The Leland Planning Board this week voted to deny a national homebuilder’s site plan for 232 townhouse units in Brunswick Forest.

DR Horton wants to build the townhouses on property along Kay Todd Road in Brunswick Forest, a master planned community with nearly 4,700 acres off U.S. 17 in Leland.

On Aug. 18, the Leland Town Council approved a change to its ordinances that, among other things, allows site-specific plans and master land use plans to be approved administratively. But since the DR Horton townhome project was already under review, officials with the homebuilder could choose to seek approval of their plan from the town’s planning board. 

In a 5-2 vote, the planning panel on Tuesday evening denied the site-specific plan (SSP) and master land use plan update as submitted after some board members, and the town’s staff, expressed concerns about the plan’s street connectivity. DR Horton sought a reduction in the number of connections required “based on the presence of jurisdictional wetlands along the western project boundary,” according to agenda documents.

The SSP showed now connections along the western project boundary, the documents stated.

The two members of the planning board who voted against the denial were Alan Kerry and Stephen Whitney, both of whom made a point to begin the discussion on the DR Horton project by explaining what could be their perceived connections to the project.

"As many of you may be aware, I was directly involved with the development of Brunswick Forest and then-president of the real estate division of Lord Baltimore capital. As such, I worked directly with them on all the development aspects. Approximately five years ago, I retired from Lord Baltimore but have since then still been a consultant and still am today to Lord Baltimore on two of their projects, one of them being Brunswick Forest,” Kerry said during Tuesday evening’s meeting.

He said while he was aware of and indirectly involved with the sale of certain land to DR Horton, “I was not involved at all directly or indirectly, on this particular parcel.”

Whitney said he has a consulting arrangement with a developer of a property that is immediately adjacent to the potential townhouse site but would not be compensated in any way as a result of Tuesday’s decision. In addition to not being compensated based on the outcome of the vote, both Whitney and Kerry agreed that they could fulfill their duties as members of the planning board to act in the public interest based on the facts, the criteria and Leland’s code.

Ben Andrea, director of planning and inspections for the town of Leland, said in an email Wednesday that the planning board decision does not kill the DR Horton project, and the homebuilder can revise the plan and resubmit it.

“The connection requirement is required under the Town’s Code of Ordinances both before and after the recent change," he said, "so the revised SSP could be approved by either the staff or Planning Board.”

An effort to seek more information from DR Horton on the future of the project was not immediately successful Wednesday.