What began with neighbors asking questions grew into a movement of thousands advocating for Sledge Forest, public safety, and a development review process that takes community concerns seriously.

• 2023 — Copper Builders goes under contract. Wade Miller, owner of Copper Builders, tells the Greater Wilmington Business Journal that Copper Builders identified Sledge Forest for development and entered into a contract in 2023. The exact signing date and contract terms have not been publicly available.

• October 2, 2024 — Hilton Bluffs enters county review. Copper Builders presents a 230-home first phase alongside a conceptual master plan for approximately 4,000 homes. The county identifies the master plan as a concept for feedback, rather than an application eligible for approval.

• October 3, 2024 — Public reporting reveals the proposal’s scale. Port City Daily reports plans for more than 4,000 homes, a golf course, and other amenities on the roughly 4,000-acre property. Because the project is proposed under existing zoning, no rezoning hearing or county commissioner vote is required. Residents begin questioning how a development of this magnitude can proceed without those opportunities for public input in an area zoned Rural Agriculture (RA).

• Fall 2024 — Neighbors begin organizing. After learning about Hilton Bluffs, Save Sledge Forest co-founders Kayne Darrell, Andy Wood, and Marion Kreh collect and share information, raising awareness and educating residents as they begin to build the Save Sledge Forest movement. Door-to-door outreach, town halls & presentations, petition drives, and participation in county meetings become central to the effort to protect the forest and surrounding neighborhoods.  Our first Town Hall in early Nov., 2024 at Castle Hayne Park draws over 250 people.

• January 6, 2025 — Residents take their concerns to county commissioners. More than two dozen supporters attend despite cold and stormy weather. Six Save Sledge Forest speakers address the proposed development, bringing concerns about density, infrastructure, and environmental impacts directly to county leaders.

• February 11, 2025 — Hundreds attend the developer’s community meeting. An estimated 500 people turn out at Wilmington’s Aloft Hotel, with at least 250 waiting outside the packed, over-capacity meeting room. Dozens of citizens speak - voicing concerns and questioning Copper Builders’ representatives about traffic, schools, utilities, flooding, toxic plumes, and the forest’s future. Other than the developer and his attorney, no one in the room speaks out in support of the project.

• March 2025 — A partial conservation proposal emerges. Copper Builders announces an agreement with Unique Places to Save to pursue conservation of approximately 1,160 acres. Save Sledge Forest continues advocating for protection of the entire forest and questioning the development’s impacts.

• March 17, 2025 — The proposed first phase expands. A new application replaces the original 230-home first phase with 647 residential lots, along with amenities, model homes, and a sales center. The revision substantially increases the initial development residents are being asked to evaluate.

• Save Sledge Forest retains legal counsel, hiring local attorney Susan Keelin to explore legal options.

• April 10, 2025 — Miller projects construction in 2026 and first homes in 2027. The Greater Wilmington Business Journal publishes Miller’s anticipated schedule. Meanwhile, Save Sledge Forest’s petition has already surpassed 8,900 signatures, reflecting growing public concern.

• April 14, 2025 — Citizen observations lead to permit enforcement. New Hanover County issues a notice to Wade Miller identifying missing building, zoning, floodplain, and Coastal Area Management Act permits for a structure placed on the property. Residents’ photographs and reports brought the structure to the county’s attention. Miller describes it as a “temporary mobile office” and says the company will work with the county to resolve the matter. The structure includes a bar area, a fire pit, and a massive solar panel on a cement pad.

• April 14, 2025 — Save Sledge Forest brings its story. At a UNCW town hall, speakers discuss the forest’s ecological importance and the development’s potential impacts.

• May 7, 2025 — The expanded first phase returns to technical review. The county reviews the 647-home application. Save Sledge Forest continues examining the proposal and pressing for answers as the plans evolve.

• June 21, 2025 — “Ten Thousand Voices” celebrate a milestone. Supporters gather at Innes Park to mark 10,000 petition signatures opposing Hilton Bluffs and calling for protection of Sledge Forest. The rally makes the community’s growing commitment visible beyond individual letters and meeting comments. Over 150 supporters turn out for the event.

• July 8, 2025 — Sledge Forest receives national recognition as threatened. The Old-Growth Forest Network adds Sledge Forest to its National Index of Threatened Forests, drawing wider attention to the forest’s ecological importance and the development threat. The listing raises awareness but does not itself provide legal protection.

• July 21, 2025 — A separate enforcement dispute involving Miller makes headlines. Wade Miller’s AquaVita houseboat, docked for almost a month in Banks Channel, eventually leaves Wrightsville Beach after officials classify it as a prohibited floating home and impose penalties. The Millers dispute that classification and initially refuse to leave until fines increase to $500/day. Although separate from Hilton Bluffs, the incident brings additional public attention to issues with regulatory compliance.

• October 3, 2025 — The first partial conservation funding effort falls through. Unique Places to Save announces that its application to the North Carolina Land and Water Fund was unsuccessful and that it will stop pursuing the acquisition. Save Sledge Forest’s broader conservation campaign continues.

• October 6, 2025 — Supporters deliver 13,415 petition signatures. More than 130 citizens stand together outside the courthouse and fill the commissioners’ meeting room. Our message is clear: the forest, our neighborhoods, and the people affected by this proposal deserve to be heard.

• November 2025 — Copper Builders submits a substantially smaller proposal. Due to surveys revealing less buildable uplandthan previously predicted, updated plans call for 1,800 homes, compared with approximately 4,000 originally proposed. The application goes before the Technical Review Committee on November 19, 2025. Save Sledge Forest continues scrutinizing access, density, flooding, and environmental impacts.

• November 19, 2025 — “The Last Forest” brings the story to new audiences. Boot Scrap Films’ six-minute documentary screens at Satellite Bar and Lounge to an overflowing crowd of supporters. Featuring Save Sledge Forest’s advocacy, the film highlights the forest’s beauty and the concerns driving the movement.

• January 14, 2026 — Reporting documents reveal an unauthorized accreditation seal. The NC Attorney General receives a complaint that Copper Builders has falsely displayed a BBB Accredited Business seal on its website. The Better Business Bureau confirms the company is not accredited at that time; Copper Builders eventually removes the seal. 

• March 10, 2026 — The county conditionally approves the Hilton Bluffs plan. The approval covers the 1,800-home proposal with three access points: Sledge Road, Tall Oaks Drive, and Dekker Road. Individuals within Save Sledge Forest challenge whether the county correctly applied its development regulations.

• March 13-14, 2026 - The public is invited to join Save Sledge Forest on a river cruise to experience the ancient magic of Sledge Forest with Wilmington Water Tours. Speakers, live music, lunch, and a view of Sledge Forest from “The River’s Edge” is a big success. Both trips sell out within days of tickets going on sale.

• Spring 2026 — Southern Environmental Law Center joins the legal effort. SELC takes on individuals within Save Sledge Forest as clients for the appeal, working with local attorney Susan Keelin. Community research, organizing, and fundraising are now joined by a formal legal challenge to the approval.

• April 28, 2026 — Supporters fill the hearing room and an overflow room. The Board of Adjustment grants a temporary stay, pausing county permitting while the appeals await a full hearing. Board members describe the turnout as the largest they have seen at one of these hearings—a powerful demonstration of sustained community involvement.

• June 24, 2026 — The Fire Marshal initially allows a single-access approach. Fire Marshal David Stone issues a determination allowing Hilton Bluffs to proceed with one access point. That determination later becomes central to a dispute over emergency access and public safety.

• June 25, 2026 — Coastal Land Trust announces a conditional conservation agreement. The agreement would conserve more than 3,200 acres of wetlands if the subdivision proceeds as approved. Save Sledge Forest welcomes conservation efforts while maintaining our goal of protecting all 4000 acres and pointing out the 3200 acres of wetlands are under no threat of development while also addressing the significant impacts developing its upland acres would have on the ecosystem balance of the entire forest.

• July 20, 2026 — A neighborhood settlement removes two proposed access routes. Copper Builders agrees to abandon connections through Marathon Colony and Wooden Shoe, resolving those residents’ separate appeal and lawsuit. The SELC-represented appeal remains active and is continued to September as revised plans are anticipated.

• July 2026 — The Fire Marshal rescinds the single-access determination. The reversal follows additional information about the proposed access arrangements that were not revealed at the time of the initial approval. Copper Builders reapplies and, on July 31, files a state appeal seeking to preserve the original determination.

• August 3, 2026 — Copper Builders submits a one-access revision. The revised 1,800-home plan relies on access through Sledge Road. Save Sledge Forest raises concerns about emergency response, evacuation, and other safety concerns of a single access for 1800 families.

• September 2, 2026 — Single-access safety concerns remain unresolved at technical review. The Fire Marshal says state law limits his ability to require another access despite expressing significant safety concerns of allowing a single access road. The meeting does not approve the revised plan. Save Sledge Forest continues pressing the county to address the consequences of thousands of residents depending on one route in and out of Hilton Bluffs.

• September 16, 2026 — The County Manager denies the revised plan. Chris Coudriet administratively denies the single-access proposal because of significant public safety concerns. With opposition now exceeding 25,000 supporters, Save Sledge Forest recognizes the citizens whose comments, petitions, and persistent attendance helped keep those concerns before decision-makers.

• September 22, 2026 — Another hearing ends in a continuance. The Board of Adjustment postpones the remaining appeal amid disagreement over whether the original March approval remains viable after the neighborhood access routes have been removed. Residents continue seeking clarity about exactly what can proceed.

• September 24, 2026 — The County Manager orders review of the original approval. Coudriet directs the Technical Review Committee to determine whether losing two access routes constitutes a substantial departure from the approved plan, and states the TRC completes this review and either issues a denial of the plan or confirms the original conditional approval, no development review or county permits should proceed related to the original approval. The administrative denial of the updated Hilton Bluffs site plan submitted on August 3 and rendered denied September 16 remains in place.

• October 7–8, 2026 — The original conditional approval is revoked. Following its October 7 review, the county issues an October 8 letter finding that removal of the Tall Oaks Drive and Dekker Road connections constitutes a substantial departure. The March 10 approval is no longer valid; any future proposal must be submitted as a new application under the requirements in effect at submission.

• October 9, 2026 — Save Sledge Forest recognizes a major milestone. News outlets report the revocation, and our movement thanks the community and county officials for insisting on careful review. After two years of organizing, research, public participation, and legal advocacy, our commitment remains the same: permanent protection of Sledge Forest and the well-being of our community.

• October 18, 2026 – The NHC Board of Adjustment postpones the previously scheduled Nov. 4 appeal hearing until Dec. 8 at 5:30 PM. This will be contingent on whether Copper Builders appeals the TRC decision to revoke the March 10 plan. The deadline for that appeal submittal is November 9, 2026.

The Save Sledge Forest Community will remain engaged and vigilant as we await to see what Copper Builders chooses to do next…