05/04/04 — Princeton approves Eagle Crest plan

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Princeton approves Eagle Crest plan

By Jack Stephens
Published in News on May 4, 2004 1:58 PM

PRINCETON -- After a delay of more than a year, the Princeton town board has approved the final plat for the first phase of the Eagles Crest subdivision, north of town.

The approval came with six conditions during Monday night's monthly town board meeting in the Community Building.

David Holmes, the board's zoning consultant from Selma, explained that the developer, Dale Jones of Princeton, did not have an on-site engineer or an on-site inspector.

Holmes said Jones needed to post a performance bond in case anything went wrong and to provide a spare pump for the homeowners, a drawing of utilities, a copy of the restricted covenants, a clear certification from the engineer that water and sewer lines were properly installed, and a clear lab report of water samples.

Holmes said the conditions should be met within 30 days.

The board approved the new preliminary plan and then approved the final plat in unanimous votes. Both had been recommended by the town's Planning Board.

The first phase of the subdivision, north of Old Rock Quarry Road, will include 15 homesites.

The board also approved two minor subdivisions. In the first, a lot was cut away from the larger Hinton property on Old Hinton Road so that a permanent home could be built. In the second, Bobby Phillips asked that a lot on Edwards Road near Cornwallis Road be cut in two.

Housing standards

The town board also discussed other housing issues. Mayor Don Rains urged the four commissioners to adopt minimum housing standards based on Benson's ordinance. He said more than 20 people were living in one dilapidated home on Holt's Pond Road.

"If neighboring towns have an ordinance and we don't," Rains said, "then we're attracting the wrong clientele."

Commissioner Walter A. Martin's motion to hold a public hearing on the matter was approved.

Rains said overcrowded homes, unkempt yards and dilapidated buildings created public health problems.

The board also asked Police Chief Eddie Lewis to instruct a landowner on South Pearl Street to clear her yard of tree stumps or the town will do it and bill her for the cost. Martin noted that the problem had lingered for years.

The deadline for the landowner, Elaine Mabson of Maryland, to demolish the old school cafeteria is June 3. The building had been condemned three times. Martin suggested that the town contact a government agency to help because the old building has asbestos, a hazardous material.