Chatham ponders bigger home lots

PITTSBORO -- The Chatham County commissioners may consider increasing residential lot sizes in new subdivisions to slow the county's population boom.

On Monday, the board of commissioners asked Planning Director Keith Megginson to research increasing minimum lot sizes from the current 1.5 acres in areas outside the towns under the county's planning jurisdiction.

The board did not give him a deadline or an upper limit, but after the meeting Megginson said he plans to look at a range of one house per 2 to 5 acres.

One commissioner said larger lots could mean more sprawl in the still mostly rural county.

"The more you increase lot sizes, the more you increase sprawl," Commissioner Mike Cross said.

Megginson said the board has been interested in increasing lot sizes to keep developers from sidestepping the county's temporary residential moratorium. The moratorium prohibits subdivisions of 26 homes or more, which means developers can still plan 24-home neighborhoods with smaller lots.

"[The board] wants to reduce the impact on roads and schools, and one way to do that is reduce the number of lots available," Megginson said.

Commissioner George Lucier said he sees the advantages of increasing lot sizes "especially in terms of issues we've faced in the last year."

But commissioners Chairman Carl Thompson is concerned that larger lots could outprice some homebuyers.

Also Monday, board members said they want to look at requiring developers to obtain conditional-use permits for all major subdivisions. That would require public hearings. Developers would have to notify surrounding property owners and schools, and explain in their applications how their projects would affect them.