At a recent meeting held on Feb. 17, the Moore County Board of Commissioners approved a 25-lot subdivision off Holly Grove School Road in West End. The decision came after a quasi-judicial hearing that examined drainage, traffic, and compatibility with neighboring communities, including Seven Lakes and McLendon Hills.
The board granted a special use permit and approved the preliminary plat for Holly Grove Pines, a conventional major subdivision proposed by Rhetson Development LLC. The project will sit on 51.19 acres carved from a larger 111-acre tract south of Holly Grove School Road, between the communities of Seven Lakes North and McLendon Hills.
In August, the commissioners previously “indefinitely tabled” a proposed zoning text amendment that would have made major changes to the rules regarding growth in the Seven Lakes area of West End and allowed new major subdivisions.
Planning Director Ruth Pedersen told commissioners the revised plan was a reduction from the developer’s original proposal. The applicant first submitted a 68-lot layout across the full 111 acres. After meetings with neighboring property owners, the developer scaled the project back to 25 lots and removed two outparcels from the final subdivision acreage.
“This is one of three zoning districts where major subdivisions are allowed by special use permit,” Pedersen said, adding the property lies in the Rural Agricultural–Urban Service Boundary district. The district anticipates future growth where utilities may expand over time.
Each lot will meet or exceed the district’s one-acre minimum. Several parcels range from two to three acres, placing them between the typical lot sizes in Seven Lakes North and McLendon Hills, per Pedersen. As a conventional subdivision, no more than 75 percent of any lot may be cleared, leaving at least 25 percent undisturbed. The plan also sets aside 3.09 acres of open space, or just over 6 percent of the site, exceeding the 5 percent requirement.
Pedersen said the Subdivision Review Board voted 7-0 on Feb. 3 to find the plan consistent with the county’s Unified Development Ordinance and forwarded it to commissioners.
The development will rely on Moore County Public Utilities for water. A fire flow test conducted in May 2025 showed 1,522 gallons per minute at 20 PSI, meeting fire code standards. Each lot will use a private septic system.
The subdivision will connect to Holly Grove School Road, a state-maintained road. The North Carolina Department of Transportation did not require a traffic impact study, citing low daily traffic counts and the reduced number of lots. Still, Chair Nick Picerno questioned whether the agency had fully evaluated the road’s condition.
“That’s a concern because Holly Grove is not a very well-built road,” Picerno said, describing it as curvy and increasingly used as a cut-through during the ongoing N.C. 211 expansion. “I think NCDOT should do a review of that road to see if there’s anything they can do to bring it up to standards. I cannot believe it’s a state road in the condition it is in.”
Commissioners also asked about the type and appearance of homes planned for the neighborhood. Developer representative Greg Stewart said the project will feature single-family houses ranging from roughly 2,200 to 3,000 square feet, with two- and three-car garages and varied exterior materials such as brick and stone accents. He said builders will not repeat the same model on adjacent lots.
“I can testify under oath that you will not have 25 of the same-looking houses on that road,” said Stewart. He added that though there will likely be multiples of the same home models, they cannot be within three houses of one another.
Lots along the rear of the subdivision will include the required undisturbed buffer adjacent to McLendon Hills’ equestrian trail. Homes will observe at least a 30-foot rear setback from the property line, in addition to the preserved natural area.
The plan calls for one internal street built to state subdivision standards, street trees planted at intervals of 20 feet along frontage, a cluster mailbox kiosk approved by the U.S. Postal Service, and an entrance sign outside the NCDOT right-of-way.
After closing the public hearing and weighing the required findings, including compatibility with the surrounding area and consistency with the county’s land use plan, the commissioners ultimately voted to approve the special use permit and preliminary plat. The way is now cleared for Holly Grove Pines to move into final design and permitting.
Feature photo courtesy Moore County.
Abegail Murphy | Assistant Editor
Written by Sandhills Sentinel assistant editor Abegail Murphy. Abegail has been writing for Sandhills Sentinel since 2021.
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