Attention:

North Carolina Department of Transportation | Capital Area Metro Planning Organization | Wake County Planning, Land Use, and Zoning | Town of Wake Forest Planning Dept. | Town of Wake Forest Commissioners | Boards of Directors - Shearon Farms Master, Shearon Farms Single Family, Shearon Farms Townhomes I, Shearon Farms Townhomes II Associations | Bobby Murray Jr. / Bobby Murray Chevrolet

 

May 21st, 2015

Greetings,

We request at this time, that the representatives designated below be invited to be active participants in any organized dialogue focused on the proposed Bobby Murray Chevrolet Development plan and the US Capital 1 Corridor Project as it relates to the proposed Meadstone Way service road plan.

We seek to protect the integrity of the Shearon Farms neighborhood while maintaining and improving the property values of our homeowners’ investments.  Our residents are committed to upholding the high aesthetic and quality-of-life standards the Town of Wake Forest desires for all of its community

Recently we became aware of a proposal by Bobby Murray Chevrolet to relocate its headquarters and automobile dealership to the current site of the Capital Golf Center facility at 9820 Capital Boulevard.  As this would place adjoining parcels adjacent to our community, a meeting was held on May 7th, 2015 to discuss this proposal with residents.  Some favored elements of the proposition and some were opposed.

Due to the rapid population growth of Wake County and because of our community's location along a major transit corridor, we understand that commercial development in this area is all but inevitable.  It is our preference to have a commercial neighbor that has low retail impact and that supports a green footprint as our community was not built within current Wake Forest greenspace standards. Despite this hope we acknowledge with hesitation that the proposed Bobby Murray dealership plan does not represent an overtly negative prospect for our community as a commercial neighbor.  

We do, however, have direct opposition and serious concerns that the proposed Bobby Murray plan seeks to benefit from connecting Meadstone Way to the 9820 Capital Blvd property. It is our position that the Town of Wake Forest Planning Board and Board of Commissioners consider the following factors and requests:

FACTORS:

 

• We understand the town of Wake Forest UDO requires two points of entry/exit for emergency vehicle purposes. The proposed Bobby Murray development plan has two entry/exit points for emergency vehicle use (Capital Blvd./Janko Auto entrance and Shearon Farms Ave. (accessible via Burlington Mills if needed). The third proposed entry/exit (Meadstone) is more than required by the UDO.
• Our community was not developed at the time the US 1/Capital Blvd. improvement plan public hearings took place; therefore we did not have an opportunity to voice our input regarding the impact to our community if Meadstone Way is to be used as a three lane service road.
• NCDOT has stated that they are NOT requiring Meadstone be connected to the proposed Bobby Murray dealership at this time.
• Our community already suffers from delayed egress on Burlington Mills Drive; we have concern that large commercial vehicles may further delay residents’ commutes, and more importantly those seeking to enter Burlington Mills via Meadstone/Urial for emergency purposes.
• Due to limited greenspace and parking design planning in our community, Meadstone Way is used heavily for recreational purposes and overflow parking.  Resident safety and quality of living would be impacted.
• Opening Meadstone Way to additional traffic now and in the future causes our neighborhood to be subject to potential crime as it would create an additional unsecured entry/exit point. 
• Meadstone Way and Urial Drive are unlit and unfinished at this time and additional traffic would increase the need for road maintenance and potential hazards to arise. 
• We have concerns that the staff, suppliers, and customers of Bobby Murray Chevrolet will use access to our neighborhood for test drives, deliveries, and cut-throughs that would cause undue hardship on our residents.
• We are concerned with undue maintenance costs due to additional landscape, litter removal, and signage costs.
• Meadstone Way currently has no large hedge/privacy buffer for esthetic or safety purposes.
• Meadstone Way and Urial Dr. are currently used by multiple school buses during the course of the day and we anticipate safety to be a major concern if large commercial vehicles are allowed daily access at this time. 
• Development of Meadstone Way and Urial Drive for larger commercial and a three lane local access road, as proposed by NCDOT and CAMPO, would impact the investments of our neighborhood homeowners as properties backing busy streets are impacted more by noise, pollution and pose safety risks.

REQUESTS:

 

• We request that Meadstone Way NOT be connected to the proposed Bobby Murray Chevrolet dealership property.
• We request an opportunity to publicly share our concerns and seek to find an alternative solution with the NCDOT, CAMPO, and the Town of Wake Forest BEFORE Meadstone Way and Urial Drive are further developed. 
• We request a written guarantee from the Bobby Murray Chevrolet Dealership that they will partner in the costs to maintain our community entrances on Shearon Farms Avenue (and Meadstone Way/Urial Drive if the development is approved as planned).
• We request a written guarantee from the Bobby Murray Chevrolet Dealership stating that their company will adopt and enforce a policy that “strictly prohibits” service delivery trucks, their staff, suppliers, and customers from using the streets of our community for through access of our neighborhood.  

Respectfully,

Shearon Farms Neighborhood Integrity Action Committee

Melissa Alonso, Heather Kim, Jeannien Engelbrecht, Veronica Brown, Robert Thum

*Representing the undersigned residents of the Shearon Farms subdivision, Wake Forest NC

enclosures: list of signatures, e-signature source and contact information.

 

Contact Information

Shearon Farms Neighborhood Integrity Action Committee

Melissa Alonso

9810 Precious Stone Drive

Wake Forest, NC 27587

melissaalonso@ymail.com

Heather Kim

9700 Rainsong Drive

Wake Forest, NC 27587

heatherkim1975@gmail.com

Jeannien Engelbrecht

4407 Iyar Way

Wake Forest, NC 27587

jeannien.engelbrecht@gmail.com

Veronica Brown

9716 Clover Bank Street

Wake Forest, NC 27587

vandebrown@gmail.com

Robert Thum

9705 Corktree Court

Wake Forest, NC 27576

rethum@nc.rr.com