The neighborhood association of the Wilmington, N.C. property filed a court motion to stop the development plans of the Matrix Development group and to gain a permanent injunction to ensure continued operation of the golf course.
Members of a Wilmington, N.C., neighborhood association have filed a motion in court in an attempt to stop development of Echo Farms Golf & Country Club, the Wilmington Star News reported.
C&RB reported on the development plans of the Matrix Development group for the property earlier in December (http://clubandresortbusiness.com/2016/12/08/echo-farms-gcc-redevelopment-begin-2017/).
The Echo Farms Residents Association filed a motion in New Hanover County (N.C.) Superior Court arguing that the Matrix Development group’s efforts to build homes on the site of the golf and country club violate restrictive covenants, the Star News reported. Those covenants state that the property should be used exclusively as a golf course and never be the site of commercial activity beyond a golf shop or snack shop, the residents contend.
The motion states that “the unilateral termination of golf club memberships and clear indication of an intent to terminate and cease operation of the golf club by filing of the site plan by defendant is a clear violation of the Restrictive Covenants set forth in the Deed,” the Star News reported.
The Echo Farms residents are not only asking the court to issue a stop on the progress on the development by Matrix, the Star News reported, they also are seeking a permanent injunction to ensure that Matrix would continue operating a golf course on the land.
Joe Taylor, the President and CEO of Matrix Development, could not be reached by The Star News for comment.
The site plan that Matrix recently submitted to develop the course showed that it would build 240 multi-family units, 171 single-family homes and 125 townhomes on a 102-acre tract, for a development called Woodlands at Echo Farms.
Wilmington attorney F. Murphy Averitt, who is representing the residents association, wrote in the motion that the development would have an adverse impact on property values, the Star News reported.
The motion is the association’s second try at halting the redevelopment, the Star News reported. In November, the group filed a rare third-party rezoning request for the property that would limit the development to three residences per acre, instead of the 17 allowed under the current designation.
Wilmington City Manager Sterling Cheatham ruled that the request should proceed, and the rezoning request could come before the city’s planning commission as soon as January 4, the Star News reported.
Matrix Development is next set to appear before the city’s technical review committee on December 22, the Star News reported, as the next step toward pursuit of its plans.
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