A group of homeowners in a subdivision beset by recent flooding plans to ask local governments to delay approval for new subdivisions until flooding problems in their area are resolved.

The Northeastern Terrace Homeowners Association voted Tuesday to circulate a petition that asks both the Pasquotank County Board of Commissioners and Elizabeth City City Council to hold up approval of new housing developments.

The move follows in the wake of two major flooding incidents in the 25-year-old subdivision off Oak Stump Road, behind Northeastern High School, in the past three months.

"We need to put them on notice that something needs to be done," said Kris Drive resident Bill Kopp, the homeowner group's president.

Northeastern Terrace residents acknowledge that the 10-plus inches of rainfall from Tropical Depression Ernesto and a previous storm in early September was a rare occurrence, and that flooding was to be expected.

However, like residents of several other neighborhoods in Pasquotank County, Northeastern Terrace residents also believe that development in recent years has increased stormwater runoff to the point where it now takes less rainfall to cause flooding.

Members of the homeowners group point to the nor'easter that passed through two weeks ago, dumping an estimated 4.5 inches of rain on the area. The heavy rainfall caused Northeastern Terrace streets and yards to flood. Previously, that amount of rainfall wouldn't have caused such flooding, they say.

At Tuesday's meeting, several Northeastern Terrace residents initially pushed for the group's petition to seek an immediate moratorium on all growth in the city and county. After some discussion, the 15 members at the meeting decided to seek a delay on development instead.

Kopp said the group plans to issue one copy of the petition to Pasquotank commissioners Monday night, and another to the Pasquotank Planning Board on Thursday, Dec. 21. The group plans to give City Council a copy on Jan. 8, he said.

"We will be trying to get their support as opposed to coming across as 'us vs. them,'" Kopp said. "We would like them to champion our cause."

County officials are in the midst of creating a stormwater management ordinance that will identify drainage districts and address building requirements.

Kopp said officials need to take a "big-picture approach" when determining which development projects get built. They need to study development in an entire area, such as the Knobbs Creek watershed, while reviewing new site plans, he said.

"I'm no expert, I'm just trying to learn about some of this stuff," Kopp said. "I believe when they look at plans, they just look at that area (that's being developed). They don't look at the downstream impact of the whole Knobbs Creek. They just keep dumping water in there and think it's going to go out to the river."

The county has hired an engineering consultant to review development plans. Greg Johnson of Patton, Harris and Rust Engineering of Virginia Beach, said Wednesday he is studying not just site specific data, but also how the additional runoff will affect a larger area.

"From an engineering side, when you do a model, you try to include what's going on upstream and below, and make a judgment on that mathematical calculation," he said. "We try to be more encompassing of what's going on around us, and not just the site."