Sanford annexes 50.701 acres for proposed 202-unit subdivision in “Countryside”

The City of Sanford annexed 50.701 acres of rural “Countryside” on Deep River Road at the March 17 meeting. Landowners Roy Mashburn with Highway 54 Partners, LLC in Cary, Kirk Bradley with CCEP DR, LLC in Sanford, and David and Kandace Poindexter on Deep River Road, requested the annexation for city sewer services. The property begins at 1466 Deep River Road.

The board will consider rezoning the annexed property at the Apr. 7 meeting.

Landowners want a mix of single-family homes, townhomes and amenities to be named Shadow Creek on 51.04 acres, which requires rezoning from rural agriculture to urban neighborhood with six units per acre. However, on the application, the proposed subdivision requests four dwellings per acre.

Shadow Creek subdivision’s concept plan has 30 single-family lots at a 9,000 square foot minimum, 77 single-family lots at a 6,000 square foot lot minimum, and 95 single-family attached townhome lots.

The technical review committee has stamped “Approved” on Shadow Creek’s proposed concept plan.

A total of 9.46 acres has been allotted for open space in the concept plan.

According to the county staff report, “The Plan SanLee land use plan sets forth the “blueprint” for the future development of the City of Sanford, Lee County, and the Town of Broadway. It is the vision of what the community wants to become and the steps needed to realize that vision.

The land use plan identifies the subject property as Village Neighborhood, which is low-density single-family dwellings with an interconnected street network, typically in an area surrounding a Village Center with pedestrian connectivity and access to the Village Center. There is a 2024 average annual daily traffic count of 6,700 vehicles on Deep River Road in front of Heritage Concrete at 140 Deep River Road, which is west of the rezoning site, close to the Hawkins Avenue / US Hwy 15-501 intersection. There is a second 2024 average annual daily traffic count of 2,500 vehicles on Deep River Road east of the rezoning site and north of the Colon Road intersection, near a house addressed as 1890 Deep River Road.”

There are no state plans to improve Deep River Road.

The Sanford agenda for March 17 shows a vicinity map on page 83 for the subdivision proposal.

In other business, Sanford struck down architectural standards to promote diversity and appeal through variance because state statutes prohibit these standards on single-family and two-family dwellings.

Read pages 133-135 for the full list of omitted standards here.

The next meeting is April 7.

March 18, 2026

Stephanie M. Sellers

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