TITLE
A request by the Planning Department to schedule a legislative public hearing for November 18, 2019 to consider County-initiated zoning of five parcels formerly located in Harnett County.
ABSTRACT
Action Requested:
A request by the Planning Department to schedule a legislative public hearing for November 18, 2019 to consider County-initiated zoning of five parcels formerly located in Harnett County
Introduction & Background:
Uncertainty with the location of county boundary lines is common in North Carolina because today’s technology can locate boundary lines much more precisely and uncover discrepancies in old boundaries. Discrepancies create issues when it comes to tax assessment, property value, deed recordation, zoning, building permitting, public safety, boards of election, and the school systems.
The current issues were prompted by the differences between the boundary lines used by Chatham and Harnett County. In some instances, the boundary line used between the two counties varied as much as several hundred feet. This resulted in confusion over the delivery of services and tax assessment to the properties along the boundary line.
During the months of April and May 2018, Wake, Chatham and Harnett counties passed joint resolutions authorizing the North Carolina Geodetic Survey to locate and survey the boundary line between Chatham and Harnett County. As part of preliminary survey work competed by the North Carolina Geodetic Survey, it was determined that Wake County and Chatham County had been using a corner boundary established by a 1961 survey that differed from the actual location of the tri-county border. To correct the error, the North Carolina General Assembly ratified SL2018-62 establishing a tri-county corner; and with a new corner, Chatham and Harnett mutually agreed to adjust the common boundary between them.
At the December 3rd 2018 Board of Commissioners meeting the Board adopted a joint resolution adopting and establishing the common boundary line between Chatham and Harnett County. The joint resolution became effective on January 1st 2019. Once this boundary line was agreed on, staff in both counties set about locating the parcels that were affected by the change.
Discussion & Analysis:
In addition to two community meetings, the property owners affected by the boundary change were sent multiple letters detailing the impact to their property. For instance, if the new boundary split a parcel between the two counties, that property would now be split assessed between the two counties. This is in accordance with state law. In other cases, the property may move completely into a new county. Some of the more common concerns addressed by the property owners were: 1) will further development be restricted in some way on a parcel that is split? and 2) will a split parcel affect the agricultural tax deferment. The answer to both those questions is no impact at all.
It was ultimately determined that Chatham County would gain five properties. The GIS department in conjunction with various other county departments set about updating the GIS data and established Parcel ID numbers for the five properties. Once the five properties had parcel ID numbers, the Planning Department utilized the GIS software to obtain the property owners mailing address and other contact information. Planning staff sent letters to the five property owners in late July informing the owners of the October Commissioners meeting. This letter was a reminder that their property was involved in the border discrepancy. The property owners were informed that a portion of their property was located in Chatham County, and the portion would have a zoning classification of R-1 Residential. Included with a letter was a map indicating the portion of the property that was now located in Chatham County. The properties that are included in the rezoning can be viewed using an interactive gis viewer that can be accessed via the following link - <http://chathamncgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=51414fb5c26348989cac8babed91540a> .
How does this relate to the Comprehensive Plan:
Objective 7: Provide infrastructure to support desired development and support economic and environment objectives and Objective 9: Provide equitable access to high quality education, housing, and community options.
Recommendation:
It is the recommendation of Planning staff to schedule a legislative public hearing for November 18th, 2019 to consider County-initiated zonings of the properties described in the attachment.