Orange County NC Website
hazard to their drinking water. The only access to their softball field is over the well and they <br /> are afraid it will mess up their water. He said that their church owns about 75% of the road <br /> frontage, along with another resident on this road. He said that there are other entities that <br /> support the paving of the entire road, such as NCDOT. <br /> Hunter Schofield spoke on behalf of the Parker family, who would like to keep the road <br /> unpaved as it is. He said that the question is whether or not the Board of County <br /> Commissioners is going to ask the State of North Carolina to condemn the property of an <br /> Orange County citizen against their will, and that is Barbara and Carlton Parker. He said that <br /> in June of 2003, the Board of County Commissioners adopted a resolution outlining criteria for <br /> paving roads. He read from the resolution: "1) Paving has to dramatically improve safety; and <br /> 2) Paving has to create connectivity, specifically connectivity that is identified in the Land Use <br /> Element of the Orange County Comprehensive Plan." He said that plainly, the paving of <br /> Jimmy Ed Road does not meet these criteria. He said that there are four property owners that <br /> oppose this paving and only two property owners that want it. He distributed a copy of the <br /> resolution from June 2003. <br /> Lynne Taylor lives on Ben Wilson Road. She spoke about the snow and ice that <br /> accumulates on the road because of the shading. She owns 2500 feet on Ben Wilson Road <br /> and she also owns the most in acreage on the road. She said that she is the only landowner <br /> that is impacted severely by the road not being paved. She asked that the road be paved. <br /> There are only two landowners that have not granted a right-of-way to DOT and they live out of <br /> state. <br /> Sara Shields addressed the safety issue on Jimmy Ed Road and said that it ends in a <br /> dead end. Most traffic is farm traffic or church traffic and the road is gravel so that people <br /> drive slowly. She said that this road is safer if it is left unpaved. If it were paved, people may <br /> drive down and park and hang out. She said that the church moved into the community <br /> knowing that the road was gravel. <br /> Sammy Lankford said that he is concerned about paving the road all the way because <br /> it would increase the traffic on Ben Wilson Road. He cannot see the advantages of having the <br /> road paved. He said that he was born and raised on this farm and he does not want the road <br /> paved. The farm on this road has been in his family since 1751. <br /> Lynne Holtcamp said that her family is the largest landowner on Ben Wilson Road and <br /> they own 3 of the land on the road. She said that they do not want this road paved. She <br /> asked that at the very least that only a portion of the road be paved. She said that the County <br /> Commissioners have, by practice, tried to balance the interests of individuals in situations like <br /> this and to establish a criterion that there must be an important safety concern and connectivity <br /> issues. Neither of those features relate to this road. She asked the County Commissioners to <br /> not deviate from the resolution. She said that keeping the road unpaved would be consistent <br /> with the Comprehensive Plan. <br /> Commissioner Jacobs said that it is unfortunate that Mr. Schofield had to bring the <br /> County Commissioners a copy of its own policy and that it was not included in the materials. <br /> He said that there is no compelling reason to pave these roads. DOT has assured that the <br /> money would not be lost. He said that there are some instances where parts of the road can <br /> be paved and not the entire road. <br /> Motion on Ben Wilson Road: <br /> A motion was made by Commissioner Jacobs seconded by Commissioner Hemminger <br /> to pave the northern section of Ben Wilson Road, as agreed by all property owners after <br /> meeting with DOT representatives. Further, investigate whether the pavement can be <br />