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A 499-acre housing development is being planned for the Upper Tar River watershed outside of Oxford.

“This is just an FYI that this is moving through the approval process and will have a lot of water-quality impacts,” said Neuse Riverkeeper Samantha Krop. “It’s a huge development and, for that area, it’s definitely a unique kind of sprawl. I think it’s a harbinger of how development is going to take place in the Upper Tar.”

The proposed development, Landis Development, would include 120 assisted living homes, 450 townhomes, 1,300 single family lots, 75,000 square feet of commercial space and a golf course.

“This development will have impacts on the main stem of Coon Creek, which feeds until Falling Creek and the Tar River, not least of which is a major network of road crossings over several streams,” Samantha said.

The property is located around Landis Road, between U.S. Highway 158, Salem Road and Tabbs Creek Road. Sound Rivers was contacted about the project by a concerned resident. At the October meeting of the Oxford Planning Board, rezoning of the land and annexation were discussed, as the property is located outside the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction.

“Now is the time for local people to get involved, so they can have a say in the area’s future development,” Samantha said.

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