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By Editor Becky Watts
ZEBULON - The Hughley Road Development case has been settled. The development has a long history and began in 1999 and has been in court for the past three years. This Planned Residential Development (PRD) originally would have allowed mixed residential uses with a density of up to 8 units per acre. Today, attorneys from all parties met at the Pike County Courthouse to hammer out a final agreement that was signed by Senior Superior Court Judge Grant Brantley of Cobb County Superior Court.
About a dozen citizens, three members of the press, two Zebulon Council members, and Rob Morton of Morton and Morton and Dana Maine of Freeman, Mathis & Gary--attorneys for the City of Zebulon, Newton Galloway of Galloway & Lyndall--attorney for developer Brent Pike LLC, and Lee Parks, Jr.--attorney for the petitioners including representative James Quick all met at the Pike County Courthouse for a procedural hearing on the Zebulon Development.
Attorney A. Lee Marks, Jr. of Parks, Chesin & Walbert, PC advised the judge that all parties had worked out a resolution to the case prior to the hearing and asked for 5 or 10 minutes to finish the final terms of the agreement. True to their word, the attorneys met in a jury room and brought an agreement to the judge for final approval that settles this case. By 10:25 a.m. the case was resolved and the final copy was taken to Rob Morton's office to be typed up and readied for final signatures.
The Consent Order includes a partial revision to the Settlement and Development Agreement approved by the Court on November 18, 2014. (Click on the link at the bottom of this article to read past articles on this case.) The developer, Brent Pike, proposed a modification that increased the lot size required for each home to one acre and required that the new houses have a minimum of 1,850 heated square feet.
The matter has now been dismissed with prejudice, which means that the case is settled unless there is a problem related to the development of the property that pertains to the terms of this Order. [Note from the Editor: This conforms to the city’s current zoning ordinance that was passed in 2004. The development was originally filed in 1999.]
The Order ends by saying, "No party to this action will be considered a prevailing party and each party will bear its own costs, including attorneys' fees."
Thoughts from parties involved in the case
Rob Morton emphasized after the hearing that no party is considered a prevailing party, and that each party pays its own court fees. The city maintains that it has been in lawful compliance with its ordinances. [Note from the Editor: The history of this development is contained in the article entitled "City of Zebulon Approves Large Development on Hughley Road."] Mr. Morton advised that the other party had about $20,000 in attorney's fees related to this case.
Petitioner James Quick advised that he was "very happy with the settlement." He said that this settlement reduces the total number of homes from 505 to 301. There will be 189 single family homes and 112 town house units. The original proposal called for 1,400 square foot homes on 1/3 of an acre but has now been increased to 1,850 heated square feet on one acre lots. The square footage of town houses has been increased from 900 square feet to 1,500 square feet.
Mr. Quick said that he got involved with this in the beginning because of school taxes for taxpayers and pointed out that although school taxes will still go up, they will go up less than half of what they would have. He said that these changes will increase the value of homes to $160,000 or $175,000.
Lee Parks, attorney for James Quick and the petitioners, said that the outcome of this case shows the power of the citizens to force the city and developers to abide by the law. "Congratulations to the citizens," he said. "That's the beauty of our system."
Other Matters of Note
City Administrator Larry Mitcham advised by phone this morning that the Zebulon City Council met on November 15, 2016 and approved a couple of items that are related to this development. The City waived water and sewer tap fees contingent upon their installation by the developer after approval by the City. The City also approved extending the deadline for commencement of construction to November 17, 2018.
[Note from the Editor: To read a history of this development from the beginning until today's hearing, click here. If you enjoy reading articles like this one, please make a donation to help justify the enormous amount of time and documents that went into making this article a reality. Thank you for reading Pike County Times!]
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