Pittsboro continues to debate Chatham Park

They packed the Chatham County Courthouse Tuesday night to discuss a topic all too familiar to Pittsboro: Chatham Park.

If approved, Chatham Park, a multi-use development of homes, businesses, research space and parks that would encompass more than 7,000 acres between the east side of Pittsboro and Jordan Lake, is expected to be completed in phases over 30 years by Cary-based Preston Development.

The massive development, three times Pittsboro’s current size and equivalent to the size of Research Triangle Park, is expected to increase the town’s population by over 1900 percent, from 3,000 to more than 60,000 residents.

The project, which has been in the works for years, was put on hold in November after the Pittsboro Board of Commissioners tabled a vote to approve a rezoning recommendation from the town’s planning department.

On Tuesday, more than 70 residents signed up for the meeting, which stretched well into the night and was long on opinions.

“We need more commercial tax payers...Chatham Park presents that opportunity is about opportunity and growth,” one resident said.

Some worry about the cost of such growth.

“Think seven generations into the future,” another resident said. “Will we have wildlife?”

Either way, residents are convinced that change will come to Chatham County.

“It’s not Chatham Park or nothing,” said one resident. “It’s Chatham Park or something else.”