Two Wait Avenue property owners, Robert Cooper and Tony Gordon, are refusing to allow the City of Raleigh an easement along the joint property line to provide sewer service to the Tryon subdivision.
In June both turned down offers by Tryon WF of Knightdale, the subdivision developer, for $3 per square foot for the easement or $25,500 each. Cooper responded by saying that the damage to the old-growth trees and other consideration meant he wanted $300,000 for his part of the easement. Gordon said he wanted $250,000.
In response to an October request by Charles R. Walker III, the spokesman for Tryon WF of Knightdale, which is the developer, Raleigh City Manager Ruffin Hall, in December asked the Raleigh City Council at its Jan. 6 meeting to authorize the city clerk to schedule a public hearing for a consideration of a utility extension agreement. That would mean the city agreed to be responsible for the sewer extension being built, which would probably mean the city would condemn the land for the easement and pay a fair market value to the owners. The public hearing has not yet been set, it appears.
On Wednesday, Cooper was meeting with City of Raleigh officials to learn about condemnation proceedings.
In addition to Cooper’s and Gordon’s refusal, another property owner, Frank McCoy and his wife, Olga, have filed three suits about the rezoning for the subdivision against the Town of Wake Forest. You can read a description of those suits and other information in the Dec. 17, 2014, issue of the Gazette.
Tryon was approved by the town board in July to have 279 single-family homes and 136 townhouses on 131.5 acres along Copper Beech Lane south of Oak Grove Church Road. There is City of Raleigh sewer available for about 100 of the lots through the Kings Glen subdivision, which is adjacent. The other 315 lots need the sewer line which would come from a sewer line extension being built by Lennar Carolina along Austin Creek.
2 Responses
My development’s experience with the City of Wake Forest is not so pleasant either. Threats of condemnation for property snatching and other bullying tactics is how they do business and have no conscience about it. In this case, I’m happy to hear that the landowners are standing their rightful ground, and I hope they win or get the money they are demanding. Best of luck to them.
It did surprise me that four members of the Wake Forest Planning Board gave their blanket approval to the proposed development, despite being aware that a section of the development had no sewer access. Surely those member should have either given approval for only a part of the development, or none at all until the easements were in place. Note it was the four veteran members who approved, while it was the three newest members who voted against it.
If in fact, that is the role of the Town Board, rather than the Planning Board, then I fault those members of the Town Board for not taking such action. Kudos to Mrs. Stinnett who voted against approving the entire development.