Agenda - 01-24-2013-13 (5) - Laserfiche WebLink

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Bluff, Chestnut, Bayberry, Morgan Cliff, Flagstone, Silers Fen, Rhododendron, Arbutus, Bolinas, Serrano, Majestic, Umbrio, Madera and Chimeneas streets. This area has a total tax valuation of $193,226,284 and one cent equals $18,515. The neighborhood in question is in the extraterritorial planning jurisdiction of Chapel Hill and within the urban services boundary. DISCUSSION This issue is not a question of emergency services delivery or life safety. It is an issue of planned urban growth and how State regulatory control and insurance ratings impacts homeowners financially. Through the mutual aid agreements, the Town of Chapel Hill Fire Department historically and currently responds to reports of fires or other life threatening incidents in this neighborhood and takes necessary actions to save life and property until North Chatham VFD units arrive. The Town of Chapel Hill has three distinct options relative to this request: Option 1 - Refuse to provide the protection outside Town limits except for mutual aid. This option does not resolve the financial and insurance issue for the homeowners in the neighborhood but does not withhold any potential lifesaving or property saving services they currently receive through the standing mutual aid agreements. This also creates the question of what to do about the small Greater Chapel Hill Fire District of Winter Road and Meadow Lane. Since through mutual aid we continue to respond into this area without financial remuneration for our services the Town would not benefit from the additional revenue created by the fire service district. Since we in Chapel Hill benefit significantly from neighboring fire departments mutual aid assistance as well it would be an extreme risk for us to terminate our mutual aid agreements. Option 2 - Require that the affected residents petition for annexation in order to receive primary fire protection. This is a viable option and would provide the residents the full range of public services of the Town of Chapel Hill including fire protection. This would appear to be the quickest and easiest way to resolve this issue but would require the residents to petition the Town to initiate annexation. However, these residents already enjoy the benefits of Chapel Hill residency because they receive mutual aid from the Town's fire and police departments, have access to other Town amenities such as parks and library, and receive OWASA water and sewer since they are within the Urban Services boundary. There is little motivation for them to petition for annexation other than to mitigate the increase in their homeowner's insurance premiums, if other options are not available. The difference between the cost of paying Town taxes (49.4 cents) in the case of voluntary annexation and the increase in their insurance premiums is unknown. Option 3 — As requested, enter into a service agreement with Orange County to extend our current fire district area to provide primary protection to the affected neighborhoods. This option is requested by Orange County and also requires approval by the State Fire Marshal's office. We would enter a service agreement with Orange County and become the primary fire jurisdiction for the affected area. Residents would realize the ISO rating of the Chapel Hill Fire