What’s the big DEAL?
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An in depth look at Union County’s master water/sewer plan for Weddington’s Mundy's Run Basin and how Weddington Green and now Toll Brothers "Deal Lake" are connected.
On April 11, 2022, Union County Board of Governors (UCBOG) rejected Tom Water’s request for sewer and a pump station for Weddington Green, which included plans for an interim offsite pump station, pumping sewer over to the Six Mile Creek basin and into Charlotte. The developer had requested Union County consider Weddington Green as a “town center expansion” and chip in funds to help pay for the infrastructure on the 80 acres of land.
UCBOG rejected the developers request due to 1. Pumping across basins into the Six Mile Creek basin did not follow the Mundy's Run master water/sewer plan. 2. The rate cost to pump into Charlotte is higher 3. Union County has plans to expand Twelve Mile Creek Water Reclamation Facility (WRF) in the near future and they want to keep those lines open that pump to Charlotte, for when they take their systems offline. 4. They felt that the pump station would become a permanent solution and not part of a temporary interim off site plan.
Union County master water/sewer plan shows the Mundy's Run basin with future plans for gravity fed infrastructure, sewer lines starting at the top corner of the town center, following all the way down Mundy's Run, running down to developer Mel Graham’s recently purchased undeveloped land (218 acres) and down through the Propst/Deal undeveloped land (185 acres), now under contingent contract with Toll Brothers. The plan map shows a pump station straddling the Graham and Propst/Deal land, close to Aero Plantation, pumping across HWY 84 to the Twelve Mile Creek basin, which leads to the Twelve Mile Creek WRF.
Why have the large tracts of land (close to 500 acres) remained undeveloped and unsewered from the top of the town center corner all the way down HWY 84/ Weddington road past Mel Graham’s land and the stopping past the Propst/Deal farm? Union County’s master water/sewer plan for the Mundy's Run basin must be followed exactly per plan. Sewer capacity must be available and sewer and pump station permits must be approved.
Union County’s current master water/sewer plan for the Mundy's Run basin states that developers are expected to pay for sewer infrastructure, including a pump station, if sewer has not been brought to that area, at the time of proposed development(s).
If I had to guess, the cost for sewer infrastructure for the Mundy's Run basin would be over $10 million today, as it was $3-4 million around 2013-2016, when the master plan was created and last updated.
*It’s important to note that Union County is cracking down on pump station approvals.
Union County’s master water/sewer plan for the Mundy's Run basin clearly states that if a developer up at the the top corner of the town center wants to develop that land (80 acres), in order to get sewer approval, they must pay to install gravity fed sewer infrastructure down to the entire Mundy's Run basin below, which would include the Graham and the Propst/Deal land.
For years developers and elected officials have requested that Union County pay to bring sewer infrastructure to the Mundy's Run basin, per their master plan.
Since that has not occurred, future Mundy's Run developers worked behind the scenes to come up with a plan to split the cost of sewer infrastructure among themselves should they get approved for sewer.
Weddington Green and the Mundy's Run developers Graham and Toll Brothers are all connected, literally.
For Mundy's Run developers sewer plan to work, the following would have to happen in order for it to follow Union County's master plan:
For example, if Weddington Town council had approved Weddington Green, who then was approved by Union County for sewer, the developer would pay for the sewer infrastructure on those 80 acres, with a current commitment from the two Mundy's Run developers down below, Graham and Toll Brothers, who would then pay for the infrastructure costs to gravity feed sewer down to their properties, which would also include the cost of a pump station needed to pump to the Twelve Mile Creek WRF. As stated earlier, over the past year, Union County has been cracking down on pump station approvals.
It appears Union County is not willing to spend $MILLIONS$ on sewer infrastructure for the Mundy's Run basin, as it is not high on their priority list, due to it only serving 500 new construction homes, or less.
With Union County’s 2008 sewer moratorium and the housing bubble bursting, new residential construction development in Union County came to a screeching halt for years.
Years later, Union County has continued to struggle with enough sewer capacity to keep up with record development in our area. We are simply growing too fast to meet demand.
Union County has future plans to expand their Twelve Mile Creek WRF from 7.5 MGD to 9 MGD to add more capacity. This could take 2-3 years to complete. There is also discussion on building an additional WRF.
The Water-Side consulting report, contracted by Town of Weddington in March 2022, written by ex planning board member Ed Goscicki , is very revealing and maps out the master water/sewer plan mentioning the developers down Mundy's run several times and how they were ready to help pay for sewer infrastructure if Union County approves sewer for the Weddington Green town expansion.
To see the Water-side consulting report, google "Water-side consulting report and Weddington" and it will pop up. I find it very unethical that a planning board member would have been contracted by the Town of Weddington and allowed to consult with them and write a report, basically for the sole purpose of getting Weddington Green and lower Mundy's Run developers approved for sewer.
The Mundy's Run developers have been working behind the scenes on this along with Tom Waters since 2020.
For more on Weddington Green’s denial for sewer and a pump station on 4-11-2022:
Part 1 https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTLNdWJq2/
Part 2 https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTLNdQTDj/
Having been denied sewer and a pump station, the Mundys Run developers had to come up with a back up a plan (plan B) to develop their land.
The back up plan should have been a plan to develop their land with one acre conventional septic lots, but they didn't chose to consider that.
Over half of Weddington homes are on conventional septic systems. The rest is on sewer.
Toll Brothers back up plan, plan B , is proposing a COMMUNITY wastewater treatment plant or whatever they want to call it these days (community septic), neither system is acceptable for Weddington. The community wastewater treatment plant would be managed by "Deal Lake" homeowners association and a private third party sewage plant operator, which requires this to be noted on each homebuyers deed. Each homebuyer would be responsible for a monthly private sewer bill.
Developing with a private wastewater treatment system means higher profits for the developer and the ability to develop with higher density, compared to conventional one acre septic lots. If they want to argue RCD and R40 yield the same number of homes, not necessarily , especially if some of the R40 lots do not perk .
If “Deal Lake” is approved by Weddington’s town council, it would set precedent for other Mundys Run developers to be approved for their private wastewater treatment plant developments, due to being denied sewer.
Once that precedent is set, at least three private wastewater treatment plant developments could be lining all the way down HWY 84 up to Weddington’s town center. All undeveloped and unsewered land in Weddington would be at risk.
If the Mundys Run developers are approved for plan B, that means 500 new construction homes on HWY 84/Weddington Road, on a two lane road that is already severely congested as well placing additional burdens on overcrowded schools.
Mundys Run Developers are still actively trying to work behind the scenes, on getting sewer from Union County. The clock is ticking and time is running out. With some new Union County commissioners taking a seat, the developers could be hopeful that they can turn things around and get sewer approved.
It could be years before Union County would pay to bring sewer to Mundys Run, if ever. Sewer brings more growth and development.
Union County has shown some signs of trying to slow down growth, although Waxhaw would not be an example of that.
Some important past history that ties into today
Over the past few years, Former Mayor Craig Horn had been putting pressure on Union County to provide additional sewer infrastructure to certain areas of Weddington, as Weddington residents “septic systems are getting older and failing”. I asked him if he could provide the data of failing septic tanks around Weddington and he could not give me any reports or numbers on that.
Former Mayor Craig Horn, also was on the sidelines in 2008, helping our grassroots group “Friends of Weddington” which included Janice Propst and myself , to fight against IB Development LLC proposed “The Woods” development with a private wastewater treatment plant, which was successfully rejected by Weddington’s town council. During this time, Craig Horn was representing our area, in the 68th district of North Carolina House of Representatives. “The Woods” land has since been sold and was never developed, sold to developer Mel Graham December 30, 2022. (See the blog for a play by play on the 2008 wastewater treatment plant fight)
Janice Propst, one of the founders of Friends of Weddington, whose family farm sat adjacent to the proposed Woods development, was concerned that their family farm's property values would be negatively impacted from the private wastewater treatment plant, due to odors as well as impacts to the surrounding environment, with the reclaimed wastewater getting into the ground water, where there were nearby wells.
Once the wastewater treatment plant was rejected in 2008, Janice encouraged some members of Friends of Weddington to apply for planning board positions and to run for town council and Mayor. A few Friends of Weddington members took spots on the planning board and town council. Later in 2009, Janice applied for and was given a planning board position for a few years and then moved on to become a member of Weddington’s town council.
While on the town council, Janice encouraged Craig Horn to run for Mayor, who ran and won on a campaign promise of "no growth".
All the groundwork had been laid and all of Janice’s "FOW" friends were in place.
In the meantime, Janice's family began to consider selling their land, but they knew for their land to have the highest value, their land and future developers would need sewer.
Once Craig Horn became Mayor, he began pushing Union County to bring sewer to Weddington. Specifically, Horn was advocating to bring sewer infrastructure to the Mundy’s Run basin due to "failing septic tanks" , the same area where the Mundy’s Run developers were lined up needing sewer to develop the Propst/Deal farmland and now Mel Graham's land, as well as the corner across from the town center, where Weddington Green was proposed.
I guess you could say it was all part of the master plan.
Weddington, we must stop Toll Brothers "Deal Lake" and the precedent it could set for all of Weddington to have alterative wastewater treatment systems all around Weddington.
NO DEAL!
