CHINA GROVE — Against objections from multiple residents that live near the proposed subdivision, the China Grove Town Council voted to extend the vested rights of a 269-lot development on Mt. Hope Church Road during its latest meeting.

The Council Chamber at China Grove Town Hall was a little bit more crowded on Tuesday than normal, as several homeowners from the area on Mt. Hope Church Road near Menius Road on the eastern side of Interstate 85 were seated to speak out against an extension for the proposed development that would put those 269 lots in their backyards.

China Grove Planning and Development Director Teresa Barringer said that vested rights extensions are fairly common and occur when a developer needs more time before moving forward with construction of a site that was previously approved. In China Grove, those types of agreements can be extended up to five years.

Previously, plans for the subdivision were approved by the town on Oct. 4, 2022, with the approval becoming effective on Dec. 16 of the same year. When the subdivision was initially approved, a request to rezone the property to Suburban Residential Conditional was made in addition to a non-contiguous annexation to the town.

According to a memo from Barringer, the petitioner, Ellis Developments Group, “has been working diligently with the two-year approval period on civil design,” but has yet to obtain final approval on everything, leading to the extension request. The request does not amend the plans that were previously approved.

Ellis Developments Group Vice President of Operations Jason Pfister was at the meeting on Tuesday and offered an explanation for the extension. One of the primary obstacles the developers have sought to clear pertains to offering water and sewer services to the proposed subdivision.

“The driving force comes down to utilities, particularly water and sewer,” Pfister told the council.

Originally, the development was to be serviced by Salisbury-Rowan Utilities, but now, per Pfister, those services will most likely have to come from inside the development through a gravity system.

“It’s basically a complete redesign,” Pfister said, adding an internal sewer system will also require adjusting lot density and reducing the number of units to be developed. “We anticipate lot density will be reduced. We just don’t know how much at this point.”

As Barringer pointed out, the matter at hand was just an extension of what was previously approved. Any changes or modifications to the original petition would have to go back through the town’s channels for formal approval, including changes to the water system.

Those who spoke out against the development largely comprised nearby neighbors.

“I understand according to DOT, they have to buy each individual right of way all the way to I-85,” said Nelson Barbee. “My family owns that. We will not be bought.”

Barbee also expressed frustration that the developers did not have their “ducks in a row,” asking what the plans for the future entailed and why they had not been able to get their plans in order during the first two years since gaining council approval.

Doug French’s property abuts the proposed subdivision as well.

“If it’s been two years, and they have not got rights to get in there, what difference is two more years going to make?” French asked, before adding, “We’d like to have some answers so we can plan for the future for our kids.”

Virgil Misenheimer lives on the western side of the subdivision.

“We have a lot of questions,” Misenheimer said. “It sounds like you are trying to kick the can down the road a little bit further.”

After hearing from residents and Pfister, the council moved forward with discussion and voting.

Council member Don Bringle indicated that China Grove has approved several similar extensions of the past few years as developers progress through the due diligence phase.

Barringer called it common and added that her department has even considered when approving plans going ahead and asking for three years at the onset instead of the minimum due.

“With the development status around Rowan County, the time frame it is taking is getting longer and to be fair to the developers I think we need to allow that time to work out all the logistics … it’s a lot of things to work out,” Barringer said.

Mayor Pro Tem Waynes Starnes ultimately made the motion to approve the extension.

In supporting his decision, Starnes said, “There is a significant investment in the project. Based on general statues, there are opportunities for projects like this to get some extensions and work out some details. If I was to invest in a project and then it be shut down, it would be pretty disappointing. At the end of the day it looks like the original plans to go through the neighboring properties and attach to SRU were not feasible. I am hearing a path forward to try to make something work. For me, as a town, trying to attract investors to invest in our town, I feel like we need to at least give them an extension to at least try. It won’t require going across other peoples property but it would give them a chance to recoup their investment. This was approved for two years and all we are doing is giving them an opportunity to extend for two more years to get it done.”

Council member Arthur Heggins seconded. It then passed unanimously, giving a new expiration date of Dec. 16, 2026.