No Vote on Controversial Rolesville Development

Rolesville, N.C. — The smallest town in Wake County is growing, and that is not sitting well with some of its residents.

Ammons Development Group wants to clear 355 acres of Rolesville farmland for the Averette Farms mixed-use development. It would be the largest development in Rolesville history and would include 831 homes, soccer fields, children's parks and a commercial center.

Residents against the proposed development voiced their concerns Monday night at the Board of Commissioners meeting.The commissioners took no vote on the proposal, and it was unclear Tuesday when the issue could come up for a vote.

Critics said they are worried the additional residents will put a strain on roads and local schools.

"We are not going to be a small town anymore. We are going to be a city" if the development is built, opponent Glynn Roberson said.

Other residents think Averette Farms will benefit Rolesville, however

"I think it is much better to embrace it and get the tax base and do smart development versus turning a blind eye to it," proponent Kris Burkett said.

Averette Farms' developer, Andy Ammons, has argued that growth will come to Rolesville no matter what, and his proposal offers an organized way to go about it.

In 1990, 572 people called Rolesville home. By 2006, that number had nearly tripled to 1,711.

Averette Farms would also have an impact on Rolesville's water supply. If approved, the town will only have 20 percent of its allotted supply remaining.

Rolesville Planning Director Brian Hicks said the town will have enough water, even with the new subdivision, and plans are in place to ease traffic congestion should Ammons get approval.

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I once lived in Rolesville, the only store in town was Eddins Grocery store. The "Big Chain" grocery store was located just before where the U-Haul place is at on Capital before the Beltline. That was many years ago. The people of Rolesville now have many options on where to go for shopping. Yes, back when I was at Rolesville Elem. we used the library for class rooms. That was back in 72. Traffic has always been a problem on 401 even back that far. Yes, it takes planning and working with the developer will help ease some of the problems that are being seen. I now live in Eastern Wake, with two huge developments less than a mile from my home. Yes, it will add traffic to an already busy road and add more demands on the system.

NCishome
October 2, 2007 5:40 p.m.

i know rolesville and boy oh boy were the cops annoyed when the traffic increased 15 months ago! handling tickets out right and left every single day, all through the day! now most everyone does the 35 mph speed limit. but they ain't happy. because now and it is increasing, they don't know the people behind all these new closed doors. so many strangers.

diana123
October 2, 2007 4:41 p.m.

ummmmm,there is an "impact" fee for new comers as far as cars are concerned although it may not be as high as you desire ...

I had to pay $250 to transfer the title to my car to nc and also pay $250 per billing cycle more in car tax because my previous state had car tax relief.

And people who move here are also "we the tax payers". My taxes pay just as much for road and school maintenance as do yours.

Now ironically, I do agree that some mechanism for "managing" growth is needed since the resource strain is becoming obvious. However it may become self managing as living in this area may become less attractive as more and more infrastructure and resource strain is realized.

EasilyAmused
October 2, 2007 3:59 p.m.

If the developer wants to build it, let him build it, but he must first make road improvements to carry the load of the larger volume of traffic. While development is a good thing, the town of Rolesville is already way to congested with traffic to support even more traffic. Maybe, the developer should ante up for a 401 bypass around Rolesville, then the heavy traffic burden would be relieved and there would be more room for the traffic coming out of his subdivision...

Blessed
October 2, 2007 3:58 p.m.

Its all about the money. Rolesville leaders do not have enough exspertice to deal with this,and ammons knows it. Its gonna happen. I hope they build on every square inch of wake county because when i retire in 10 years i can get the most for my property THANKS YOU TRANSPLANTED YANKS KEEP COMING!!!!!!!

applesmith
October 2, 2007 3:03 p.m.