Date: Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:58:26 -0400
From: Tony Blake
Subject: Airport in Southern Orange or North Chatham Counties?
This is to let you know about a proposal to put an airport (replacement for Horace Williams) somewhere in South Western Orange, North Chatham or East Alamance Counties and to Give UNC the power of Eminent Domain through an “Airport Authority”.
Apparently the local County commissioners have been kept in the dark about the details but there is a State Senate bill 1925 (just gone to conference and championed by Joe Hackney), giving UNC eminent domain powers.
http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2007&BillID=S1925
For reference:
Here is the link to the Talbert & Bright presentation (from 2006, I think) to the university. There are three sites close by identified; one by Cane Creak, one off of Orange-Clover-Garden-Chapel road and one off of Andrews Store Road and a fourth unidentified site in Alamance County
You might have to wait for the pages to load, I think the UNC server is slow.
http://research.unc.edu/cn/concept/Talbert_Bright_files/frame.htm#slide0031.htm
I am not categorically opposed to a proposal/discussion about an airport, what I am concerned about is that it seems hard to get information from our representatives and there seems to be no community involvement on the legislation.
My county representative (Barry Jacobs) replied to my email saying:
……”You know as much as I do. Your impression of this process as rushed, unclear, and lacking in public participation is apt. The commissioners are nearly as “in the dark” as the citizenry.
I would suggest that residents of your area direct all comments to Speaker Joe Hackney, who represents several precincts in southwestern Orange and has championed this bill despite the explicit opposition of the Orange County Board of Commissioners. We were able to negotiate some changes in the bill regarding the primacy of Orange County’s zoning. However, the university and our legislators insisted that the measure contain not only the prospect of eminent domain for the airport authority, but an insupportable stipulation that a majority of its board members be appointed by the university……..”
I plan to contact Joe Hackney to see if he can shed more light on the subject and to let him know I personally object to the lack of county/community involvement in something that could directly affect the local quality of life here so dramatically.
Joe Hackney’s contact information is:
Representative Joe Hackney
P.O. Box 1329
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
(919) 733-3451 (State Legislative Building)
(919) 929-0323 (Epting & Hackney, Attorneys at Law)
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