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Sylva board members discuss ETJ in Savannah Drive area
By Justin Goble
Though Sylva’s planned extra-territorial jurisdiction for part of the Savannah Drive area is moving forward, one parcel of land may slow the process down.
Planning Director Jim Aust pointed out to Sylva town board and planning board members a tract of land in the area of Yellowbird Branch and Savannah Drive that is divided by Dillsboro’s border. The discussion came during a July 25 joint meeting of town and planning board members to address the proposed ETJ.
If Sylva were to place part of that tract into the ETJ area, it would run right up to Dillsboro’s borders. Aust said this would create problems, since state laws mandate how much property a town can place under an ETJ.
According to statutes, a municipality cannot create an ETJ further out than halfway between its existing borders and that of the closest city. The area must also follow existing property lines.
Since there are no property lines that would allow any ETJ to follow the halfway rule, Aust said Sylva officials would have to come to an agreement with Dillsboro leaders about what to do with the land in question.
Though he wants to create an ETJ right up to Dillsboro’s borders, Aust said there were other options that could be considered.
“We can split the property in the ETJ area in half, so Dillsboro can control part of it,” Aust said. “There’s a lot of other things we can do as well. Any draft proposal we present to Dillsboro needs to have as many options as possible.”
Town board member Maurice Moody suggested that Aust go ahead and put in a request to the Dillsboro board to see what they want to do. That way, the property would be subject to someone’s zoning laws, he said
“We should make a formal request that we create an ETJ right up to their borders,” Moody said. “If we can’t do that, then we can do half of it. That whole area needs to be under some kind of zoning control.”
While town board member Stacy Knotts agreed with Moody, she expressed concern with dividing up the property. The two governments may not begin work on bringing the area into compliance with zoning laws at the same time, Knotts said, which could create some problems.
“If we split it, I think we should come up with a time line,” Knotts said. “That way we don’t end up doing our part and having to wait on them to do theirs.”
Despite these concerns, Sylva officials voted unanimously to ask Aust to create a proposal to bring before the Dillsboro planning board. If they do not agree with the proposal, Aust said they could make a counter-offer, and the two governments could begin negotiations on what to do with the property.
For their part, the Dillsboro planning board is waiting to see what action to take. According to Mayor Jean Hartbarger, the town’s planners are taking a close look at the situation.
“We haven’t done any action yet” Hartbarger said. “We want to explore our options before we do anything, The planning board has to look at the maps, and then we will meet with the Sylva planning board.”
Aust said even if the parcel of land comes under Sylva’s ETJ, Dillsboro officials could still annex the property at any time.
In other business July 25:
– Town board members voted unanimously to perform a cost analysis of annexation and creation of an ETJ for property along the N.C. 107 corridor.
Sylva planners are looking to annex land between Walter Ashe Road and Wal-Mart, between Wal-Mart and Lowe’s and near the Rhodes Cove area.
“We can annex all of that today,” Aust said. “It more than meets our statutory annexation rules. That’s our most desired area for development. There’s two anchor stores right there with Lowe’s and Wal-Mart, and between them is prime undeveloped real estate.”
The major concern with annexation down N.C. 107 is cost of providing services to residents in that area. Those services would include street lighting and maintenance, garbage collection and police and fire protection. Though water and sewer would be provided by the Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority, the town would be required to provide the sewer lines.
Though the property would bring in an extra $29,764.98 in taxes, town Manager Jay Denton was unsure that money would cover the cost of services.
“As the budget officer, I have to make sure we can afford to provide these things,” he said.
While he’s looking into annexation, planning board members suggested that Aust look into an ETJ of the land that extends halfway out to Webster’s borders. Planning board member Milt Wofford said because that land would be next in line for development, it would be good to go ahead and institute the town’s zoning laws there.
Since planning for an ETJ in that area would not be difficult, Aust agreed to go along with the suggestion.
“Creating an ETJ is easy,” Aust said. “It just makes people mad. Annexation makes people mad as well, but we get something back. We give something to the residents as well.”
– The two boards discussed how to make planning decisions if there is not a quorum at planning board meetings.
Such meetings had to be suspended for May and June since the majority of planning board members were not in attendance. This delay has not only put Aust’s work on ETJ and annexation projects on hold, but has also delayed decisions from the town board.
“Sometimes waiting another month puts us behind as well,” Knotts said.
“It’s unfair to the people who are under deadlines and trying to get their issues resolved,” Mayor Brenda Oliver said.
Aust said getting members together had proved difficult, since everyone’s schedules were different.
“There’s a lot to be done here,” Aust said. “We have a lot of recommendations and decisions to make, and I can’t do it all by myself,” Aust said.
Oliver suggested that anyone who has a deadline and cannot meet with planners can come directly to the town board for a decision, since that body has to approve any recommendation from the planning board.
Though town board members gave the idea approval by consensus, Oliver said she still wants to hear the recommendations of the planning board on most issues.
“I don’t want this to be a common thing,” Oliver said. “I want it to be a last resort.”
Officials unanimously approved Brett Woods’ nomination to the planning board. Woods, director of annual and special gifts at Western Carolina University, will replace Charles Allen, who recently resigned.
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