Minutes - 20090122 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Dear Orange County Commissioners, The residents of Jimmy Ed Road wish to formally register our opposition to the paving currently being proposed by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT). After two extensive meetings with the NCDOT, we believe that while the paving serves the interests of some, it is not the interest of residents along Jimmy Ed Road. Finally, we wish to express our gratitude to the County Commission for giving residents a voice in decisions that directly affect their lives and when making your determination, we ask that you please consider the following: - All residents that live on Jimmy Ed Road oppose the paving (NCDOT has chosen to emphasize in our meetings that two, non-resident parties, Lattisville Grove Church and the Winstead LLC, own approximately half the road frontage and support paving). - No resident has donated right-of-way to the project. All existing right-of-way has been acquired through non-dedication such as surveys and plat maps on file at the Register of Deeds. - Jimmy Ed Road is not a key connector but a dead end gravel road that serves rural residents and farm operations. - The Winstead LLC has stated publicly its intentions to subdivide their property for development along Jimmy Ed Road. While the condition of the road does not prevent such a subdivision, paving would likely facilitate this process and possibly increase the density of housing constructed in an area the Commissioners have zoned for rural use. - Representatives from NCDOT repeatedly emphasized "compromise" in the two community meetings but appear to have rejected out of hand a partial paving compromise between residents and Lattisville Grove that would have allowed for paving up to the Church's front entrance. - NCDOT could not present any verifiable evidence that the proposed paving ("improvements") of Jimmy Ed Road would improve safety. To the contrary, it is the opinion of the residents that paving will precipitate a significant increase in vehicular speed and invite non-residential traffic. - Aside from minimal vehicular traffic, Jimmy Ed Road primarily supports farming, pedestrian and equestrian uses. In this case, paving represents a downgrade in the alternative uses of the road and shifts the priority to vehicular use. - NCDOT does not have all the necessary right-of-way but has communicated that condemnation might be an option if residents along Jimmy Ed do not support the paving. We consider this a "strong arm" tactic. - Allocation of scarce public funds to an unwanted paving project in the rural area is contrary to the "spirit" of responsible government and inconsistent with the democratic and environmental goals found in our County's Comprehensive Plan. Lynne Taylor lives on Ben Wilson Road. She showed two pictures of the road and read a handout entitled, Safety & Environmental Reasons to Pave Ben Wilson Road. These 2 photographs were taken at the same time today. The first is of the road in front of our farm showing the effects of an unpaved road and hedgerow. The second is of our driveway showing that the snow and ice have cleared with sunshine. The hedgerow is within the right-of-way.