Dear Supporters,
First off, a huge thank you for your support over this past year. It really has meant so much to us as we have navigated through this process, which is still ongoing.
We are thrilled to announce the arrival of, James and Kay, a pair of adorable Weddington bald eaglets hatched in January to proud parents, Baron and Piper.
James and Kay were named in honor of the late James and Kay Nisbet, the visionary founders of Aero Plantation, a residential community in Weddington, North Carolina.
In 1963, James Nisbet acquired a 475-acre farm in Weddington, where he established a private neighborhood airstrip. As avid recreational pilots, he and his wife, Kay, enjoyed flying their Baron and Piper airplanes.
The Nisbets decided to sell a portion of their land to their pilot friends, allowing them to build homes and enjoy easy access to the airstrip. In the following years, they transformed their farm into the residential community of "Aero Plantation," subdividing it into 102 lots of 2+ acres. Additional planned amenities included a nine-hole golf course, tennis court, several man-made lakes, including 90 acres of common space area set aside for residents to enjoy. Residents also enjoy fishing and swimming in our lakes.
Bald eagles have called Aero Plantation home since the 1960s, nesting in peaceful, secluded coves by Aero's lakes, which they rely on as their primary food source.
According to Aero's covenants established in 1970, "Aero Plantation has been declared a sanctuary for wildlife."
In addition to bald eagles, Aero is home to a diverse range of wildlife, including ospreys, red-tailed hawks, great blue herons, turtles, deer, foxes, owls, otters, and other migratory birds, all living together in harmony.
To keep up with the bald eagles' journey and discover fun eagle trivia, follow them on Instagram at @baron_pipereagles !
Please share our petition to help protect the eagles from the impacts of nearby development that threatens their nest. Your support is crucial in our fight to safeguard their habitat. https://www.change.org/NoDealWeddington
Toll Brothers “Deal Lake” update:
On December 18, 2024, concerned Weddington residents filled the town hall to capacity, with standing room only, with citizens spilling out onto the back porch straining to hear Weddington’s Planning Board vote 5 to 1 to recommend the proposed Toll Brothers “Deal Lake” development project on HWY 84, Weddington Road.
It was disappointing that Weddington staff and Planning Board had not acquired a larger venue, as prior Toll Brother community meetings had well over 100 concerned Weddington citizens in attendance.
We were very disappointed in the Planning Board's vote to recommend the plan as it had incomplete information on septic and stormwater according to our Unified Development Plan.
December 18, 2024 Planning Board Meeting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FT5_nWu_poI&t=6148s
We will ask Weddington Town Council to acquire a larger venue for Toll Brothers "Deal Lake" Public hearing, as our petition has over 5,600 signatures of concerned citizens.
Evolution of "Deal Lake"
In November, 2023, Toll Brothers submitted an application to the town for a proposed residential conservation development of 93 homes, with a private community wastewater treatment plant. Since that time, due to strong opposition against the wastewater treatment plant, Toll Brothers has revised their plans for "Deal Lake" several times.
At Toll Brothers' second community meeting in July, Toll Brothers committed to developing 82 one-acre lots with conventional on-lot septic systems, stating that each lot had undergone perc testing.
Several residents confirmed with them during the meeting that they had perc tested each lot and also verified Toll Brothers would be using conventional septic systems and not the engineered aerobic treatment systems with drip. They stated the would only be using on lot conventional septic systems.
Since July, Toll Brothers has tabled the one acre on-lot conventional septic plan. Toll Brothers final revision depicts 62 one-acre lots, including a combination of complex on-site and off-site, clustered panel block septic systems, including some alternative engineered drip septic systems.
We remain deeply concerned about Toll Brothers final revised plan and the potential impacts it could have on our environment, the bald eagles and our wildlife, as well as the public health, safety, and welfare of Aero Plantation, including neighboring residential communities.
If approved, this could establish a precedent for how Weddington manages wastewater and development moving forward.
Public health over developer profits!
For more details, you can review the project plans here:
The proposed development will be presented to the town council for a final vote this spring. We will provide updates once the date is scheduled on the town’s calendar.
When it's time for Toll Brothers public hearing, we hope that you all will show up and speak out against Toll Brothers proposed plan. We will be providing more specific information about their plan in the near future on our Facebook group "No Deal" and on Nextdoor.
For updates on this development project and other development projects in Weddington, please join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/nodealinweddington
We sincerely thank everyone for your support in signing the petition and attending meetings related to this development. Your involvement means a lot!
Please reach out to us anytime at nodealweddington@gmail.com
A big thank you to Chad Emerine, my husband, who has closely monitored the bald eagles in Aero over the years, especially this past year, where he's gotten some incredible photos and videos with his long range zoom lens camera.
We are blessed to have great neighbors in Aero who have given Chad access to their back yards to get these very tight shots of the bald eagles in their nest.
Fly on over to see some cute new videos of James and Kay on their Instagram account!
Best regards,
Chad and Melissa Emerine
Weddington residents