Old Cox/Old Humble Mill development to grow from 399 new homes to 464

ASHEBORO — Developers told the Asheboro City Council that they will be able to add more than 60 homes to Old Cox Road and Old Humble Mill Road while nearly doubling the amount of open space. On July 10, they asked council members to amend the existing zoning. 

Neighbors who spoke during the public comment period were primarily concerned with whether the hundreds of new buildings will strain the nearby creek.

Community Development Director John Evans laid out the changes proposed since the city annexed the land in 2023:

■ Increase dwellings from up to 399 to 464 (152 townhomes and 312 single-family).

■ Increase open space from 39.2 percent to 64.7 percent by condensing buildings.

■ Remove fence on eastern side in favor of existing vegetation.

■ Remove retention pond and other permanent drainage infrastructure.

■ Change the roundabout on Old Cox Road to a left- and right-turn turn lane.

Attorney Robert Wilhoit, representing Southeastern Site Acquisitions, focused on the open space. “151.6 acres of open space is a game changer,” he said.

He said they will have a 30-foot street buffer along the two main roads with a 15- to 20-foot natural buffer in place of the fence. “Cutting trees to put a fence up is almost counterproductive,” he said.

Engineer Paul Stimpson presented the erosion and runoff plan. He said it will be built for a 25-year storm, above the state’s requirement for a 10-year storm.

“It’s low density, and by NCDEQ standards, their threshold is to keep the built-upon areas lower at 24 percent or less,” Stimpson said. “This development is at 18.2 percent, and the dwelling units are below their threshold as well. We believe this master plan is built well.”

The firm Kimley-Horn did the Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA), and its principal Richard Adams said they found no pattern of accidents on those stretches of Old Cox or Old Humble Mill Road. Their predictions for the additional traffic from of the subdivision would stay under the capacity of both roads.

Council member Joseph Trogdon asked what they knew about the timeline. He said, “There’s a lot of variables in there, but how long would you predict, if the economy stays a certain way, stays well and buildable. When would you expect to have a total build out on that?”

Tom Flanagan with Southeastern Site Acquisitions answered that houses will likely not appear for at least three years as they work on grading and utilities. “This is just our first step of trying to be able to do this, but we’re excited to do this,” he said.

The council approved the amendment. The change keeps the zoning R15 (CZ) Single-Family Residential Conditional.

Public comments

Many of the neighbors who spoke said they live along Richland Creek on the western border. They worry, based on past flooding, that the build could exacerbate it.

Ronny Hassell said his back pasture has flooded twice since he moved in. He said, “Even in somewhat of a mild storm, the creeks will be almost full. My concern is this is going to create more runoff where I take the potential of the house I just bought flooding.”

Sarah Barndt said her education is in soil science. She asked if the builders could leave whatever temporary retention methods they use during construction. She said, “To have more water coming into the back area, when I’m looking at the topography, if you’re building it during your preconstruction, why aren’t you just leaving it?”

Jennifer Cox said she was worried that the flood plain may change, affecting their risk and insurance rates.

Judy Eubanks asked that they make all sidewalks in the new ADA-compliant, as the previous plan would have kept steep slopes. She also asked about the communication process with the school system, law enforcement and garbage pickup. Evans answered that they were either notified or were part of the review.

Eve and Tauro Fenberg said they believed the development should keep the fence. Both have come to previous council meetings to report on trespassers from the Richland Village mobile home park, and they believe the new property will face similar challenges if boundaries are not clearly marked. “It’s a huge project with all these new people. All these new residents will be around that creek,” Tauro Fenberg said.

At the end of public comment, council member Bill McCaskill asked Flanagan to confirm that the houses will be for sale, not rent. He said, “Then they’ll want to keep their properties up and not want to destroy others.”

Mayor Pro Tem Moffitt said some of the public’s questions will be addressed during the state permitting process.