Copper Builders has taken its long fight over the Hilton Bluffs subdivision in Castle Hayne's Sledge Forest to court, filing a lawsuit that targets New Hanover County Manager Chris Coudriet by name (via WECT).
According to WECT's account of the filing, the Charlotte-based developer wants a judge to remove Coudriet from any further role in the 1,800-home project, order the county to approve its single-entrance plan within 30 days, and make the county pay its legal fees and delay costs. A county spokesperson told the station the county doesn't comment on pending litigation.
The lawsuit's central claim is that Coudriet overstepped his legal authority. It alleges he pressured the fire marshal to drop support for the plan, personally vetoed the project and demanded a second entrance. Those are claims in a court filing, and none has been tested before a judge.
The county's Technical Review Committee conditionally approved the plan on March 10. That version showed three ways in, off Sledge Road, Tall Oaks Drive and Dekker Road, according to WECT. Two of those routes ran through the Marathon Colony and Wooden Shoe neighborhoods, and residents there pushed back.
In July, Copper Builders settled with those neighbors and agreed to keep its roads out of their streets, WHQR reported. An Aug. 28 Superior Court consent judgment made that binding. That left the project leaning on one main road.
That's where fire code comes in. The fire marshal's office granted an exception in June, citing "geographic limitations," then rescinded it in July. Fire Marshal David Stone wrote that the developer's information "did not fully reflect the circumstances that existed at the time the determination was requested," WECT reported. Copper Builders appealed to the state fire marshal on July 31.
On Sept. 16, Coudriet denied the single-access plan in a letter to Copper Builders founder Wade Miller. He wrote that relying on one access point for a development of that size "would delay emergency response and evacuation" during a traffic incident, infrastructure failure or other emergency.
A week later, he told the review committee to revisit the March approval. The committee met Oct. 7, WWAY reported, and revoked the conditional approval the next day, citing a "substantial departure" from the approved plan along with utility access and fire code concerns, per WECT. The developer was told to file a new application.
Miller told WECT that "Hilton Bluffs was a by-right plan that met the County's rules." He said the company tried to find a fix that worked for neighbors and first responders, and that the manager's actions left it no choice but to sue.
He added that Copper Builders doesn't own the land or its timber rights, so the ongoing timber harvest is the landowners' call under a long-standing forestry plan. "Our plan remains the only one on the table that would protect Sledge Forest permanently," he said.
That conservation angle is a big part of the pitch. Under a deal with the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust, 3,200 of the property's roughly 4,000 acres would be preserved, but only if the 1,800-unit plan is approved, WHQR reported. Early plans called for 4,000 units and a golf course.
Save Sledge Forest, the residents' group fighting the project, praised Coudriet for acting on safety. It pointed out that the North Carolina Fire Code requires a second access for developments of more than 99 homes, subject to exceptions, and argued a single road could become impassable in an emergency. The group also said the developer's request for damages and attorney fees could end up on taxpayers.
Dates to watch: no court hearing date had been reported as of Nov. 6. Separately, the county Board of Adjustment had set a final hearing for Nov. 4 at 9 a.m. on the remaining environmental appeals filed by residents represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center, according to WHQR. An outcome hadn't been reported in the sources we reviewed. The 30-day approval window only applies if a judge grants it.
Why it matters for Contractors
This is a big-developer fight, but the lessons travel. A conditional approval isn't a finish line. When access, utilities or other basics change after sign-off, expect the county to reopen the file, and expect fire officials to want a second way in on bigger subdivisions.
For small shops, 1,800 homes would mean years of site, framing and finish work in northern New Hanover County. Right now it's frozen in court and in permitting, so don't build a schedule or a crew plan around it. If you're bidding work on any subdivision, ask early how access and fire code questions were settled. A project that's still arguing about its entrance road is one that can stall after you've committed.