CAROLINA SHORES, N.C. (WECT) – A developer is pursuing a new plan for a closed golf course after commissioners rejected his initial rezoning proposal to build 120 homes on the property.
Philippe Bureau, who owns Carolina Shores Golf and Country Club, now wants to build one home per one-acre lot on the 156-acre property. The golf course closed in 2024.
Earlier this month, Brunswick County commissioners heard Bureau’s original proposal to build 120 homes and 19 retention ponds on the course. Neighbors raised concerns about flooding, traffic and falling property values. Commissioners voted 3-1 to deny the request.
Lon Forehand, who lives near the course, said the community opposed the high-density development.
“We hardly even encountered somebody that supported that high-density plan,” Forehand said. “We got the result we were looking for.”
Bureau said the rejection was a setback, but he has shifted his approach.
“We’ll go to one-acre lots with no stormwater management, unfortunately, and we’ll use all 156 acres — so there’ll be no open space,” Bureau said.
Under North Carolina law, one-acre properties don’t require the same stormwater management as denser developments, which eliminates the need for the 19 retention ponds.
Bureau would still need to satisfy requirements under the Unified Development Ordinance. The same board that denied his first proposal would have the final say on if the plan meets the requirements.
“We would’ve felt better about helping the town out with our original plan, but we’ve shifted — one acre is the only way we can go,” Bureau said.
Forehand said the fight over the golf course’s future has brought residents together.
“It brought the community together,” Forehand said. “The town had never seen such a turnout for something like this.”
Some residents hope the property could become a park or remain unchanged, but concerns about the development continue as Bureau prepares his new plan.
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