Polk hears plans from Foster Creek Preserve to grant county 300 acres

Published 10:00 pm Tuesday, February 7, 2017

COLUMBUS – Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy (CMLC), which has recently acquired Foster Creek Preserve, a 1,068-acre property in Columbus, detailed its plans to county commissioners saying 300 acres of the property will be granted to the county for recreation.

Commissioners heard from Kieran Roe, CMLC executive director, during its Jan. 23 meeting and then discussed the development during its Monday, Feb. 6 meeting.

Roe asked for the county’s partnership on the project and said CMLC hopes to create a property and a park that serves of lot of the Polk County community.

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Roe said CMLC purchased the tract in December from the former developers. He said developers came to the conclusion that the residential development was not going to be economically feasible for the foreseeable future.

“The majority of the money we used to purchase it we borrowed,” Roe told commissioners.

The entire 1,068 acres is located in the town limits of Columbus after the town annexed the property several years ago. The north end of the property runs along Little White Oak Mountain and state game lands, Roe said.

“Our hope is to create a gateway for people to get into the game lands,” Roe said.

Roe also said the lower portion of the property, approximately 30 acres, will be approximately 40 workforce houses, which is a program where working people help to build their own houses.

The plan is for 300 of the 1,068 acres to be added to the county’s recreation park, which is located adjacent to the property and Polk County Middle School.

Roe said the timeline includes the completed purchase in December 2016, with January-March being public input opportunities, January-September solidifying funding with partners, January-December finalizing the project structure, December 2017 to complete the buyout with partners and in 2018 the partners will begin ground work on trails.

Commissioner chair Tommy Melton said he heard the Town of Columbus has requested to de-annex the property.

Roe said the plans were submitted to Columbus late last year and CMLC began to talk with the town about any changes, particularly to the development agreement. Roe said CMLC introduced the possibility to amend the agreement because much smaller housing is being proposed than Foster Creek had planned. Roe said members of council did speculate about the possibility of de-annexing the property.

“I think there’s support generally for what this project proposes to do,” Roe told commissioners. “Whether that will include a de-annexation, I don’t know.”

Melton asked what a de-annexation would involve. County attorney Jana Berg said this week the only way a de-annexation can occur is through the general legislation with a local bill.

“They (a legislator) would have to receive the request from the property owner or the town,” Berg told commissioners this week. “Somebody needs to be speaking to a local legislator if that’s what they want to do.”

County manager Marche Pittman also updated commissioners this week that he spoke to Columbus Town Manager Tim Barth, who is supposed to be getting the county information on Columbus’ wishes to de-annex Foster Creek after council’s next meeting.

“This is something I would love to know,” Melton said last month. “Is it going to belong to Columbus or is it going to belong to Polk County?”

Polk County Recreation Director Jerry Stensland said his goal is to do the project with no Polk County taxpayer dollars. He said there will be opportunities for the county if it wants to participate. Stensland mentioned the possible help of a N.C. Parks and Recreation Trust Fund Grant to add the property to the county’s recreation complex. Stensland said he is looking at robust trails, which could be done with grants and that maintenance costs could be handled with volunteer crews.

“I love the project and where it’s going,” commissioner vice-chair Jake Johnson said last month.