Pay to Play? Developer Puts $1.5 Million on the Table Days Before Fearrington Preserve Vote, Out of Public View
No review board has seen it. No financial analysis supports it. Smart Chatham calls on Commissioners to reject the last-minute deal and deny the rezoning.
- The Backroom Offer: Just four days before Monday's final vote on the 630-home Fearrington Preserve rezoning, the developer quietly put $1.5 million on the table as a proposed condition of approval.
- Zero Transparency or Review: The offer is not posted in the County's online case file. It skipped every County review body—ERAC, the Technical Review Committee, Planning Staff (who recommended DENIAL), and the Planning Board (who voted 8–3 to DENY).
- Pennies on the Dollar: By the developer's own math, this project will cost Chatham County $2.47 million every year in services ($1.67M/year for schools alone). A one-time check of $1.5M covers just seven months of costs for a project that burdens our roads, schools, and watersheds forever.
1-Click Email to All 5 Commissioners
Flood the Board's inboxes before Monday night. Choose a template below, enter your name and neighborhood, and send in one click.
PITTSBORO, NC — Four days before the Chatham County Board of Commissioners votes on the Fearrington Preserve rezoning, Smart Chatham has learned that the applicant, Fearrington Property Development, LLC, has put $1.5 million on the table for the County as a proposed condition of approval. What the money is for has not been disclosed.
This rezoning has already failed every test the County put in front of it. County planning staff recommended denial. The Planning Board voted 8–3 against it and found it inconsistent with Plan Chatham. Now, with the vote days away, a seven-figure sweetener appears.
"Residents have spent fourteen months doing this the right way: reading every filing, showing up to every hearing, playing by the rules. The developer lost on the merits, and now money shows up at the last minute, outside every review the County requires. That looks like pay-to-play, and Chatham County residents deserve better. Commissioners should say no." — Smart Chatham Coalition Leadership
Kept Out of Public View
As of Friday, November 13, the County's online case file contained no document describing the $1.5 million offer, even though public comments are routinely posted within a day.
The public is being asked to accept a deal it cannot read.
It Skipped Every Review
Every County review of this project was finished before the money appeared. None of these bodies has evaluated it:
- Environmental Review Advisory Committee (ERAC) — Determination issued April 9
- Technical Review Committee (TRC) — Last review completed July 15
- County Planning Staff — Written recommendation of denial; their draft conditions include no such payment
- Chatham County Planning Board — 8–3 vote to recommend denial on October 6
- The Public — Public hearings held April 20, May 18, and July 27
A condition this large, added this late, deserves the same scrutiny as everything else. It has had none.
A Financial Deal With No Financial Analysis
County rules require a fiscal impact analysis for this project, checked by a County-hired independent peer reviewer (TischlerBise). That analysis dates to August 2025; the peer review to October 2025. Nothing in the record explains where $1.5 million came from, what it pays for, or whether it covers anything at all.
The applicant's own numbers show how little it is:
| Metric | The Reality Behind the $1.5 Million Offer |
|---|---|
| Per-Home Breakdown | ~$2,400 per home across the up to 630 homes the rezoning would allow. |
| Property Tax Comparison | Less than one year of County property tax on those homes (roughly $3,200 per home per year, by the applicant's estimate). |
| Annual County Service Costs | Covers just seven months of the $2.47 million a year the applicant projects the project will cost the County in services (including $1.67 million a year for schools). |
A one-time payment that covers seven months of costs, for a project that lasts forever.
What North Carolina Law Says
Under N.C.G.S. § 160D-703(b), a zoning condition must address the project's own impacts or its conformance with County plans, and the applicant must agree to it in writing. A payment with no stated purpose fails the most basic legal question: what is this money for?
5 Questions Commissioners Must Answer Before Monday
- Who negotiated this $1.5 million, with whom, and when?
- Is it in writing, signed by the applicant? Why isn't it posted on the County website?
- What does it pay for, and which specific impact of the project does it address?
- What financial analysis supports the number, and has the County's peer reviewer seen it?
- Why should a condition that skipped every review board be voted on at all?
Our Ask
Reject the $1.5 million and deny the rezoning, as County Planning Staff and the Planning Board recommended. Zoning in Chatham County should be decided on the merits, in public—not settled by a last-minute payment no one has been allowed to examine.
Smart Chatham is reviewing all options to hold this process accountable.