a project), (b) an investor willing to commit $15 million to the project, (c) a professional team committed to the rural village approach, and (d) a climate of opinion recognizing the validity of the approach. If there is a delay in considering the land use amendment until February, the options will expire and some critical ones will not be able to be regained; for the same reason the investor will no longer be interested, and the opportunity will be lost. Six years ago a group of investors assembled the site, consisting of approximately 600 acres of land. We thought it was the finest site available for a planned development designed with housing and recreation in mind. It was outside the sensitive rural buffer and watershed areas. Two parcels consisting of 300 acres are owned by one family. A second family owns an additional 159 acres and Mr. Don Lacefield owns the former Craig parcel. When the land was originally purchased, Mr. Lacefield had three partners planning to combine theirs with the 159 -acre parcel and develop it with wells and septic systems, but soil studies indicated this was not the best approach for that particular site. This became a serious problem for Mr. Lacefield. He has held onto his land although his partners had to dissolve their relationship and left him with the full financial obligation. He has talked with others about developing the land, but so long as there was the slightest chance of University Station becoming a reality, he has delayed doing anything else. Recently he has been under great pressure from the bank to resolve his situation with them. Mr. Lacefield prefers to include his parcel for development with ours, and indeed, his land is critical to the development of the rural'village proposed here. He is a long time Hillsborough businessman and is concerned about the future of his part of the county. He understands the benefits which will accrue from University Station, but very soon will be forced to commit to another use for his property to avoid losing it altogether, despite the fact that this will also destroy the conceptual plan for University Station by taking away the only land topographically suitable for a portion of the village center. But the fact is, that by February, he will will have done something else with his land. Similar problems face all of the landowners who are under pressure from one circumstance or another to do something else with their land, and the tenure of their options will also become questionable after May.