By Rose Laudicina
Staff Writer
Neighbors of the proposed Dunhill subdivision – a 26-home development on 68 acres at 2301 Mt. Sinai Road – expressed concerns about the project’s well system and its impact on their water supply at the Orange County Board of Commissioners quarterly public hearing on Monday.
“If there is excessive well use on a well that is very close [to ours] it could have an affect on our well,†resident Mary Jo Fyfe said. “We do not want it to go dry just because of a new housing development. That is our major concern.â€
Fyfe said that according to her estimations, her property’s well is about 300 feet from a well that is drawn into the development plans.
Diana Walstad, whose property also borders the proposed subdivision, shared stories with the commissioners about her well going dry and her concern that neighboring developments were using too much water.
Walstad specifically warned commissioners about geothermal pump-and-dump wells, which she said waste water. A geothermal pump and dump is an open loop system that can be used for heating and cooling homes. Water is pumped from a well through a geothermal pump to heat or cool a house and then dumped outside into either a ditch, pond or other acceptable drainage area after the necessary temperature has been extracted from the water.
While Walstad brought up her concern relating to the Dunhill subdivision, she asked commissioners to look at banning this pump-and-dump system from all future developments.
Jeff Akin, division president for David Weekly Homes, the developer of the project, addressed Walstad’s concerns directly by going on the record to say that no pump-and-dump systems would be allowed in the development.
Akin admitted that the developers did have some concern over water usage and supply in the area.
“Our understanding is that the water in this area is a little bit spotty,†Akin said.
Plans for the 68.5-acre development show the subdivision’s 26 homes being served by one community well, as opposed to each house having it own well, although developers did say that individual wells could be an option.
Neighboring resident Donna Jean Benson told commissioners that she was not only concerned with water supply but was also worried about the density of the development, since it would be located in the county’s rural buffer.
“I’m kind of wondering what’s the point of the rural buffer,†Benson said, adding that she thought she would enjoy the benefits of living in the rural buffer zone. “It looks like a nice project, but it just seems a little too dense.â€
Plans show that each home would be built on a two-acre lot. The developer has included two open lots – one for a picnic shelter and the other to protect an existing stream running through the property, as well as a 75-foot buffer from Mt. Sinai Road.
Many residents, including Benson, want the developers to redesign the subdivision with fewer houses on larger lots, but the commissioners provided no direction for the developers to do so.
Commissioner Steve Yuhasz voiced his opinion about subdivisions like Dunhill having to go through a lengthy process to get a special-use permit.
“I think it is silly to make them go through this expensive and time-consuming process,†he said.
The commissioners will vote on a special-use permit for the development at their Nov. 20 meeting.