Unanswered Questions: Who Really Profits from Pokeberry Creek?
Over the past week, thousands of Chatham County neighbors have engaged with our explainer video and reviewed the public records regarding the proposed Pokeberry Creek Mitigation Bank.
The regulatory record is already clear:
❌ October 2024: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) issued a formal Initial Evaluation Letter finding the proposed mitigation bank unsuitable, explicitly citing the risk posed by the adjacent Fearrington Preserve subdivision.
❌ April 2026: Chatham County’s Environmental Review Advisory Committee (ERAC) voted unanimously that the developer’s Environmental Impact Assessment was incomplete.
❌ August 2026: The Briar Chapel Community Association (BCCA) formally confirmed it will not participate in or allow its property to be tied to this mitigation bank proposal.
So why are the developers still pushing this mitigation arrangement alongside their rezoning request?
To understand why, you have to look at how unbuildable land gets monetized.
Under standard land-use rules, stream buffers and floodplains are zero-yield set-asides—developers cannot construct housing units on top of a creek. However, by coordinating site layouts with mitigation entities like Vivus Viridis, LLC and executing option agreements under Pokeberry Mitigation, LLC, those unbuildable stream corridors can be converted into commercial stream and wetland mitigation credits.
While joint ventures or revenue-sharing arrangements between land developers and environmental restoration providers are legal, no financial agreements or profit-sharing terms between these entities have been disclosed in the public record.
When developers petition Chatham County commissioners for discretionary compact community rezoning—and execute public option contracts covering county park land (Contract File 24-5465)—the public has a right to know the full financial picture.
We are calling on the applicant, Fearrington Property Development, LLC to publicly answer three basic questions before any final county vote:
Full Disclosure of Business Relationships: Does Fearrington Property Development, LLC, or its principals hold any profit-sharing agreements, joint-venture structures, or success-fee arrangements with Vivus Viridis, LLC or Pokeberry Mitigation, LLC?
Credit Revenue Transparency: What is the anticipated commercial yield from selling stream and wetland mitigation credits on this property, and how are those proceeds divided?
Public Risk Allocation: If downstream stream structures fail or run into long-term performance issues from storm runoff caused by high-density construction, who assumes the financial burden for long-term repairs?
Chatham County residents shouldn't be asked to accept high-density residential development while private entities monetize the unbuildable creek buffers behind closed doors.
👇 TAKE ACTION: Share this post, tag your Chatham County Commissioners, and demand full disclosure of all mitigation banking arrangements before the rezoning petition proceeds!