Brunswick residents petition against Ashton Farms housing proposal – StarNewsOnline.com

Over 1,600 concerned Brunswick County residents have signed an online petition calling for an end to “overdevelopment” in the county.
The petition – created on change.org – began circulating around the middle of September and quickly surpassed its original goal of 500 signatures. A proposed 2,950-unit residential community planned along Russtown, Longwood and Whiteville roads near Ash sparked the petition.
The planned development – which is still in the planning stage – is dubbed Ashton Farms and would sit on more than 1,200 acres of land. The development would consist of 2,750 single-family homes and 200 townhome units near the South Carolina border.
More:Acres of Brunswick farmland to see hundreds of homes
Organizer Christine Marek said she wants to know when and where the development in the county will stop. Marek said the growth is contributing to an increase in wait times at restaurants, traffic, overcrowding in schools and more adverse effects.
Another major concern voiced in Marek’s petition is for the wildlife in the county. Marek said she’s seen more animals dead in the county’s roads and more aggressive animals entering residential neighborhoods and threatening children.
“There was a momma bear with her babies running through a parking lot from them clearing land,” Marek wrote. “Our wildlife are literally running for their lives!”
Marek also said the planned development would be located along already busy highways that see enough deadly accidents and “do not need anymore traffic.”
Many of the concerns expressed in the petition and supported by the 1,671 people who have signed it are not new in Brunswick County. Concerns of overdevelopment, construction, added traffic, poor infrastructure and natural resource preservation are often expressed when large or small developments are proposed in the growing county.
Savannah, Georgia-based engineering firm Thomas & Hutton Engineering is backing the development. The firm held a pre-application neighborhood meeting on Sept. 20 at Waccamaw Park. Several community members attended and voiced their concerns with the development.
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Plans for the development have not yet been considered by the county’s planning board.  
Jamey Cross covers Brunswick County for the StarNews. Reach her at jbcross@gannett.com or message her on Twitter/X @jameybcross.

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