Sawnee Mountain Clear Cutting Could Have Been Prevented - Rules on Mass Grading Residential Developments Must Change

Sawnee Mountain - Bridge Too Far for Mass Grading in Forsyth County Residential Developments

In my last Substack entitled, “Feckless Board of Commissioners Allows Forsyth County’s Most Historic Landmark to be Permanently Scarred by Developer,” I documented the hopelessly ineffectual policy-making of the Forsyth County Commission, to include its Director of Planning and Community Development, in the decision to permit almost 90 acres of the northwestern slope of Sawnee Mountain to be clear cut for mass grading in a residential development. And because that work occurred during the now seven-year watch of Kerry Hill, who did nothing to help save the mountain from such a fate, I hold my District 1 commissioner primarily responsible.

Telling “Before” and “After” Photos

I borrowed the top photo from the Forsyth County Government website. If the county is being honest, they will be forced to switch that photo for one more emblematic of what is happening to Forsyth County, such as the “After” photo I took during a recent flyby.

These photos are emblematic of what is presently happening to Forsyth County

Contrary to what several county commission apologists have been promulgating, what you see in these photos could have, and should have been prevented, regardless of how this property was zoned. The zoning of this property (RES3) has nothing directly to do with whether mass grading would be permitted during its development. Permission to mass grade derives from the DEVELOPMENT RULES written into the Forsyth County Unified Development Code (UDC), and is not prescribed in the zoning itself. I believe the people of Forsyth County District 1, by and large, reject the practice of mass clearing and grading in residential developments. That practice potentially changes the character of the entire area most desire to preserve.

I am running to replace the incumbent District 1 county commissioner for many reasons, among which is a promise to do everything within my power to PRESERVE FORSYTH COUNTY AS WE KNOW IT. Growth is going to happen, but what we have seen is unbridled growth of a kind that could only be slowed by a moratorium and is harmful to the character of the area, as the recent clear cutting and mass grading on Sawnee Mountain demonstrates. I compare what north Forsyth County is encountering to my experiences a few years back, when I would drive through south Forsyth County practically every day. I knew the area like I knew the back of my hand. Now, however, I find myself adrift and bewildered among the changes. I do not want that to happen to District 1. I believe the people of District 1 agree with me. If we are not careful, however, and change some of the rules of residential development, our greatest fears will be realized, just as they have been in the south, and now most dishearteningly, on Sawnee Mountain.

How Mass Grading Was Permitted on Sawnee Mountain

Two ordinances comprising the rules governing the approval process of Land Disturbance Permits (LDPs) in the Unified Development Code allowed what you see on Sawnee Mountain to occur. The first can be found in the application rules governing LDP submittals to the Forsyth Engineering Department. The other is a loophole governing the removal of trees under the Forsyth County Tree Protection and Replacement Ordinance. Both of those rules must be changed, and should have been changed long before the northwestern slope of Sawnee Mountain was permanently disfigured. According to Ordinance 73, Section IV(B)(19):

“Clearing and grading required for construction of streets, drainage, and utilities is not considered mass grading; therefore mass grading shall not be allowed in RES 1 and RES2 zoning districts; however, mass grading may be allowed for commercial and institutional uses permitted in the RES 1 and RES2 zoning districts. Mass grading may be allowed in the RES3 zoning district if the Department of Engineering determines that the topography and configuration of the property reasonably require mass grading.”

Regardless whether a developer might find it easier to achieve a maximum density of 1.8 units per acre, Forsyth County is not compelled to allow mass grading in RES3 zoning districts. To protect the character of the area, there is no reason the clearing and grading rules for RES1 and RES2 should not also pertain to RES3. The provision I emboldened above essentially gave away the store. Maintaining that provision is the reason Sawnee Mountain now looks like it does. That provision is not an inherent requirement in RES3 zoning. To the contrary, it is a gratuitous giveaway to developers in the UDC development rules.

Remaining consistent with what we find in the rules governing RES1 and RES2 developments, rather than mass grading every home site during the development phase of RES3 subdivisions, the clearing of each home site should have been held back and permitted to occur under each individual building permit, which could have been attached to certain individual tree protection requirements. Had that been the case, there might very well be residential development in that location, however, when the plat was recorded and accepted by the county, the northwestern slope of Sawnee Mountain would still be covered with trees and Forsyth County would not have to change the photo on its website.

The following very simple rewrite of Ordinance 73, Section IV(B)(19) would change everything that ultimately allowed the permitting of mass grading that occurred on Sawnee Mountain:

“Clearing and grading required for construction of streets, drainage, and utilities is not considered mass grading; therefore mass grading shall not be allowed in RES 1, RES2 and RES3 zoning districts; however, mass grading may be allowed for commercial and institutional uses permitted in the RES 1 and RES2 zoning districts.”

Tree Ordinance Presently Works Hand-In-Hand With Developers to Allow Mass Grading

In conjunction with leaving the door wide open for mass grading in the LDP application requirements above, the Forsyth County Tree Protection and Replacement Ordinance offers its own loophole for residential developers to mass clear and grade. That loophole can be found in Section 2.5, which states the following:

The phrase, “If this cannot be done,” is an unqualified giveaway to any developer who desires to mass grade. Taken in conjunction with parallel provisions in the LDP application above, developers with eyes on mass grading RES3 developments have every right to expect permission to do so will be forthcoming in each such development they propose. I do not believe the people of District 1 agree with either of the provisions I reference. I believe they agree with me that mass grading should be limited to zoning categories other than residential, ie. commercial, industrial, etc. When I am elected, I will work dutifully to change those provisions and to heavily restrict residential developers from clearing and grading outside of the requirements presently applied only to RES1 and RES2 developments.

Silencing the Surrogates

Before any surrogates take to the streets proclaiming that the LDP application requirements to which I refer, have been in place a long time, and that no one on the present commission had anything to do with that, the fact is that the boards in place in 2021, as well as the present commission (excluding Commissioner Moore), took fresh looks at those provisions, made certain changes, however failed to consider changes in the LDP permitting process relating to tree protection during the development phase, affirming instead to follow a policy of continuing to allow mass grading in RES3 developments, regardless of the now very real consequences.

Final Note for 2025, and Differentiating My Campaign

This will be my last article of 2025. It is my hope that all my readers, whether they support my campaign or not, enjoy the Christmas and New Year holidays to their fullest.

I will resume writing and campaigning once the new year rolls around. Until then, I would like to sum up my 2025 effort and differentiate my campaign from others in the following way:

By now, you should know that I am serious about imparting change to Forsyth County Government. While we cannot fix what is already broken, I am determined to preserve Forsyth County as we know it into the future. I am unwavering about charting a new course that will maintain what we have, while allowing and promoting new development which compliments, rather than conflicts with or destroys the character of the area and bypasses the wishes and will of the people who live here.

My concern is and always will be, to represent the people who are already residents of Forsyth County District 1, not those who live elsewhere but who may become residents in the future. I do not believe we need to promote growth in Forsyth County or make it easier to live here. I believe growth will come naturally, stimulated by what we have inherently, not what we advertise to create demand. And it is my belief that the people in District 1 feel abused by a county government that taxes too much, spends too much, grows too much, misallocates precious resources too much, hides too much, cooperates too little and places too much of its consideration on matters outside of the will of the people. It is my belief that the people of District 1 want significant change back to a simpler and more agreeable county government. I represent that change.

My campaign is one of substance, not just signs or even silence. I do not allow others to speak for me. I have no army of surrogates tailoring messages to make it seem like I am doing a good job when the opposite is true. When you elect me to the Forsyth County Commission, the people of District 1 will know my purposes. They will know what I stand for, what I will try my best to accomplish and that I will work to promote their interests. So far, the same cannot be said for anyone else in this race.

And because my campaign is so substantive, I am giving the voters a way to judge my performance in office, to hold me accountable. If I have learned one thing in the last 40 years of running a business in the private sector, it is how and when to say, no. My father taught me the meaning of that word above many others. And after I take office, I will use that word when I must, while cooperating with other commissioners and county personnel in their honest pursuits representing constituents in the county as well.

And I will continue to use this platform to keep all Forsyth County inhabitants informed of what is really going on in county government. And, frankly, that promise is what those occupying seats of elected office, and directorships in county government, are most concerned with.

Once elected, I will work for the people of Forsyth County, and District 1 in particular, not for power, not for control, not for prestige, not for parking passes and perks. I will not occupy an office with a view on the top floor of the Freedom Parkway Administration boondoggle. I believe those offices would be much better used for an employee nursery. My office will be a cell phone I will only use for county business, which I will answer when called by constituents, and will voluntarily hand over for open records requests.

To the end, my campaign will be about PRESERVING FORSYTH COUNTY AS WE KNOW IT. If that is what you want, regardless the district in which you live, I ask for your support, and your prayers, as we build a campaign to prevail on May 19.

Hank Sullivan