The road that would bring a Publix to Chatham County may have hit a dead end.

A proposal that could result in a Publix-anchored development coming to an approximately 27-acre property on 15-501 between Pittsboro and Chapel Hill failed a vote on Tuesday night.

The Chatham County Planning Board voted 10-0 to recommend denial of the rezoning request near Polks Landing being brought by Charlotte-based Morgan Property Group.

One Polks Landing resident said at a public hearing before the Board of County Commissioners in June that the community had already seen its fair share of development and had seen some promises broken.

“Polks Village was sold as LEEDS-certified buildings with no fast food drive thru,” he said. “I’m not sure about the first, but I don’t think that happened. And now we have a Taco Bell going in.”

And with major growth expected in Chatham County, another resident said the commissioners needed to push for more inventive projects.

“It is not innovative; it does not preserve the character of the land and it is not visionary. Why not push for development in our county that embraces future economic trends?”

The developer said that there would be future need for an additional grocer with all of the approved residential developments in Chatham County.

The developers also told commissioners in June that this location – across from the Chatham Downs development, which is anchored by a Harris Teeter – is an ideal location being on the “going home” side of 15-501 for commuters traveling back from Chapel Hill.

The unanimous denial recommendation from the planning board will now go before the full Board of Commissioners for a vote in September.

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