Title
Presentation on North Carolina Geodetic Survey’s Resurvey of the Common Boundary between Chatham County and Harnett County.
Abstract:
Over the past several decades, Chatham County has been working in partnership with its neighbouring counties to resolve uncertainties in the County’s boundary line. Uncertainty with the location of county boundary lines is not uncommon in North Carolina. Today’s technology can locate boundary lines much more precisely and uncover discrepancies in those boundaries. These discrepancies can create issues when it comes to tax assessment, property value, deed recordation, zoning, building permitting, public safety, board of elections, and the school system.
Action requested:
That the Board of Commissioners:
1. Adopts the location of the boundary line between Chatham County and Harnett County in accordance with the plat prepared by North Carolina Geodetic Survey, and adopts the joint resolution on December 3, 2018.
2. Directs the Chatham County Tax Administrator to assess parcels, or portions thereof, that have previously been assessed in Harnett County but will now be in Chatham County, in accordance with the plat prepared by North Carolina Geodetic Survey and mutually agreed to by this Board and the Harnett County Board of Commissioners.
Introduction and background:
Purpose:
North Carolina General Statute 153A-18 gives Counties the authority to
mutually establish county boundary lines that are uncertain through ratification of a
survey prepared by North Carolina Geodetic Survey.
Background:
On May 21, 2018, the Board of Commissioners jointly agreed with the Wake County
and Harnett County Board of Commissioners to resolve issues with the boundary line by
first authorizing legislation to establish the correct common corner shared by all three
counties. On June 25, 2018, the North Carolina General Assembly ratified legislation,
Session Law 2018-62, that corrects the common corner for Wake, Harnett, and
Chatham Counties.
The next step is to resolve uncertainties in the shared boundary line between Chatham County and Harnett County. This can be accomplished by mutual agreement (Joint Resolution) of the plat prepared by North Carolina Geodetic Survey that depicts the newly established boundary line (attached).
If adopted, the Resolution will also direct the Chatham County Tax Administrator to
assess parcels, or portions thereof, that have previously been assessed in Harnett
County but will now be in Chatham County.
All changes to the County line described herein become effective on January 1, 2019. Staff has been in contact with all impacted property owners and has notified them of today’s meeting.
The current issue has been prompted by differences between the boundary line that Chatham County uses versus the one that Harnett County uses. In some instances, the boundary line used between the two counties varies as much as several hundred feet. This has resulted in confusion over the delivery of services and tax assessment to the properties along the boundary line.
Given the uncertainties, Chatham and Harnett County staff requested North Carolina Geodetic Survey to conduct historical research and field work to determine the accurate location of the shared boundary line. During their work they discovered errors in the 1961 Wake County and Chatham County survey whereby the Wake/Chatham/Harnett corner was incorrectly located. This error was corrected in the recent Session Law 2018-62 and was supported by all three counties. With this correction, Chatham County and Harnett County can now proceed with resolving the uncertainty in their shared boundary line.
North Carolina Geodetic Survey has completed the field work and prepared a plat showing where the Chatham and Harnett County boundary line should be (attached). In accordance with North Carolina General Statute 153A-18, both Chatham County and Harnett County can mutually agree to establish this as the county boundary line.
Since last year, staff from each county have been working collaboratively on identifying all the parcels impacted by the boundary line issue. Staff conducted two community meetings (December 5, 2017 and March 27, 2018) where property owners were able to learn more about the issue. Property owners were also sent letters detailing the impact on their property. For example, where the boundary line splits a parcel, the property will now become split assessed between the two counties. This is in accordance with state law. In other cases, the property will move entirely from one county to the other. Two of the more common concerns from property owners are: 1) will future development be restricted in some way on a parcel that is split between the two counties? and 2) will a split parcel affect the current agricultural tax deferment (which allows property owners who are farming their land to have a reduced tax value until the property transitions to a non-agricultural use)? The answer to both questions is no impact at all.
Discussion and Analysis:
The attached resolution is also being considered by the Harnett County Board of Commissioners at their meeting on December 3, 2018. Should both boards adopt it, the newly established line will become effective on January 1, 2019. Prior to the effective date, each County will apply zoning to the properties, or portions thereof, that are being transferred into the county. Property owners will be notified during this process. Additionally, each County will record with their Register of Deeds a document that identifies all impacted parcels resulting from this corrective action of the county boundary line.
How does this relate to the Comprehensive Plan:
No relation to the current comprehensive plan
Budgetary Impact:
The following summarizes the property impacts along the Chatham/Harnett County boundary line:
Chatham / Harnett County Boundary - PRELIMINARY ESTIMATES
|
Properties Affected |
Count |
Estimated Value |
|
Homes moving from Chatham to Harnett (Loss) |
2 |
$ 227,648 |
|
Homes moving from Harnett to Chatham |
0 |
$ 0 |
|
Homes split between Harnett and Chatham |
0 |
$ 0 |
|
Parcels split between Harnett and Chatham with a (Loss) |
13 |
$ 287,740 |
|
Parcels split between Harnett and Chatham with a (Gain) |
6 |
$ 59,020 |
|
Total Preliminary Estimated Tax Value for Chatham (Loss) |
|
$ 456,368 |
|
Total Preliminary Estimated Tax Revenue for Chatham (Loss) |
|
$ 2,866 |
Recommendation:
Adopt the attached Joint Resolution using North Carolina Geodetic Survey’s attached plat of the common boundary line between Chatham County & Harnett County at the December 3, 2018 Board of Commissioners Meeting. The plat uses the newly established boundary corner from a previously adopted joint resolution between the counties of Wake, Chatham, and Harnett.