A petition with more than 200 signatures is asking the Town of Apex to reconsider a proposed 32-acre mixed-use development along North Salem Street. Residents of the adjacent Haddon Hall community say the project, which could include up to 450 housing units, raises questions about traffic, drainage and green space. The Apex Planning Board held a public hearing on the proposal Monday before voting on whether to recommend it to the Apex Town Council.
The rezoning application, filed by Merit Group, LLC and formally designated #25CZ24, includes a 1.34-acre tract changing from High Density Single-Family to Planned Unit Development-Conditional Zoning, according to a public notice issued by the Town of Apex. The broader plan calls for up to 450 total housing units and 22,000 square feet of commercial space, according to WRAL.
George Waters, a Haddon Hall resident who helped organize the petition, told WRAL that residents are seeking development that accounts for the existing neighborhood. WRAL reported that residents' concerns include added traffic and street-safety risks, loss of green space, and stormwater drainage problems they fear could result from more impervious surface on the site.
Road Connections and Traffic Concerns Near US 64
A central issue is whether proposed road connections at Charlion Downs Lane and Frenchurch Way would link the new project directly to the existing Haddon Hall street grid. The parcel assembly is in Apex's Haddon Hall neighborhood, according to listings reviewed by CommercialSearch.
A Facebook video page posted by Mayor Gilbert is cited in connection with the proposal; the project requires a Traffic Impact Analysis reviewed by both town staff and the North Carolina Department of Transportation, according to a Facebook video posted by Mayor Gilbert.
How the Rezoning Would Reshape the Land Use Map
Public hearing notices show the rezoning would also amend the town's 2045 Land Use Map. The notice addresses land-use designations on the site.
The Planning Board's action is advisory: its recommendation will go to the Apex Town Council, which will decide whether to approve or reject the rezoning.
The proposal also fits into Apex's broader effort to manage growth through land-use and transportation planning.
The North Salem Street debate therefore involves both the project's immediate effects on Haddon Hall and the town's longer-range plans for where housing, transportation connections and other development should occur.
Apex has used long-range planning processes to address development, transportation and future land-use decisions, while current rezoning notices identify changes to the town's 2045 Land Use Map.
Apex's Long-Range Planning Framework
According to the Town of Apex, its Advance Apex process ran from July 2017 through February 2019 and produced a long-range transportation plan and an updated future land-use map intended to guide growth and development. That history provides context for the current map amendment, although the records cited here do not quantify how this specific proposal would change overall housing capacity or open-space policy.
The pressure extends beyond Apex's borders, including into Wake County. Similar rezoning battles have played out recently in nearby Holly Springs, where residents opposed a 32-acre mixed-use rezoning over infrastructure concerns, and elsewhere in the region.
The Town of Apex did not immediately respond to WRAL's request for comment before Monday's meeting, the station reported. The Planning Board's recommendation now heads to the Apex Town Council for consideration.
