Date: Thu, 4 Dec 2008 10:34:42 -0500
From: Ann H. Deupree
Subject: Durham fails to hold the line on Jordan Lake
This is a very worrisome article from the Independent (read the whole article from the link http://localhost/gyrobase/Content?oid=271898) . There is a good map in this article showing the property. We in Chatham County need to be concerned about the effect of this development on our drinking water and express ourselves to the Durham Planners and our Chatham County Commissioners.
Ann Deupree
Posted on DECEMBER 3, 2008:
DURHAM FAILS TO HOLD THE LINE ON JORDAN LAKE
Developer redraws critical watershed around his 164-acre project
By Matt Saldaña
Durham businessman Neal Hunter drafted ambitious plans for developing 164 acres in southwestern Durham County into high-density housing and commercial space.
But besides the paperwork and political hurdles that normally accompany a proposal to change the zoning designation on a piece of land, there was one other big obstacle lying in the path of his vision: Jordan Lake, a drinking water reservoir whose shores are protected by stringent environmental regulations enacted and enforced by both the county and the state.
The property sits along N.C. 751 within a mile of the lake’s shoreline. That means it falls inside the “critical watershed” where the high-density development proposed by Hunter is prohibited. That is, unless you disagree with where the lake ends.
In 2005, Hunter did just that. He commissioned a private survey that pushed the lake’s 1-mile radius boundary westward by more than 100 acres. The new line conveniently excluded Hunter’s property, clearing the way for the “751 Assemblage” project, which calls for 1,300 dwellings and 600,000 square feet of combined office and retail space.
Hunter submitted the new survey to Durham planning officials, along with a request to relocate the official boundary. In January 2006, they obliged him.
“Most of all of Mr. Hunter’s properties were in the critical watershed. With the adjustment, a large portion—a hundred-plus acres—was removed from the critical watershed area,” Planning Director Steve Medlin said……….
At the Nov. 24 meeting, Heron posed a more sobering question: “Maybe this particular survey will turn out to be correct. But let’s make sure it is. Otherwise, we are opening the door for every developer out there to do their own survey. Then what are we going to have? A cotton-pickin’ mess. And we’ll be drinking that water one day.”